Canton, Illinois

Canton, Illinois
City
Parlin Library
Motto:  "We do that here"
Location of Canton in Fulton County, Illinois.
Canton, Illinois Location within Fulton County Canton, Illinois Canton, Illinois (Illinois)
Coordinates: 40°33′28″N 90°2′3″W
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Fulton
Townships	Canton, Buckheart
Founded	1825
Incorporated	1837
Government
• Type	Mayor–council
• Mayor	Kent McDowell
Area
• Total	8.01 sq mi (20.76 km2)
• Land	7.86 sq mi (20.35 km2)
• Water	0.16 sq mi (0.41 km2)
Elevation	640 ft (200 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	13,242
• Density	1,685.16/sq mi (650.62/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP code	61520
Area code	309
FIPS code	17-11007
GNIS ID	2393732
Website	www.cantonillinois.org

Canton is the largest city in Fulton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,242 at the 2020 census, down from 14,704 at the 2010 census. The Canton Micropolitan Statistical Area covers all of Fulton County; it is in turn, part of the wider Peoria–Canton, IL Combined Statistical Area (CSA).

Geography

Canton is located in northeastern Fulton County at 40°33′28″N 90°02′03″W. Illinois Routes 9 and 78 pass through the downtown together. IL 9 leads east 8 miles (13 km) to Banner near the Illinois River and west 27 miles (43 km) to Bushnell, while IL 78 leads north 10 miles (16 km) to Farmington and south 11 miles (18 km) to Little America in the Illinois River valley.

According to the 2010 census, Canton has a total area of 8.063 square miles (20.88 km²), of which 7.9 square miles (20.46 km²) (or 97.98%) is land and 0.163 square miles (0.42 km²) (or 2.02%) is water.

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 the devastating tornado of 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 a F-3 tornado on July 23, 1975. Two people were killed, and the storm, deemed the 1975 Canton Tornado, caused major damage to the downtown area.

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 4 miles (6 km) 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 Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and a $1.1 million grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation for infrastructure improvements near the plant. Scott Eells, the chief operating officer for Cook Group, has said that the factory will eventually be 45,000 square feet (4,200 m²), with more than 300 employees. Bill Cook had previously announced he was buying and renovating several old Canton buildings, including the 1883 Randolph Building on the town square. Cook purchased four buildings in downtown Canton, a shopping center, the site where the International Harvester plant was located as well as constructing the new Canton Harvester Inn boutique hotel and another factory—COOK Polymer. The Lewis Pharmacy Building was purchased and restored. The Randolph Building is another Canton purchase made by Cook. The main floor offers store fronts and there are apartments for rent on the second level. Also purchased is the Fulton Square Shopping Center.

On September 10, 2009, a baby was born. His name was Jaxson Leigh Rumler. He was the most handsome boy Canton had ever seen. His mother and father, Rachel Taylor and Ted Rumler were very proud of their baby, and they began to raise him to be a legend. Jaxson wasn't alone though; he had 4 other siblings. Sophia Anne Marie Rumler, Rylee Demott, Madison Wefenstette, and Evan Leigh Rumler. Sophia is wildly known around Canton for beating Jaxson when he goes into her room without permission. She is the only one who still lives with him. And she likes to play Roblox a lot. Rylee is another of Jaxson's sisters, she plays volleyball and everyone in Canton finds her attractive. One of her most notable moments was when Jaxson had posted a Snapchat story of her hitting the Griddy in his kitchen. Madison is the most forgettable out of the five. She does not live in Canton and not many people even know she exists. Finally, we come to Jaxson's last sibling, Evan. He again is not very known around Canton, but Jaxson has said that he was on the News once so there's that. Jaxson also has a cousin named Lukas Rumler. He is a 7th grader that attends Ingersoll Middle School. Alot of people bully Lukas because he has a striking resemblance to the Oompa-Loompas from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Jaxson is now 15 years old and goes to Canton High School. Jaxson plays many sports at his school, Football, Basketball, and Track are the ones he plays now but he has stated, "If Canton made a male volleyball team I would join it." One of Jaxson's nicknames around Canton is "J Rummy." It had originated from Ethan Russel's, a friend of Jaxson, Fortnite username "Jroush." Jaxson saw the name, thought of "Rummy" and now it's his nickname. Jaxson believes in Christianity so he attends Youth ministry at Evangelical Free Church of Canton. At youth group he enjoys the games they play, but sometimes he gets a little too excited and he has accidently locked himself in a closet. Jaxson is also known to go to the Canton Family YMCA. There he lifts weights, goes swimming, and play basketball. One day he went there to go swimming with his friends, Kevin Kellus, Jack Mananich, and Jordan Rollet, when Disaster struck in the locker rooms. Nobody truly knows what happened in the between the walls of the YMCA locker rooms, but some people report hearing yelling and screaming coming from inside the locker room. Whatever accorded in the locker rooms had scared the 4 boys for life and they still refuse to say to this day. One of Jaxson's dreadful moments is when he "busted" on while playing Fortnite. He was in a lobby with his friend Kevin Kellus, when a Fortnite "sweat" was in the creative match. His name was Will, not to be confused with William Pomeroy, another kid from Canton. After Jaxson and Kevin left the match Jaxson got a keyboard and lotion and was making fun of the player Will from the match, he was making a joke about how Will is such a "sweat" at Fortnite that he probably nuts on his keyboard and television because he love the game that much. Jaxson then recorded himself rubbing lotion all over his keyboard, television, and body acting as if was human semen yelling, "I just busted a nut." Kevin then screen recorded it and posted it on his Snapchat story. There is a story that there was one last long-lost video of the recording, but it is gone now because it was deleted. The videos that were saved are the middle and ending of the video Jaxson recorded. Kevin was the only other soul to see the start of the video and it'll stay that way. Jaxson and the whole Rumler family are and will still the face of Canton till it falls.

On November 16, 2016, A gas explosion killed an Ameren worker who was fixing a gas leak, sent 12 to the local hospital, and demolished an adjacent building on 1st Avenue that was attached to the Opera House. The next day the Opera House and two other buildings were declared beyond repair and condemned, an additional building declared uninhabitable until repaired, and 48 other buildings noted as damaged but repairable.

Media

Canton has a daily newspaper, The Daily Ledger, and three radio stations: WBYS and WPZA, and WILP, known as Q98.1. There is also a weekly newspaper, "The Fulton Democrat", and a weekly shopping publication, "The Independent Shopper".

Popular culture

On September 13, 1967, Los Angeles rock band The Doors played a concert at Canton High School. The Canton audience reportedly reacted with mostly shocked silence at Jim Morrison's stage antics.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1840	762		—
1850	1,568		105.8%
1860	2,373		51.3%
1870	3,308		39.4%
1880	3,762		13.7%
1890	5,604		49.0%
1900	6,564		17.1%
1910	10,453		59.2%
1920	10,928		4.5%
1930	11,718		7.2%
1940	11,577		−1.2%
1950	11,927		3.0%
1960	13,588		13.9%
1970	14,217		4.6%
1980	14,626		2.9%
1990	13,922		−4.8%
2000	15,288		9.8%
2010	14,704		−3.8%
2020	13,242		−9.9%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the 2020 census there were 13,242 people, 5,154 households, and 2,871 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,652.15 inhabitants per square mile (637.90/km²). There were 5,863 housing units at an average density of 731.50 per square mile (282.43/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.93% White, 8.11% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.88% from other races, and 3.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.69% of the population.

There were 5,154 households, out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.94% were married couples living together, 7.55% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.30% were non-families. 37.23% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.52% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 2.21.

The city's age distribution consisted of 16.4% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,362, and the median income for a family was $61,528. Males had a median income of $44,583 versus $24,403 for females. The per capita income for the city was $30,144. About 14.5% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.6% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

• Granville Barrere (1829–1889), U.S. Representative from Illinois
• Ethan Blackaby (1940–), Major League Baseball outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves
• Tony Blazine (1912–1963), NFL football player (1935–1941)
• Burnett M. Chiperfield (1870–1940), U.S. Representative from Illinois
• Silas B. Cobb, industrialist (born in Vermont)
• William "Bill" Cook (1931–2011), medical device entrepreneur and historic preservationist, founder of the Cook Group
• Dave Downey (born 1941), basketball player for University of Illinois
• Tim Drummond (1941–2015), bass guitarist
• Ralph Dunn (1900–1968), film, television, and stage actor
• Charles Duryea (1861–1938), automobile manufacturer
• Bill Edley (born 1948), Illinois state legislator and businessman
• Lee Eyerly (1892–1963), civil aviation pioneer and amusement ride manufacturer
• Jack Fisk (1945–), Academy Award-nominated production designer and art director
• R. Thomas Flynn (1938–), retired president of Monroe Community College
• James "Boomer" Grigsby (1981–), fullback with the Kansas City Chiefs (2005–2007) and Miami Dolphins (2008)
• Mike Grzanich, pitcher for the Houston Astros
• Harry Jacobs (1937–), linebacker at Bradley University and for the New England Patriots and Buffalo Bills
• Elizabeth A. Kovachevich, United States District Court judge
• Elizabeth Magie (1866–1948), inventor of The Landlord's Game, the precursor to Monopoly
• Louisa McCall (1824–1907), pioneer bank director
• Barbara Mertz (1927–2013), mystery novelist
• Steven R. Nagel (1946–2014), astronaut
• Raymond Phineas Stearns (1904–1970), historian
• Ian Wolfe (1896–1992), television and movie actor, poet

External links

• City of Canton official website
• History of Canton Township