Canton, Texas
Encyclopedia
Canton is a city in Van Zandt County
Van Zandt County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 48,140 people, 18,195 households, and 13,664 families residing in the county. The population density was 57 people per square mile . There were 20,896 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 5,142. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 of Van Zandt County
Van Zandt County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 48,140 people, 18,195 households, and 13,664 families residing in the county. The population density was 57 people per square mile . There were 20,896 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...

.

History

Canton was surveyed as early as 1840 by a company of men under Dr. W. P. King. The community stands on the original survey of Jesse Stockwell, who arrived in the area at that time. No settlement was made until 1850, when the town was laid out and named by settlers moving from Old Canton in Smith County
Smith County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 174,706 people, 65,692 households, and 46,904 families residing in the county. The population density was 188 people per square mile . There were 71,701 housing units at an average density of 77 per square mile...

. The first district courthouse at Canton opened in 1850, and a post office, the county's fourth, was established in that year.

When the Texas and Pacific Railway
Texas and Pacific Railway
The Texas and Pacific Railway Company was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California....

 was built across the county in 1872, it missed Canton by ten miles, and the citizens of Wills Point persuaded county officials to move the county seat there. In the resulting dispute, in 1877 armed residents of Canton went to Wills Point to recover the records, and the county judge wired Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...

 Richard B. Hubbard
Richard B. Hubbard
Richard Bennett Hubbard, Jr. was the 16th Governor of Texas from 1876 to 1879 and United States Envoy to Japan from 1885 to 1889. He was a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War and was a member of the Democratic Party.-Early years:Hubbard was the son of Richard Bennett and Serena Hubbard...

 for aid. The Supreme Court of Texas finally decided in favor of Canton. Unwilling to use the railroad at Wills Point, Canton businessmen established Edgewood
Edgewood, Texas
Edgewood is a town in Van Zandt County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,348 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Edgewood is located at ....

, ten miles (16 km) to the northwest of town, and built an extension to the railroad at a siding formerly called Stevenson.

Property for the town's first school, the Canton Academy, was acquired in 1853. Sid S. Johnson began publication of the Canton Weekly Times, the county's first newspaper, in 1860. A Grange was founded in 1876. By 1890 Canton had a population of 421, flour mills, sawmills, cotton gins, and a bank. Brick buildings were under construction by 1892, and a new brick courthouse was completed in 1894. Iron ore and anthracite coal were discovered in 1887 and 1891. By 1896 the town reached a population high of 800 and had several churches, a steam gristmill and gin, two weekly newspapers, three general stores and two hotels. But the population had fallen back to 421 by 1904.

Canton was incorporated in 1919, and elected a mayor and aldermen. Despite the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

, development of the Van oilfield after 1929 brought further expansion. A Public Works Administration
Public Works Administration
The Public Works Administration , part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Recovery Act in June 1933 in response to the Great Depression...

 project in the 1930s saw the completion of a new courthouse. In 1933 area schools registered 500 white and twenty-eight black students. The population reached 715 in 1940, but dwindled again after 1949. In the 1950s, local business included a sweet-potato curing plant, an ice factory, a concrete-tile factory, lumberyards, and a cotton gin. Expansion of the Canton city limits doubled its territory in the 1960s. In 1970 the community had a municipal lake with recreational facilities, seven churches, a school, a bank, a library, a newspaper, and eighty-six businesses. The population doubled between 1960 and 1970 from roughly 1,000 to 2,000, and reached nearly 3,000 by 1990. The population was 3,292 in 2000. However, when the city council decided to recount the population, they found that the town had 5100 residents instead of the previous census total of 3,292.

Canton is known for its First Monday Trade Days
First Monday Trade Days
First Monday Trade Days is a monthly flea market held in Canton, Texas. The market is actually held on the Thursday through Sunday preceding the first Monday of each month. It purports to be the largest and oldest continually operated flea market in the United States, and is a highly popular...

. According to various sources, the tradition began with district court meetings held on the first Monday of each month, or with the monthly visit of neighbors in the Confederacy period. The custom began with the swapping of surplus stock by barter and grew to include casual bargaining for or swapping of dogs, antiques, junk, and donkeys on a 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) grounds. It is so immensely popular, that Canton goes from a town of 5,100 to a town of over 300,000 during the first Monday weekend, making it the largest flea market in the world. In the past, due to the success of First Monday, the city of Canton had no property tax, however, as of 2006, that is no longer the case.

Canton also holds The Van Zandt County Fair and Rodeo and an Annual Bluegrass Festival, which takes place in August. Between 2003 and 2007, Canton was the host community for the United States Equestrian Drill Championship (Super Ride), which showcases top color guard and mounted drill teams from throughout the country.

Geography

Canton is located at 32°33'13" North, 95°52'0" West (32.553576, -95.866710).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 5.6 square miles (14.6 km²), of which, 5.2 square miles (13.4 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.1 km²) of it is water. The total area is 7.80% water.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2003, there are 3,292 people (as of today around 5,100), 1,296 households, and 848 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 is 633.8 people per square mile (244.9/km²). There are 1,486 housing units at an average density of 286.1 per square mile (110.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 94.14% White, 2.73% African American, 0.52% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 1.09% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 3.49% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 1,296 households out of which 27.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% are married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 10.9% have a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% are non-families. 31.4% of all households are made up of individuals and 19.2% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.30 and the average family size is 2.87.

In the city the population is spread out with 21.4% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 25.9% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females there are 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $32,098, and the median income for a family is $42,500. Males have a median income of $32,117 versus $20,598 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city is $17,351. 11.3% of the population and 7.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.6% of those under the age of 18 and 10.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Education

The City of Canton is served by the Canton Independent School District
Canton Independent School District
Canton Independent School District is a public school district based in Canton, Texas .There are four campuses in Canton ISD - Canton High , Canton Middle , Canton Intermediate , and Canton Elementary ....

. Canton ISD is classified as a 3A school district, by the University Interscholastic League. Canton athletics include football, girls volleyball, cross country, basketball, power lifting, track and field, golf, tennis, softball, and baseball.

State Championship:
Women's Powerlifting 2


Cross Country: 2


Band: 8


Women's Golf: 2

Places of interest

Canton is the home of First Monday Trade Days
First Monday Trade Days
First Monday Trade Days is a monthly flea market held in Canton, Texas. The market is actually held on the Thursday through Sunday preceding the first Monday of each month. It purports to be the largest and oldest continually operated flea market in the United States, and is a highly popular...

, held on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday before the first Monday of every month. It claims to be the oldest and biggest flea market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Canton is also the host city of the annual United States Equestrian Drill Championship

Canton is also home to the only water park in East Texas, located on I-20 just west of Canton.

Canton-Hackney Airport is just north of Canton on I-20

Notable former residents

  • James S. Hogg, who once served as Canton district attorney, was elected governor in 1890.
  • Notorious bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow once lived briefly at the Dixie Hotel, built in 1915.
  • Jerry Hunt
    Jerry Hunt
    Jerry Hunt was an American composer who created works using live electronics partly controlled by his ritualistic performance techniques, influenced by his interest in the occult. He committed suicide in response to terminal cancer...

    , composer, established IRIDA Records
    IRIDA Records
    IRIDA Records was an American classical music record label focusing particularly on contemporary classical music. It was established by Jerry Hunt in 1979, and was based in Canton, Texas. The label released at least seven sound recordings featuring works by Hunt, James Fulkerson, Larry Austin,...

     there in 1979.

Popular culture

On July 21, 2008, Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...

 made a comment on The Colbert Report about John McCain making a campaign stop in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, and "not the crappy Canton in Georgia
Canton, Georgia
Canton is a city in and the county seat of Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958.-Geography:Canton is located at ....

." The comment resulted in a local uproar, which prompted Stephen to apologize for the story during his July 30, 2008, show. This began a running gag
Running gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....

 on the show in which he would apologize to one town and make several jokes at the expense of another town named Canton then repeat the cycle a week later. He went on to insult Canton, Kansas
Canton, Kansas
Canton is a city in McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 748.-19th century:As early as 1875, city leaders of Marion held a meeting to consider a branch railroad from Florence. In 1878, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and parties from Marion...

 (drawing the ire of Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius
Kathleen Sebelius is an American politician currently serving as the 21st Secretary of Health and Human Services. She was the second female Governor of Kansas from 2003 to 2009, the Democratic respondent to the 2008 State of the Union address, and chair-emerita of the Democratic Governors...

) and Canton, South Dakota
Canton, South Dakota
Canton is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. The city was named by Norwegian settler and former legislator James M. Wahl...

 before turning his attention to Canton, Texas, on August 12, 2008. After apologizing to the people of Canton, South Dakota, Colbert called Canton, Texas, an "incorporated outhouse" and "one steaming pile of longhorn dung." This jab at the Texas town had been predicted by Governor Sebelius at the end of her July 31, 2008 remarks. In response to Colbert's comments, a Canton, Texas city councilman joked that he wanted Colbert to come there so he could "mash his nose". On October 28, Colbert turned his attention back to Canton, Ohio after Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

made a campaign stop there, forcing Colbert to find it "crappy".

External links

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