Canal Fulton’s post office opened in 1830, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 88% of U.S. towns · #179 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 77 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Canal Fulton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Canal Fulton’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Canal Fulton is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #179 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Canal Fulton’s overall grade.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Canal Fulton’s 144 sits above most of its state (95% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 77 historic buildings outnumber those of 88% 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 (±5.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Canal Fulton’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Canal Fulton traces its history to three villages that developed along the Tuscarawas River. Milan was platted on March 23, 1814, by Matthew Rowland who arrived by ox team. It was the first settlement west of the Tuscarawas River in Stark County. Fulton was platted on May 16, 1826, changed its name to Canal Fulton in 1832, and later incorporated as a village. The present name is an amalgamation of the Ohio Canal and the name of a local pioneer, Ben Fulton. In 1843, President John Quincy Adams visited.
Passages that mention Canal Fulton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A standard history of Stark County, Ohio1916 · page 521Read the page →
Read the text
Canal Fulton Canal Fulton is located in the northwestern corner of Stark County in Lawrence Township. The town as originally laid out in 1814 was located on the west side of the Tuscarawas River and was called Milan.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio1881 · page 784Read the page →
Read the text
action by learning telegraphy at Russell Station. This tiusiness he gave his attention to for seven years, acting as station agent and operator in Canal Fulton for the C, T. V. & W. E. R. In Jamiary, 1S81. he embarked in trade with Mr. Martin, and to that lousiness he is devoting his exclusive attention. Mi-.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A standard history of Stark County, Ohio1916 · page 691Read the page →
Read the text
at Dalton, Massillon, Bolivar and Wilmot, and next came to Canal Fulton, Stark County, where May 10, 1877, he was admitted to the bar, he having been preparing for the legal profession while discharging the duties of his ministerial work. At Canal Fulton he began the practice of law and became one of the prominent men of the community, serving for six years as mayor and for several terms as justice of the peace.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio1881 · page 780Read the page →
Read the text
F. D. LIGGETT, clothing, Canal Fulton; is one of the prominent business men of Canal Fulton, notwithstanding the fact that his con nections there are of recent date. Mr. Liggett came to Fulton in 1874, from Center Co., Penn., where he had fonnerly been engaged in the milling and flouring business; he associated himself in partnership with John Mob
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.
Timeline
Canal Fulton, 1830 to 1910
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
Between 978 and 5,479 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Canal Fulton’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Canal Fulton’s post office has been open since 1830.
Hamlets and corners on the map
West Fulton
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Canal Fulton
Old MethodistSaint PhillipsUnion
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Canal Fulton’s history
What year was Canal Fulton founded?
The Canal Fulton post office opened in 1830, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Canal Fulton rank for history?
Canal Fulton is more historic than 88% of U.S. towns, #179 of 993 in Ohio. 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 Canal Fulton?
One place: the Canal Fulton Historic District (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Canal Fulton?
15% of Canal Fulton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.9 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1979.
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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
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