City of Canton Ohio
—  City  —
Skyline of downtown Canton
Nickname(s): Hall of Fame City
Location within the state of Ohio
Coordinates: 40°48′18″N 81°22′33″W / 40.805°N 81.37583°W / 40.805; -81.37583Coordinates: 40°48′18″N 81°22′33″W / 40.805°N 81.37583°W / 40.805; -81.37583
Country	United States
State	Ohio
County	Stark
Founded	1805
Incorporated	1815 (village)
–	1854 (city)
Government
• Mayor	William J. Healy II (D) [1]
Area
• City	20.6 sq mi (53.3 km2)
• Land	20.6 sq mi (53.3 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,060 ft (323 m)
Population (2010)[2][3]
• City	73,007
• Density	3,932/sq mi (1,518.2/km2)
• Metro	408,005
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	44700-44799
Area code(s)	330/234
FIPS code	39-12000[4]
GNIS feature ID	1048580[5]
Website	www.cantonohio.gov

Canton is the county seat of Stark County^[6] in northeastern Ohio, approximately 24 miles (39 km) south of Akron^[7] and 60 miles (97 km) south of Cleveland.^[8]

The City of Canton is the largest incorporated area in the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the Canton-Massillon metropolitan area, which includes all of Stark and Carroll counties, had a population of 404,422 .

Founded in 1805 on the West and Middle Branches of the Nimishillen Creek, Canton became a manufacturing center because of its numerous railroad lines. After the decline of heavy manufacturing, the city's industry diversified into service economy, including retailing, education, finance, and healthcare.

According to the 2010 census, Canton's population declined 9.7%, down to 73,007 residents.^[2] Despite this decline, the 2010 figure actually had moved Canton up from 9th to 8th place among Ohio cities, as nearby Youngstown in neighboring Mahoning County, once considerably more populous than Canton, had suffered a larger decline.^[2]

Canton is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the McKinley National Memorial, the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum, the First Ladies National Historic Site, and is the terminus of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad.

History[link]

Burial site of President William McKinley

Canton was founded in 1805. Cantonrep.com quotes Kim Kenney, the curator of the William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, whose information came from E.T. Heald's series, The Stark County Story, as saying that Canton was incorporated as a village in 1822, and then as a city in 1838.^[9]

Bezaleel Wells, the surveyor who divided the land of the town, named it after Canton (a traditional name for Guangzhou), China. The name was a memorial to a trader named John O'Donnell, whom Wells admired. O'Donnell had named his Maryland plantation after the Chinese city, as he had been the first person to transport goods from there to Baltimore.

Canton was the adopted home of President William McKinley. Born in Niles, McKinley first practiced law in Canton around 1867, and was prosecuting attorney of Stark County from 1869 to 1871. The city was his home during his successful campaign for Ohio governor, the site of his front-porch presidential campaign of 1896 and the campaign of 1900. Canton is now the site of the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum and the McKinley National Memorial, dedicated in 1907.

Geography[link]

Address system[link]

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.

This system extends into Stark County but is not shared by the cities of Massillon, East Canton or North Canton, which have their own internal address grids.

Topography[link]

Canton is located at 40°48′18″N 81°22′33″W / 40.805°N 81.37583°W / 40.805; -81.37583 (40.804958, −81.375792)^[10], at an elevation of 1060 feet (323 m).^[11] Nimishillen Creek and its East, Middle and West Branches flow through the city.^[12]

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.^[13][14]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.6 square miles (53 km²), of which 20.5 square miles (53 km²) is land and 0.05% is water.

Climate[link]

Canton has a humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfa), typical of much of the Midwestern United States, with very warm, humid summers and cold winters. Winters tend to be cold, with average January high temperatures of 33 °F (1 °C), and average lows of 19 °F (−7 °C), with considerable variation in temperatures. During a typical January, high temperatures of over 50 °F (10 °C) are just as common as low temperatures of below 0 °F (−18 °C). Snowfall is lighter than the snowbelt areas to the north. Akron-Canton Airport generally averages 47.1 inches (120 cm) of snow per season. Springs are short with rapid transition from hard winter to warm, sometimes humid and muggy summers. Summers tend to be warm, sometimes hot, with average July high temperatures of 82 °F (28 °C), and average July low of 62 °F (17 °C). Summer weather is more stable, generally humid with thunderstorms fairly common. Temperatures reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C) about 9 times each summer, on average.^[15] 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 104°F (40°C) was established on August 6, 1918, and the all-time record low of −25 °F (−32 °C) was set on January 19, 1994.^[16]

Demographics[link]