Canton, Illinois

Canton was founded in 1825 by settler Isaac Swan, who believed his new town and Canton, China, were antipodes.^[2]

Swan, his infant child, and three other people died in a devastating tornado in June 1835. "Isaac Swan and his child were found in the wreckage of their cabin, the baby dying in its mother's arms,"^[9][10] 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 another tornado, this one an F-3, on July 23, 1975. Two people were killed, and the storm, deemed the 1975 Canton Tornado, caused major damage to the downtown area.^[11]

On September 13, 1967, Los Angeles rock band The Doors played a concert at Canton High School.^[12]

Much of the city, particularly the northern portion, has been undermined by room and pillar extraction of coal that took place in the 1800s.^[13]

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.^[14]

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.^[15] 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.^[16] 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.^[17]

On November 16, 2016, a gas explosion killed an Ameren worker who was fixing a gas leak,^[18] sent 12 to the local hospital,^[19] 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.^[18]

Canton is located in northeastern Fulton County at 40°33′28″N 90°02′03″W.^[20] 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.^[21]

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".