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History · Canton Township

Canton Township dates to 1825, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1912 on, and the census since 1840.

1825founded
3on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
11old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Canton Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Canton Township began

When was Canton Township founded?

1825

Canton Township dates its founding to 1825 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1840.

First census: 762 in 18402020 census: 14,217201 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1826.The full story ↓

What stands out about Canton Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 19123 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1995. Watch Canton Township change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1825: 201 years of Canton Township.Old housesHalf of Canton Township’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · On the map

Canton Township on the map, 1912 to 1995

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Canton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Canton Township on the 1912 USGS mapCanton Township on the 1974 USGS mapCanton Township on the 1995 USGS map1912Canton sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Canton Township.

Timeline

Canton Township, 1825 to 1980

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1825
    FoundingCanton Township is established
  3. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Fulton County - Canton - ED 29-8, ED 2…
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903Post officeThe Brereton post office opens
  6. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1917In the archiveAmerican Red Cross - Groups - Canton, Ill., War Activities. Group of shop workers forming…
  8. 1925Post officeThe Brereton post office closes
  9. 1980In the archiveBarber pole
The story

How Canton Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Canton Township.

Read it all →

Canton was founded in 1825 by settler Isaac Swan, who believed his new town and Canton, China, were antipodes.

Swan, his infant child, and three other people died in a devastating tornado in June 1835. "Isaac Swan and his child were found in the wreckage of their cabin, the baby dying in its mother's arms," leading some to conclude that the tornado represented divine retribution for the city allowing a circus performance the previous week. The city was hit by another tornado, this one an F-3, on July 23, 1975. Two people were killed, and the storm, deemed the 1975 Canton Tornado, caused major damage to the downtown area.

On September 13, 1967, Los Angeles rock band The Doors played a concert at Canton High School.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Canton Township, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1910s9 items
1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Fulton County - Canton - ED 29-8, ED 29-9, ED 29-10, ED 29-11, ED 29…18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Fu…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL) - Fulton County - Canton - ED 29-13 to 2818801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL)…American Red Cross - Groups - Canton, Ill., War Activities. Group of shop workers forming Red Cross Chapter1917American Red Cross - Groups - Canton, Ill., War Activ…Ceremonies - Illinois thru Massachusetts - American Red Cross parade. Red Cross parade at1917Ceremonies - Illinois thru Massachusetts - American R…Ceremonies - Illinois thru Massachusetts - Canton, Ill., war activities. Jessie Gilmore, winner of 1st prize in patriot…1917Ceremonies - Illinois thru Massachusetts - Canton, Il…Ceremonies - Illinois thru Massachusetts - Canton, Ill., war activities. Nurses in Red Cross parade1917Ceremonies - Illinois thru Massachusetts - Canton, Il…Ceremonies - Illinois thru Massachusetts - Canton, Ill., war activities. Red Cross parade, 19181917Ceremonies - Illinois thru Massachusetts - Canton, Il…Flags - Service Flags - Canton, Illinois, war activities. Mrs. J.S. Baldock and Mrs. Jos. Green. Just after a Red Cross…1917Flags - Service Flags - Canton, Illinois, war activit…Forging steel into plowshares, plant of Parlin & Orndorf Co1917Forging steel into plowshares, plant of Parlin & Ornd…
1920s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s2 items
Barber pole1980Barber poleBarber pole, Elm Street1980Barber pole, Elm Street
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today13 recent
Graham Medical Group in2025Graham Medical Group inCanton Lake 20231022 01542023Canton Lake 20231022 0154Canton Lake 20231022 01492023Canton Lake 20231022 0149Canton Lake 20231022 01452023Canton Lake 20231022 0145Canton Lake 20231022 01392023Canton Lake 20231022 0139Taco Bell2020Taco BellGoodwill2020GoodwillImage Orendorff House2015Image Orendorff HouseParlin Library2014Parlin LibraryChicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Depot2014Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad DepotCass Place2013Cass PlaceGreeting from Canton, Illinois - Large Letter Postcard2012Greeting from Canton, Illinois - Large Letter PostcardDocumentCanton Water Tank IMG 78202009Canton Water Tank IMG 7820
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Fulton County - Canton - ED 29-8, ED 29-9, ED 29-10, ED 29-11, ED 29…
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Fulton County - Canton - ED 29-8, ED 29-9, ED 29-10, ED 29-11, ED 29…, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Canton Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Canton Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Canton Township, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,0001850190019502000Peak: 15,288

Between 762 and 15,288 people in every census since 1840.

19 censuses, 1840–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Canton Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Brereton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Brereton
Gone or out of use
Baxter MinemineCurtis SchoolschoolEagle MinemineLittle Brick SchoolschoolMcCutcheon SchoolschoolMoore SchoolschoolMound SchoolschoolRohrer SchoolschoolSimmons Minemine
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Canton Township
HansonJohnsonWhite Chapel Memory Gardens

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Canton Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Orion TownshipIts storyCBuckheart TownshipIts storyB−Farmington Township1 historic placeAJoshua Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCanton3 historic placesANorrisIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTrivoli TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Canton Township’s history

What year was Canton Township founded?

In 1825, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Canton Township’s post office opened in 1826, and the census of 1840 counted 762 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (23), the Library of Congress (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.