Canton dates to 1805, and 42% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #26 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
41 places in town are on the National Register, among them the William McKinley Tomb, a National Historic Landmark, and three historic districts with 276 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1830.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1809.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 97% of U.S. towns, #26 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Canton’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 Canton’s 45.4 sits above most of its state (88% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 317 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% 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 (±1.8 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1805.
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.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Canton was founded in 1805 when its plat was recorded at New Lisbon, Ohio, on November 15, 1805, by surveyor Bezaleel Wells, who later served in the Ohio Senate.
Canton was likely named as a memorial to Captain John O'Donnell, an Irish merchant marine with the British East India Company whom Wells admired. O'Donnell named his estate in Maryland after the Chinese port city of Guangzhou, formerly romanized as Canton. O'Donnell was the first person to transport goods from Guangzhou to Baltimore. The name selected by Wells may also have been influenced by the Huguenot use of the word "canton", which meant a division of a district containing several communes.
Passages that mention Canton, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The nation's memorial to William McKinley, erected at Canton, Ohio1913Read the page →
Read the text
Canton Citizens' Committee arranged in the most thorough and ample manner possible to accommodate the largest number of visitors available space would permit. The spacious plaza known as the "public square" of Canton was selected as an appropriate point for the review of such organized bodies as should be invited, and here was built a stand to accommodate the Speaker's party, the Trustees of the Memorial Association and their friends, together with the especial guests of the Citizens' Committee of
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Mr. Snyder moved from East Canton, the place of his birth, to the city of Canton, subsequently spent four years in Chicago and is now a resident of North Canton, Ohio. He first worked as a paper boy, carrying the Canton Repository to residents on North Market street for three years, while later he was employed in the steel mill of the Central Alloy Company. Prior to becoming identified with the legal profession he engaged in teaching in grade and high schools near Otis, Colorado, for one term and he also taught
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio1881 · page 367Read the page →
Read the text
His remains were brought to Canton and interred in the cemetery west of the city. During liis pastorate in 1850, a lielfry was attached to the cluirch edifice and a bell purchased, the one still in use ; in 1853, a parsonage was erected at a cost of $2,200 ; in 1857, the church was incorporated under the title of " The First Presbyterian (cluirch of Canton;" in ]85(!,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
of the twenty-first district of Rotary Clubs, comprising the major portion of the state of Ohio, assuming the office July 1, 1928. In this connection a surprise was sprung on Mr. Markley by his fellow Rotarians of Canton, who, on April 24, 1928, printed in the Canton Daily News a full-page “booster” for him for district governor. Among the many complimentary things said of him in that article was the following: ‘‘Election of Rotarian Markley as district governor brings to him a well earned and deserved
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
Canton, 1805 to 1987
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Canton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1901Canton 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.
Every building
Canton, building by building, 1887–1914
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.
In 1805, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Canton’s post office opened in 1809, and the census of 1830 counted 1,257 people here.
How does Canton rank for history?
Canton is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #26 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 Canton?
41 listings: 38 buildings, among them the William McKinley Tomb (a National Historic Landmark since 1975), and 3 historic districts, the Ridgewood Historic District, the Upper Downtown Canton Historic District and the Hercules Motors Corporation Industrial Complex, with 276 contributing buildings. 317 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Canton?
42% of Canton’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1947.
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 (2), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (41), 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, 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.
★ Landmark
