Canton

History

Canton was founded in 1825 by settler Isaac Swan, who believed his new town and Canton, China, were antipodes. Swan, his infant child, and three other people died in a devastating tornado in June 1835. "Isaac Swan and his child were found in the wreckage of their cabin, the baby dying in its mother's arms," leading some to conclude that the tornado represented divine retribution for the city allowing a circus performance the previous week. The city was hit by another tornado, this one an F-3, on July 23, 1975. Two people were killed, and the storm, deemed the 1975 Canton Tornado, caused major damage to the downtown area. On September 13, 1967, Los Angeles rock band The Doors played a concert at Canton High School. Much of the city, particularly the northern portion, has been undermined by room and pillar extraction of coal that took place in the 1800s. Central Illinois Energy, a locally financed cooperative, began planning for a corn-fermentation ethanol plant in 2002. Construction and finance delays resulted in its opening in 2007, approximately south of the city. Beset by financial problems and construction delays on the plant, the cooperative declared bankruptcy. Central Illinois Energy's assets were bought by a private company. Construction was completed, and the plant began production in the summer of 2008. It was renamed Riverland Biofuels. In December 2008, Cook Medical announced that it would open a new medical device factory at the old International Harvester site. Company owner William "Bill" Cook had grown up in Canton and wanted to do something to help revitalize his home town community. Some of the costs related to Cook Medical were planned to be paid for with state funds: a $750,000 Community Development Assistance Program grant from the Illinois…

Geography

Canton is located in northeastern Fulton County at . Illinois Routes 9 and 78 pass through the downtown together. IL 9 leads east to Banner near the Illinois River and west to Bushnell, while IL 78 leads north to Farmington and south to Little America in the Illinois River valley. According to the 2010 census, Canton has a total area of , of which (or 97.98%) is land and (or 2.02%) is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,795
• Mute Swan

  Cygnus olor (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  1,739
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,643
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,431
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,425
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,227
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,173
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,045

Largest nearby schools

• Ingersoll Middle School
  Middle · Canton · 645 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Canton High School
  High · Canton · 641 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Westview Elementary School
  Elementary · Canton · 398 students · 16.6:1 ratio
• Eastview Elementary School
  Elementary · Canton · 265 students · 11:1 ratio
• Lincoln Elementary School
  Elementary · Canton · 201 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• Cuba Elem School
  Elementary · Cuba · 183 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Cuba Sr High School
  High · Cuba · 129 students · 9.9:1 ratio
• Cuba Middle School
  Middle · Cuba · 87 students · 10.9:1 ratio