Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1986 on and old-book passages.
The Canton post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Canton’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Canton.
Canton was laid out and platted in 1838. Old variant names of the community were Greensburg and Eggharbor.
A post office was established at Canton in 1835, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1905.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Canton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The Act of incorporation of the town of Canton, passed on Feb. 23, 1797, continued to the inhabitants of modern Stoughton the same rights that had been enjoyed by both towns; but on March 10, of the same year, a new Act was passed, whereby Stoughton was debarred from the privilege of choosing a committee to join with the other towns referred to, for the purpose of regulating the fisheries.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Village of to-day and Aunt Katy's Brook. In 1 707 the Indians relinquished their right in about three acres of land for a burying-place and a cemetery. Now, there was no person buried in the Canton Cemetery until 1716; and persons were interred in the Proprietors' Lot at Ponkapoag ten if not sixteen years earlier. There is no record of the building of any meeting-house before 1707; and then the inhabitants were ordered " to remove the meeting-house or build a new
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Canton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Canton.
Nobody well known was born in Canton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Canton post office opened in 1835, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
