Canton is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

of Cherokee County,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 22,958, up from 7,709 in 2000.

Geography

Canton is located near the center of Cherokee County at (34.227307, −84.494727). The city lies just north of Holly Springs and south of Ball Ground. Interstate 575 passes through the eastern side of the city, with access from exits 14 through 20. Canton is north of downtown

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

via I-575 and

I-75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.76%, is water. The

Etowah River The Etowah River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 waterway that rises northwest of Dahlonega, Georgia, north of Atlanta. On Matthew Carey's 179 ...

, a tributary of the

Coosa River The Coosa River is a tributary of the Alabama River in the U.S. states of Alabama and Georgia. The river is about long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 201 ...

, flows from east to west through the center of the city.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to off ...

, there were 32,973 people, 10,233 households, and 7,138 families residing in the city.

2010 census

Households

As of the 2010 census, there were 22,958 people, 8,204 households, and 5,606 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 9,341 housing units at an average density of . There were 8,204 households, out of which 42.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were headed by married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77, and the average family size was 3.30.

Ethnicity, age, and sex

The racial makeup of the city was 75.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 22.5%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race, 8.9%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.3% Asian, 0.8% Native American, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 10.2% some other race, 2.9% from two or more races. In the city, the population was spread out, with 29.7% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 17.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

Income

For the period 2010–12, the estimated median annual income for a household in the city was $46,691, and the median income for a family was $52,432. Male full-time workers had a median income of $36,971 versus $37,092 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $20,705. About 13.4% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

History

Located in the foothills of the

Blue Ridge Mountains The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virg ...

, the site where Canton would be founded lay in the heart of the original

Cherokee Nation The Cherokee Nation ( Cherokee: ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ ''Tsalagihi Ayeli'' or ᏣᎳᎩᏰᎵ ''Tsalagiyehli''), also known as the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. ...

. During the first 100 years of Georgia's history, Northwest Georgia was generally considered "Indian Country" and was bypassed by settlers going West. Georgia reached an agreement with the federal government in 1802 shortly after the Revolutionary War to relinquish its Western Territory (it claimed the Pacific Ocean as its western boundary) in exchange for the removal of all Indians within its boundaries. Although other tribes had been removed, the Cherokee remained. Since this was the heartland of the Cherokee Nation, the state and nation were reluctant to disturb them. But following the

Georgia Gold Rush The Georgia Gold Rush was the second significant gold rush in the United States and the first in Georgia, and overshadowed the previous rush in North Carolina. It started in 1829 in present-day Lumpkin County near the county seat, Dahlonega, a ...

in 1829, European-American settlers ignored the Indian problems and began to move into the area north of Carrollton and west of the

Chattahoochee River The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the confluence of the Chatt ...

and named it Cherokee. Many members of the Cherokee Nation moved west in 1829, but the majority stayed until removed by federal troops sent into the area during the summer of 1838. The remaining Cherokee were gathered and held in forts until the removal could be completed. Present-day Cherokee County had the largest and most southerly of these forts, Fort Buffington, which stood east of Canton. Today nothing stands to identify its timber structure, but the area is marked by a large piece of green Cherokee marble quarried near Holly Springs. By autumn of 1838, the federal troops had accomplished their mission, and the Cherokee at Fort Buffington were marched off to join other groups on the infamous "

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

," a lengthy march in worsening winter weather to

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans who held aboriginal title to their land as a sovereign ...

west of the Mississippi River. The new settlers chose a site for a permanent county seat and courthouse in 1833, naming it "Etowah". The name was changed to "Cherokee Courthouse" in 1833. In 1834 it was changed to "Canton" (pronounced cant'n), after the Chinese city of

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, which was then known in English as Canton (pronounced ). The name was chosen because a group of citizens had dreams of making the Georgia town a center of the

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...

industry, which was concentrated in China at the time. Though Canton never became a significant silk center, it did become a successful manufacturing community. During the American Civil War, Canton, which had a population of about 200, was burned between the dates of November 1–5, 1864, by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

under the command of Maj. Gen.

William T. Sherman William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. Canton was destroyed by a foraging party of the Ohio 5th Cavalry under the command of Major Thomas T. Heath. At the time the Ohio 5th Cavalry was headquartered in Cartersville. The written order for destruction was given on October 30, 1864, by Brig. General John E. Smith. Union troops were ordered to burn the town because of Confederate guerrilla attacks coming from Canton and directed against the

Western and Atlantic Railroad The Western & Atlantic Railroad of the State of Georgia (W&A) is a railroad owned by the State of Georgia and currently leased by CSX, which CSX operates in the Southeastern United States from Atlanta, Georgia, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was fo ...

near the town of Cassville. The railroad was a vital supply line for the Union Army from the captured city of

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

, to newly captured

. The Union troops identified the Canton home of Governor Joseph E. Brown for destruction. The same Union party destroyed Cassville, the county seat of neighboring

Bartow County Bartow County is located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,901, up from 100,157 in 2010. The county seat is Cartersville. Traditionally considered part of northwest Georgia, ...

, on November 5, 1864, as it has also been a base of guerrilla actions. Cassville never rebuilt, but Canton survived to prosper, as it was the county seat. Over the years, Canton evolved from unsettled territory to a prosperous mill town known the world over for its "Canton Denim". The original county of 1831 now includes 24 counties. The city of Canton remains the county seat. Cherokee Poultry, founded byT.B.Bradshaw was built on Univeter Road in 1955; later sold to Central Soya in 1962. The Canton Cotton Mills, which produced the famous "Canton Denim", closed in 1981. Since then, Canton has grown as the suburbs of Atlanta have expanded northward, and is currently experiencing its period of greatest population growth, which nearly tripled between 2000 and 2010.

City Government

City Government Council and Mayor

The city of Canton is governed by a council-mayor form of government. The six council members and mayor are each elected to four-year terms by city residents. The city is divided into three council wards, with two council members serving from each ward. The mayor is elected

at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...

. The Mayor and Council hold the monthly council meetings on the first and third Thursday of each month at 6:00 p.m. All meetings of the City Government Manager and Council are held in the Council Chambers of City Hall located at 110 Academy Street.

Administration

The Administration Department of the City Government of Canton consists of the City Government Manager, City Government Council, City Government Administration Manager, City Clerk and Administrative Secretaries. The office is located at Canton City Hall at 110 Academy Street in Canton. The City Manager is the Administrative Executive of the City of Canton and is responsible for overseeing daily operations of all City departments. The City Manager is appointed by the City Government Manager and The City Government Council, the governing authority of the city. The City Clerk serves as the Clerk of Council and is responsible for the minutes and records of all meetings. The City Clerk is responsible for serving as custodian of all legal documents for the City.

Infrastructure

Many projects are underway in the city including new construction, renovation, and revitalization. Canton has received millions of dollars in grants for park and sidewalk improvements in the city. The city's public buses have established routes and carry thousands of passengers throughout the city from residential areas to downtown, shopping areas, the medical district, and job sites. The Historic Canton Theatre on Main Street features plays and other special entertainment events throughout the year, injecting new life into the downtown business district. Streets in the downtown area were recently improved, by the removal of parking spaces, as part of the "Streetscapes" program, bringing brick pavers to sidewalks, lamp posts, lush landscaping and intersection upgrades. In May 2004, the city held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Heritage Park, the first phase of the

Greenway. The park covers approximately and has pedestrian and bike trails and a natural

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

. The city used to hold concerts and movies in Heritage Park throughout the summer free of charge to its residents. The city, in partnership with the Metro Atlanta

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, constructed an $8 million community center on Waleska Street contiguous to Heritage Park. Now completed, the community center includes an indoor swimming pool, a gymnasium, wellness center, aerobics studio, childcare facilities and the Cherokee Sports Hall of Fame. Although construction was approved for the facility by a local referendum authorizing a "free" community center, the city decided to operate it through the YMCA. People must become members, thus paying a fee for use. Phase two of the Etowah River Greenway north of Heritage Park consists of recreation fields for softball, baseball, tennis, and soccer. This phase involves approximately of property. In June 2004, the Bluffs Parkway opened off Riverstone Boulevard. This parkway, funded by an $8 million grant from the

Georgia Department of Transportation The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is the organization in charge of developing and maintaining all state and federal roadways in the U.S. state of Georgia. In addition to highways, the department also has a limited role in develop ...

, bisects the Bluffs at Technology Park, owned by Technology Park/Atlanta. It will be home to 15,000

high-tech High technology (high tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or the newest te ...

jobs when built out in 10 years. The technology park includes a satellite campus of Chattahoochee Technical College, which opened in the fall of 2011. The federal Hickory Log Creek Dam project, north of the city center, was approved by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. The construction and ownership of the Hickory Log Creek Raw Water Reservoir will be shared by the

Cobb County Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta, Georgia, Mar ...

/ Marietta Water Authority and the City of Canton on a 75% and 25% respective basis; it was completed in December 2007. This water source will provide of water per day and will be bordered by of park land with picnic and other public areas. In 2009, Canton opened the newly renovated Canton Marketplace. It features a

Super Target Target Corporation (doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a compon ...

as well as a

Kohl's Kohl's (stylized in all caps) is an American department store retail chain, operated by Kohl's Corporation. it is the largest department store chain in the United States, with 1,165 locations, operating stores in every U.S. state except Haw ...

Lowe's Lowe's Companies, Inc. (), often shortened to Lowe's, is an American retail company specializing in home improvement. Headquartered in Mooresville, North Carolina, the company operates a chain of retail stores in the United States and Canada. A ...

Best Buy Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...

Dick's Sporting Goods Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (stylized as "DICK'S Sporting Goods") is an American sporting goods retail company, based in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. The company was established by Richard "Dick" Stack in 1948, and has approximately 854 stores ...

Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...

and more. With the rapid increase in population, restaurants and shopping centers have had a rise in business.

Education

Education in Canton is run by the Cherokee County government and the

state government.

Cherokee County School District

The Cherokee County School District serves grades pre-school to grade twelve, with 23 elementary schools, seven middle schools, and six high schools. As of 2010, the district had 1,766 full-time teachers and over 28,434 students. Schools in Cherokee County include:

Elementary schools

*Arnold Mill Elementary School *Avery Elementary School *Ball Ground Elementary School *Bascomb Elementary School *Boston Elementary School *Canton Elementary School (Closed May 2018) *Carmel Elementary School *Clark Creek Elementary School *Clayton Elementary School *Free Home Elementary School *Hasty Elementary School *Hickory Flat Elementary School *Holly Spring Elementary School *Johnston Elementary School *Knox Elementary School *Liberty Elementary School *Little River Elementary School *Macedonia Elementary School *Mountain Road Elementary School *Oak Grove Elementary School *R.M. Moore Elementary School *Sixes Elementary School *Woodstock Elementary School

Middle schools

*Creekland Middle School * Dean Rusk Middle School *Freedom Middle School- Next to Liberty Elementary School on Bells Ferry Road *Teasley Middle School- *Woodstock Middle School *Mill Creek Middle School *E.T. Booth Middle School

High schools

* Cherokee High School * Etowah High School * Creekview High School * Sequoyah High School * Woodstock High School * River Ridge High School

Higher learning

* Chattahoochee Technical College (Canton Campus)

Transportation

The Cherokee County Airport (FAA LOC ID: 47A) is located adjacent to

I-575 Interstate 575 (I-575) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in the United States, which branches off I-75 in Kennesaw and connects the Atlanta metropolitan area with the North Georgia mountains, extending . I-575 is also the unsigned Stat ...

northeast of downtown Canton. A redevelopment project currently underway includes an already completed terminal, the ongoing lengthening of the runway from its current , a new parallel taxiway, instrument landing equipment, and new hangars. The new facilities will accommodate 200 hangared corporate aircraft and provide 100 tie-downs for smaller aircraft. Interstate 575 goes through Cobb and Cherokee counties, passing through the east side of Canton (roughly north to south), ending just about 10 miles north of the city. Georgia State Route 20 runs east-to-west right through the city just south of the

Georgia State Route 140 State Route 140 (SR 140) is a state highway in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. It connects the Armuchee and Peachtree Corners areas, within portions of Floyd, Bartow, Cherokee, Fulton, Gwinnett counties. Route des ...

also passes close to the center of the city in a northwest to southeast direction.

Notable people

* Joseph E. Brown, headmaster, attorney and politician, Governor of Georgia 1857–1865, and US Senator. From 1844 he lived in Canton, where he became devoted to

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...

. He achieved great wealth in railroads and mining after the Civil War. Brown is the only person ever to have been elected governor of Georgia four times. *

Bill Byrd William Byrd (July 15, 1907 – January 4, 1991) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues. Born in Canton, Georgia, he was a right-handed pitcher. He was named in eight All-Star games for six seasons. Byrd also saw actio ...

, professional pitcher in Negro league baseball *

Mark Anthony Cooper Mark Anthony Cooper (April 20, 1800 – March 17, 1885) was a United States Representative, businessman and lawyer from Georgia. His cousin was U.S. Representative Eugenius Aristides Nisbet. Early Life and Family Cooper was born near Po ...

, entrepreneur, founded the Cooper Ironworks in Etowah in 1847."He purchased the furnace and moved it to the Etowah River in 1847. In 1848 he added a short line railroad from the iron works to Etowah Station on the Western and Atlantic Railroad, WARR
and began building the city of Etowah, Georgia. Almost all of the remains of the city were covered by Lake Allatoona."] *John Hannah (American football), John Hannah, pro football Hall of Famer *Josh Holloway, who played James "Sawyer" Ford on the television series Lost (TV series), ''Lost'', attended Cherokee High School in Canton. * Sonny Landham, film actor and stunt man. He portrayed tracker Billy Sole in the film

Predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill t ...

. * Bruce Miller, former NFL player (

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's Nationa ...

)

References

External links

City of Canton official website
{{authority control Cities in Georgia (U.S. state) Cities in Cherokee County, Georgia County seats in Georgia (U.S. state)