Canton - Ohio - History

Canton goes back to 1769, when the site was bequeathed by a Delaware Indian to a white man and sold in turn to Bezaleel Wells, a surveyor from Steubenville; he in turn laid out the first plot and sold lots in 1806. Canton was the first town to be laid out and settled in Stark County. The same year the first log cabin was erected and the first state road to the southwest opened. In 1807, the first store was established and a tanyard and gristmill started. In 1809, the Government established a Post Office. In 1811, the first schoolhouse was built. In 1815, Canton was incorporated as a village, 1834 as a town, and 1854 as a city.

An Irish trader by the name of Captain John O'Donnell purchased a plantation in Baltimore and named it "The Canton Estate" in commemoration of the fact that he had transported the first cargo to arrive at Baltimore from Canton, China.

Bezaleel Wells was living in Baltimore at the time, and Captain O'Donnell was a hero to him and the other young men of the town. Six weeks before Mr. Wells recorded the plat of Canton in New Lisbon, news of Captain O'Donnell's death reached Steubenville. Therefore, when Mr. Wells recorded the plat and named it, he called it "Canton".

Canton is a city of diversified industries, manufacturing over 1500 different products. It is located in the midst of the greatest steel producing center in the world.

While Canton is one of America's leading industrial areas, it is also an important agricultural area in the State picture. Canton is the center of nationally known dairy products and poultry farms as well as truck gardens which serve many communities in the State. Its dairy farms provide the largest milk sheds for both Canton and Akron metropolitan areas.

Stark County is in a rich agricultural section and has one of the largest and richest vegetable and produce growing sections in the United States.

Among the natural resources in the country are large deposits of bituminous coal, shale, clay, limestone, sand and gravel.

Historically, Stark County is known as the home of President William McKinley. A large National Memorial erected to his memory is located in Canton, and is visited annually by thousands of people. Canton, a city that once relied heavily on the steel industry for its employment, has been declining in population since 1950. Canton, with a population of 84,161, is the county seat of Stark County. It had a peak population in 1950 of 116,000. Total housing units were 35,563. By 1960 the population began to drop slightly, to 113,631 persons living within 14.3 square miles. Housing units had increased to 37,188. A decrease in population with an increase in housing units indicates that this was the beginning of a trend of smaller family sizes that continues today. In 1960 there were 3.3 persons per household. 59.8% of the housing was owner-occupied, the highest owner occupancy rate of this study. Non-white population was 6.1% in 1950 and 9.7% in 1960. 11% of the population was 65 and over.

Suburban shopping centers and malls along with increased mobility began to erode the shopping base of downtown Canton. The first of Canton's expressways was built and a tremendous amount of suburban housing development took place in the 1950's and 1960's.