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BHistory
History · Canton Township

Canton Township dates to 1796, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1942 on, and the census since 1870.

1796founded
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Canton Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Canton Township began

When was Canton Township founded?

1796

Canton Township dates its founding to 1796 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 710 in 18702020 census: 1,936230 years

How historic is Canton Township?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1862.
History grade

What drives Canton Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Canton Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Canton Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1796, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194022.4% of homes (±6.5) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%B+National RegisterNo listings counted · typical PA town 2.1 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
NewerOlder

Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Canton Township’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (25% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1796.
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 (±6.5 points).

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 Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages4 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Canton Township, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1796: 230 years of Canton Township.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Four other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

East Canton
1862–1909
Minnequa
1869–1904
Grover
1873–today
Rutty
1886–1887
Cedar Ledge
1893–1908
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Beech FlatsCedar LedgeEast CantonGroverMinnequa
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Canton Township
A GriffinBeech FlatsEast CantonGroverRuttySpaulding

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Timeline

Canton Township, 1796 to 1942

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1796
    FoundingCanton Township is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1862Post officeThe East Canton post office opens
  5. 1869Post officeThe Minnequa post office opens
  6. 1873Post officeThe Grover post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1904Post officeThe Minnequa post office closes
  9. 1909Post officeThe East Canton post office closes
  10. 1936In the archiveGhost town once supported by tannery near Canton, Pennsylvania
  11. 1942On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story so far

Canton Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Canton Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Canton is a borough in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 1,723 at the 2020 census.

Canton Township was established in 1796. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 2,143 to 1,936 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Canton Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s5 items
Ghost town once supported by tannery near Canton, Pennsylvania1936Ghost town once supported by tannery near Canton, Pen…Farm on submarginal land optioned by Resettlement Administration for wildlife area. Near Canton, Pennsylvania1936Farm on submarginal land optioned by Resettlement Adm…General land view from an elevated point on the wildlife area near Canton, Pennsylvania1936General land view from an elevated point on the wildl…Submarginal land and ramshackle buildings to be torn down for wildlife project. Near Canton, Pennsylvania1936Submarginal land and ramshackle buildings to be torn …Ghost town three miles south of Canton, Pennsylvania. The thirty people now living here are all on relief1936Ghost town three miles south of Canton, Pennsylvania.…
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today9 recent
Canton PA Presby PHS1062014Canton PA Presby PHS106Canton, Pennsylvania2010Canton, PennsylvaniaCanton, Pennsylvania2010Canton, PennsylvaniaCanton, Pennsylvania2010Canton, PennsylvaniaCanton, Pennsylvania2010Canton, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania State Route 4142009Pennsylvania State Route 414Canton, Pennsylvania2009Canton, PennsylvaniaFeed Mill 0092008Feed Mill 009Feed Mill 0052008Feed Mill 005
On the map

Canton Township on the map, 1942 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Canton Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Canton Township on the 1942 USGS mapCanton Township on the 1970 USGS map1942Canton 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 Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Ghost town once supported by tannery near Canton, Pennsylvania
Retake this viewGhost town once supported by tannery near Canton, Pennsylvania, 1936

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Canton Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Canton Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,154

Between 710 and 2,154 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Canton Township’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Canton Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewGhost town once supported by tannery ne…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Armenia TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAlbaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUnion TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLeroy TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMcNett TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townTroy TownshipIts storyB

Questions about Canton Township’s history

What year was Canton Township founded?

In 1796, according to Wikidata. Canton Township’s post office opened in 1862, and the census of 1870 counted 710 people here.

How does Canton Township rank for history?

Canton Township is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. 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.

How old are the homes in Canton Township?

22% of Canton Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1978.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (9), the Library of Congress (5), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.