Canton dates to 1889, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #60 of 290 in North Carolina. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 34 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1900.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1827.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 77% of U.S. towns, #60 of 290 in North Carolina. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Canton’s overall grade.
North Carolina towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical North Carolina town has 12.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Canton’s 90.5 sits above most of its state (74% of North Carolina towns have fewer) while its 40 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±8.0 points). Two sources give 1889.
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Canton, building by building, 1907–1921
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.
This area was long settled by succeeding Indigenous cultures. What is known as the archeological Garden Creek site, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located on the south side of the Pigeon River, approximately seven miles west of Canton. It was inhabited from 8000 BCE by successive cultures of Indigenous peoples. Villages were developed in the Middle Woodland (200-600 CE) and The Southeast Appalachian Mississippian culture (1000 to 1450/1500 CE) periods. The Cherokee people are the most recent Native Americans to occupy this area, which is part of their homelands in the western Carolinas, southeastern Tennessee, and northeastern Georgia. The Cherokee in Western North Carolina are known as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a federally recognized tribe.
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.
In 1889, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Canton’s post office opened in 1827, and the census of 1900 counted 230 people here.
How does Canton rank for history?
Canton is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #60 of 290 in North Carolina. 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 Patton Farm (listed 1980), the Colonial Theater (2000) and the Canton Main Street Historic District (2005).
How old are the homes in Canton?
28% of Canton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±8.0 points), against a typical 4.1% for a North Carolina town; the median home was built in 1960.
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 (4), Wikidata (1), 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.
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