Canton

Sister cities

• Monterrey

History

Canton was founded in 1805 when its plat was recorded at New Lisbon, Ohio, on November 15, 1805, by surveyor Bezaleel Wells, who later served in the Ohio Senate. Canton was likely named as a memorial to Captain John O'Donnell, an Irish merchant marine with the British East India Company whom Wells admired. O'Donnell named his estate in Maryland after the Chinese port city of Guangzhou, formerly romanized as Canton. O'Donnell was the first person to transport goods from Guangzhou to Baltimore. The name selected by Wells may also have been influenced by the Huguenot use of the word "canton", which meant a division of a district containing several communes. Through Wells' efforts and promotion, Canton was designated the county seat of Stark County upon its division from Columbiana County in 1809 on January 1. Canton was incorporated as a village in 1822 and reincorporated as a city in 1838. Wells donated his personal holdings in the city to Canton; these holdings would become the Christ United Presbyterian Church, Timken Vocational High School and McKinley Park (originally a cemetery). Canton is now the site of the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum and the McKinley National Memorial, dedicated in 1907. President McKinley's impact on Canton as his adopted home is still reflected today in many different ways, and he remains the namesake of McKinley Senior High School of the Canton City School System. On June 16, 1918, Eugene V. Debs delivered the keynote speech at the annual Ohio Socialist Convention held in Canton's Nimisilla Park. At the time, Debs had been a four-time candidate for president and was considered the country's leading socialist and labor organizer. During his speech he decried America's involvement in the First World War, saying, "They…

Geography

Canton is located at an elevation of . Nimishillen Creek and its East, Middle and West Branches flow through the city. Canton is bordered by Plain Township and North Canton to the north, Meyers Lake and Perry Township to the west, Canton Township to the South, and Nimishillen Township, Osnaburg Township and East Canton to the east. Annexations were approved in December 2006 extending Canton's eastern boundary to East Canton's border. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.07%) is water. Fall usually is the driest season with many clear, warm days and cool nights. The all-time record high in the Akron-Canton area of was established on August 6, 1918, and the all-time record low of was set on January 19, 1994. Canton's street layout forms the basis for the system of addresses in Stark County. Canton proper is divided into address quadrants (NW, NE, SW, SE) by Tuscarawas Street (dividing N and S) and Market Avenue (dividing E and W). Due to shifts in the street layout, the E–W divider becomes Cleveland Avenue south of the city, merging onto Ridge Road farther out. The directionals are noted as suffixes to the street name (e.g. Tuscarawas St W, 55th Street NE). Typically within the city numbered streets run east and west and radiate from the Tuscarawas Street baseline, while named avenues run north and south. * Applecrest * Avondale * Colonial Heights * Crystal Park * Downtown * Dueber * Edgefield * Gibbs * Harrison Hills * Hills and Dales * Harter Heights * Lathrop * Market Heights * Mt. Vernon * Ridgewood * Plain Center Estates * Sherrick Road Corridor * Shorb * Summit * Vassar Park * West Branch Park * West Park * Westbrook Veterans Memorial Park The Ridgewood Historic District is a historic…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,605
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  10,068
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,775
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  8,291
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  8,101
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,703
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  7,332
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,268

Most recent

• M 3 — 2024-03-30
  2 km SSW of Maple Ridge, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2022-01-27
  2 km NW of Lakeline, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2022-01-04
  3 km NW of Timberlake, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2021-11-19
  2 km NW of Sherrodsville, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2021-10-28
  1 km NW of Sherrodsville, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2019-12-07
  1 km N of Willowick, Ohio