Canton is a town in Oxford County
, Maine
, United States
. The population was 1,121 at the
2000 census. Located beside Lake
Anasagunticook, Canton is a summer recreational area.
History
Canton Point was the site of Rockameko, the headquarters of the
Anasagunticook (or
Androscoggin)
Abenaki Indians. It is said the
tribe had cleared to raise
corn, but in 1757
they were wiped out by
smallpox. The land
became part of a grant the
Massachusetts General Court
awarded to Captain Joseph Phipps and 63 other soldiers for their
services during the
French and
Indian War.
Called Phipps-Canada, it would be
incorporated in 1795 as Jay
in honor of
John Jay, the first chief justice of the
U.
S. Supreme Court. On February 5,
1821, Canton was set off from Jay and
incorporated, named after Canton, Massachusetts
.
Settlement began in the early 1790s when William Livermore, William
French, Joseph Coolidge and Alexander Shepherd arrived.
Others
followed, principally from Massachusetts
. The surface of the town is uneven in the
outskirts, but smooth and level at Canton Point, where the soil was
considered unsurpassed in the state for
agriculture. The outlet of Lake Anasagunticook
provided
water power for industry, and
Gustavus Hayford settled here in 1814. In addition to a
log cabin, he built a
sawmill and
gristmill.
First called Hayford Mills, it would be renamed Canton Mills, and
now Canton. In the 19th-century, it had a
machine shop to manufacture
farm implements, a
tinware factory and an
iron
foundry. It remains the business center. The
Maine Central Railroad passed
through the town in the late 1850s, carrying freight but also
tourists. The community developed as a resort area for
camp.
In December 2005 the town began a project to relocate the town
center and about 60 homes on the
floodplains surrounding the
Androscoggin River due to frequent spring
flooding. Proposals have been floated to
replace the vacated lots with
parkland or
nature trails.
Notable residents
Geography
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of
30.3 square miles (78.4 km²), of which, 28.9 square
miles (75.0 km²) of it is land and 1.3 square miles
(3.4 km²) of it (4.36%) is water. Situated beside Lake
Anasagunticook, Canton is drained by Whitney Brook and the
Androscoggin River.
The town is crossed by state routes 108 and 140.
It borders the towns
of Jay to the northeast, Hartford
to the
south, Peru
to the west,
and Dixfield
to the northwest.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 1,121
people, 400 households, and 273 families residing in the town. The
population density was 38.7
people per square mile (15.0/km²). There were 476 housing units at
an average density of 16.4/sq mi (6.4/km²). The racial makeup
of the town was 99.11%
White,
0.09%
African
American, 0.18%
Native
American, 0.54%
Asian, and
0.09% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.80% of the
population.
There were 400 households out of which 33.3% had children under the
age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were
married
couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no
husband present, and 31.8% were non-families. 25.0% of all
households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living
alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size
was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the town the population was spread out with 23.9% under the age
of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to
64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.6 males. For every
100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,625, and the
median income for a family was $40,469. Males had a median income
of $31,607 versus $21,094 for females. The
per capita income for the town was
$14,065. About 14.0% of families and 19.4% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including 23.9%
of those under age 18 and 22.5% of those age 65 or over.
Site of interest
- Canton Historical Society
References
Further reading
External links
Wikis
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