Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1831.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Canton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Canton is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #17 of 247 in Missouri. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Canton’s overall grade.
Missouri towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Missouri town has 2.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Canton’s 10.9 sits above most of its state (72% of Missouri towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). Two sources give 1830.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Canton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The city of Canton, believed to be named in honor of Canton, Ohio, predates the surrounding Lewis County by three years, having been founded in 1830, whereas the county would not be created from part of Marion county until 1833. It was founded by Issac Bland, Robert Sinclair, and Edward White—the latter constructing the town's first home in February, 1830. The building also doubled as Canton's first business, a tavern. Canton's early history could well be called a tale of two cities. The village of Tully, founded in November, 1834, was just a mile north of fledgling Canton and had a slightly better area for steamboats to anchor. Being the preferred spot to load and unload cargo, Tully slowed Canton's growth for the first two decades of its existence. However a series of floods, especially a major one in 1851, destroyed much of Tully. The few remnants of Tully were destroyed in the early…
Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds
Canton’s post office has been open since 1831. Another post office, Tully, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Canton
1831–today
Tully
1835–1859
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Tully
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Canton
Forest GroveOak BluffZahn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Canton’s history
What year was Canton founded?
In 1830, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Canton’s post office opened in 1831, and the census of 1860 counted 1,496 people here.
How does Canton rank for history?
Canton is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #17 of 247 in Missouri. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Canton?
Three places: the Henderson Hall (listed 1978), the Lincoln School (1983) and the Lock and Dam No. 20 Historic District (2004).
How old are the homes in Canton?
27% of Canton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 8.4% for a Missouri town; the median home was built in 1967.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2015
2015
2015
2013
2012
2008
2007
