Canton, New York

Canton is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,995 at the 2010 census.^[1] The town contains two villages: one also named Canton, the other named Rensselaer Falls. The town is named after the great port of Canton (now named Guangzhou) in China.^[2] Canton is the home of St. Lawrence University and SUNY Canton. Canton Central School District is centered in the village of Canton.

History

The first settler arrived in 1800. The town was organized/incorporated on May 14th, 1805 from part of the town of Lisbon. The name Canton was supposedly selected due to contemporary interests in the China trade. Canton was one of the original ten towns of the county. In 1845, the community of Canton was incorporated as a village. The Brick Chapel Church and Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.^[3]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 105.9 square miles (274.3 km²), of which, 104.8 square miles (271.4 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (1.03%) is water.

The Grasse River flows northward through the centre of St. Lawrence County, and the Oswegatchie River flows through the northwest corner. U.S. Route 11 is a northeast-southwest highway, which intersects New York State Route 68 and New York State Route 310 at Canton village.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	1,337		—
1830	2,440		82.5%
1840	3,465		42.0%
1850	4,685		35.2%
1860	6,379		36.2%
1870	6,014		−5.7%
1880	6,275		4.3%
1890	6,096		−2.9%
1900	6,387		4.8%
1910	6,151		−3.7%
1920	6,497		5.6%
1930	6,795		4.6%
1940	6,138		−9.7%
1950	7,652		24.7%
1960	8,935		16.8%
1970	10,348		15.8%
1980	11,568		11.8%
1990	11,120		−3.9%
2000	10,334		−7.1%
2010	10,995		6.4%
Est. 2014	11,214	^[4]	2.0%
U.S. Decennial Census^[5]

As of 2000, the census^[6] reported that there were 10,334 people, 3,198 households, and 2,011 families residing in the town. The population density was 98.6 people per square mile (38.1/km²). There were 3,515 housing units at an average density of 33.5 per square mile (12.9/km²). 91.81% White, 4.49% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 1.02% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.92% of the population. There were 3,198 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town the population was spread out with 18.9% under the age of 18, 29.6% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,875, and the median income for a family was $43,819. Males had a median income of $33,993 versus $25,989 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,896. About 9.2% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

U.S. Route 11 runs through Canton, and as such, is served by Adirondack Trailways, with stops in Gouverneur, Watertown and Syracuse to the west, and Potsdam, Malone and Rouses Point to the east. To the north on New York State Route 68, Ogdensburg borders Canada at the Johnstown crossing, which in turn is an hour from the capital, Ottawa.

Communities and locations in the town

Crary Mills – A hamlet southwest of Canton village.
Brick Chapel – A hamlet south of Canton village on County Road 27.
Canton – A village centrally located in the town by the Grasse River and US-11.
Eddy – A hamlet in the southwest corner of the town on US-11.
Morley – A hamlet on the northern town line by the Grasse River at the intersection of County Roads 14 and 27. The community was originally known as "Long Rapids."
Pyrites – A hamlet in the southwest corner of the town on US-11.
Rensselaer Falls – A village in the northwest corner of the town on County Roads 14 and 15.
St. Lawrence University – A university in Canton village.
SUNY Canton – A state college northwest of Canton village.
Upper and Lower Lakes State Wildlife Area
Woodbridge Corners – A location NY-68 northwest of Canton village.

Notable people

Irving Bacheller, writer and journalist
Charles Edward Bennett, Florida congressman, was born in Canton
Dr. Daniel Campbell, Canton doctor and 1811-1821 the US Postmaster
Theodore Conkey, Wisconsin politician
Marnie Reed Crowell, writer, ecologist
A. Barton Hepburn, financier, philanthropist and U.S. Comptroller of the Currency
Dave Jennings, professional American football player; played for St. Lawrence University
David O'Brien Martin, New York politician and attorney
Frederic Remington, artist
William Pierce Rogers, United States Secretary of State
Silas Wright, New York State Governor

References

1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
↑ http://www.canton.ny.us/
↑ Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Canton (New York).

Municipalities and communities of St. Lawrence County, New York, United States

County seat: Canton

City	Ogdensburg

Towns	Brasher Canton Clare Clifton Colton De Kalb De Peyster Edwards Fine Fowler Gouverneur Hammond Hermon Hopkinton Lawrence Lisbon Louisville Macomb Madrid Massena Morristown Norfolk Oswegatchie Parishville Piercefield Pierrepont Pitcairn Potsdam Rossie Russell Stockholm Waddington

Villages	Canton Gouverneur Hammond Hermon Heuvelton Massena Morristown Norwood Potsdam Rensselaer Falls Richville Waddington

CDPs	Brasher Falls Colton Cranberry Lake DeKalb Junction Edwards Hailesboro Hannawa Falls Madrid Norfolk Parishville Star Lake Winthrop

Hamlets	Crary Mills Helena Massena Center Morley Newton Falls Rooseveltown Wanakena

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