Canton

History

Before 1820, the area of Madison County, Mississippi was Choctaw territory. With the 1820 Treaty of Doak's Stand the land became the property of the United States Government. However, this treaty caused dissent at the Western borders of Arkansas, where the displaced Choctaw people began to settle, and in 1830 the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit resolved the matter. Much of Canton is on the National Register of Historic Places. The courthouse square is a historic shopping district and host to the Canton Flea Market. The picturesque Georgian courthouse is particularly notable and often appears in photographic exhibits of the South. The east side of town is a large part of the historic district with many homes. At the time of the Civil Rights Movement, The Canton Freedom House was established when, in 1963, grocery store owners George and Rembert Washington, allowed George Raymond, a Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organizer, to use a rental property to live and work in. The Freedom House became the target of segregationists, but remains in use by CORE.

Geography

Canton is in central Madison County northeast of Jackson. Canton is bordered to the south by the city of Gluckstadt. U.S. Route 51 passes through the center of the city as Liberty Street and Union Street, leading southwest to Jackson and north-northeast to Pickens. Mississippi Highway 16 passes through the city center on East Peace Street and North Liberty Street, leading east to Carthage and northwest to Yazoo City. MS 22 has its eastern terminus in the center of Canton and leads west to Flora. MS 43 passes through the east side of Canton, leading northeast to Kosciusko and southeast to Pelahatchie. Interstate 55 passes through the west side of the city, with access from Exits 118 (Nissan Parkway) and Exit 119 (MS 22). I-55 leads southwest to Jackson and north to Grenada. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city of Canton has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.38%, are water. |source 2 = National Weather Service }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,406
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,395
• Great Egret

  Ardea alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,301
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  1,294
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,255
• Great Blue/Cocoi Heron

  Ardea herodias Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,202
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,148
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,046

Most recent

• M 3 — 2025-03-15
  5 km NNE of Magee, Mississippi
• M 2.5 — 2024-11-28
  12 km SE of Canton, Mississippi
• M 2.8 — 2019-08-09
  Mississippi
• M 2.6 — 2015-08-17
  9 km N of Madison, Mississippi
• M 3.2 — 2015-06-29
  6 km SSW of Canton, Mississippi
• M 3 — 2015-05-03
  8 km WSW of Canton, Mississippi