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Canton, Ohio

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Canton, Ohio
Nickname: 
Hall of Fame City
Location within the state of Ohio
Location within the state of Ohio
CountryUnited States
StateOhio
CountyStark
Government
 • MayorJanet Weir Creighton (R)
Population
 (2000)
 • City80,806
 • Metro
406,934
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Websitehttp://www.cityofcanton.com
Founded1805
Incorporated1838 {village}1854 {city}

Canton is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 80,806, but according to a July 1, 2004 Census estimate, the population has declined to 79,905. Despite this decline, the 2004 figure actually moved Canton up from 9th to 8th place among Ohio cities, as Youngstown, once considerably more populous than Canton, suffered a larger decline. Canton is the county seat of Stark CountyTemplate:GR. The Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area has a total population of 406,934 as of the census of 2000.

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


Geography

Canton is located at 40°48′18″N 81°22′33″W / 40.80500°N 81.37583°W / 40.80500; -81.37583Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (40.804958, -81.375792)Template:GR Elevation: 1100 feet.

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 and Osnaburg Township to the east. If Future Annexations are approved Canton will border The Village of East Canton to the east

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.3 km² (20.6 mi²). 53.2 km² (20.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.05% is water.

History

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. However, the history page of the City of Canton's web page [1] gives the date for incorporation as a village as being in 1815, as a town in 1834, and as a city in 1854. [1]

Bezaleel Wells, the surveyor who divided the land of the town, named it after Canton (now 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.

Government

Canton works under a Mayor–Council government. It is the largest city in Ohio to operate without a charter. The current mayor is Janet Weir Creighton (R), elected in 2003 and sworn in January 2004.

City council is divided among 9 wards with 3 at-large seats and the council president.

Economy

The Canton area's economy is primarily industrial, with a significant agricultural segment. The city is home to the Timken Company, a major manufacturer of tapered roller bearings and specialty steel. Other companies that have significant operations are the Hoover Company (vacuums and floor cleaners), the Belden Brick Company (brick and masonry producer), and Diebold (ATMs, electronic voting devices, and bank vaults). LTV Steel (formerly Republic Steel) had historically been large employer, until its bankruptcy in 2000. Poultry production and dairy farming are also important segments of its economy.

However, like many industrial areas of the United States, employment in the manufacturing sector is in a state of long-term decline. The area is undergoing a transition to a retail- and service-based economy. In 2004 Timken Company proposed closing some of their factories in the Canton area, striking a blow to the economy and a bigger blow to city image and pride.

Canton, like many mid-size urban cities, has lost most of its downtown retail business to the suburbs, such as the extensive retail market in nearby Jackson Township. A number of downtown cafes and restaurants have, however, sprung up in recent years. Most retail shopping can be found at the extremes of the city limits, at Canton Centre Mall and a WalMart to the west or a WalMart and Kmart to the east. There are also veins of retail along Tuscarawas Street, a leg of the Lincoln Highway that runs east-west through several states, and in a shopping district on 30th St. N.W.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 80,806 people, 32,489 households, and 19,785 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,518.2/km² (3,933.0/mi²). There were 35,502 housing units at an average density of 667.0/km² (1,728.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.45% White, 21.04% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races, and 3.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.24% of the population.

There were 32,489 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.1% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,730, and the median income for a family was $35,680. Males had a median income of $30,628 versus $21,581 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,544. About 15.4% of families and 19.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.4% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

Due to Canton’s diverse demographic, many pollsters used Canton as a microcosm of the country as a whole. President George W. Bush visited Canton on a number of occasions while campaigning in 2000 and 2004, and Democratic Presidential nominee and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry did the same in an effort to win Ohio, a vital state in the 2004 Election.

Education

Canton's K-12 students are primarily served by the Canton City Schools, although students north of 17th St. NW have an overlap with Plain Local Schools. Malone College, a private, four-year liberal arts college, is located on 25th St. N.W.

The city is also served by two Catholic high schools --- St. Thomas Aquinas High School (Louisville) serves the eastern portion of Canton (and eastern Stark County as a whole); while Central Catholic High School (located in Perry Township) serves the western part of Canton (and western Stark County as a whole). Catholic grade schools within the city limits of Canton are St. Peter, St. Joseph, and Our Lady of Peace. There is also Canton Heritage Christian School (K-12), a Christian grade school and high school. Canton Country Day is another private elementary school in the city of Canton. Also within the city limits is the private Canton Montessori School, which teaches according to the Montessori Plan for education proposed by Maria Montessori in the early 20th century.

Media

Print

Canton is served by one newspaper, The Canton Repository.

Television

Canton, like Akron to the north, is part of the Cleveland television market. However, due to its proximity to Youngstown, it is not uncommon for residents to receive stations from that area as well via over-the-air television transmissions.

There are also 3 television stations that broadcast from Canton, though none of them are major network affiliates.

  • Channel 17: WDLI - (TBN) - Canton - Christian
  • Channel 52: WIVM - (A1) - Canton - Local, independent
  • Channel 67: WOAC - (SAH) - Canton - Shopping channel

Radio

AM

FM

  • 89.7: WKSU, (Kent State University, Classical, NPR), Canton news bureau (Stark-Wayne Counties Bureau)
  • 92.5: WZKL, (Donald Peterson, Top 40/CHR) "Q92" - Alliance (Canton Market)
  • 94.1: WHBC-FM, (NextMedia Group, Adult Contemporary) "Mix 94.1" - Canton
  • 95.9: WNPQ, (Tuscarawas Broadcasting Co., Contemporary Christian), New Philadelphia (Canton market)
  • 98.1: WKDD, (Clear Channel Communications, Hot AC) - Canton
  • 106.9: WRQK, (Cumulus, Hard Rock) "Rock 107" - Canton

Neighborhoods

Famous People from Canton

Sports

Canton is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The American Professional Football Association, the forerunner of the NFL, was founded in a Canton car dealership on September 17, 1920.

Every summer, Canton holds the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival, which includes a (hot air) balloon festival, ribs burn-off, fashion show, community parade, Sunday morning race, enshrinenee dinner, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame Grande Parade, and culminates in the enshrinement of the new inductees and then the NFL Hall of Fame Game, a pre-season exhibition between teams representing the AFC and the NFC at Fawcett Stadium. Fawcett, used during the regular season by McKinley and Timken high schools in Canton (as well as some other area schools and colleges) has been recognized by The Sporting News as the #1 high school football stadium in the United States.

The Canton Legends play in the American Indoor Football League at the Canton Civic Center, and the city is also home to the league's offices. The Great Lakes Indoor Football League also has offices in Canton.

The Ohio Aviators are a team in the American Basketball Association that play at the Canton Memorial Civic Center. The team is taking the 2006-2007 season off, but will resume play in the fall of 2007.

Canton is the county seat of Stark County, Ohio, which is a hotbed for high school football in America. There is perhaps no more storied high school football rivalry in the country than the one between the Canton McKinley High School Bulldogs and the Massillon Washington High School Tigers, renewed annually in the final game of the high school regular season. Each year the OHSAA state championship football games are played at Fawcett Stadium in Canton and Paul Brown Stadium in Massillon.

The Canton Invaders of the National Professional Soccer League and American Indoor Soccer Association played home games at the Canton Memorial Civic Center from 1984 until 1996, winning five league championships.

Canton has been home to professional baseball on several occasions. A number of minor league teams called Canton home in the early 1900s, including the Canton Terriers in the 1920s and '30s. The Canton-Akron Indians were the AA affiliate of the major league Cleveland Indians for nine years, playing at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium until the team relocated north to Akron following the 1996 season. Two independent minor league teams, the Canton Crocodiles and the Canton Coyotes, both members of the Frontier League, called Munson Stadium home for several years afterward. The Crocodiles, who won the league championship in their inaugural season in 1997, moved to Washington, Pennsylvania, in 2002, and the Coyotes moved to Columbia, Missouri, in 2003, after just one season in Canton.

Canton is also home of the baton twirling international championships. The event is sponsored by Twirling Unlimited.

Transportation

Canton is connected to Akron and Cleveland to the North by Interstate 77. East-West travel is provided by U.S. Route 30 and U.S. Route 62, both of which are limited-access highways through the city and its suburbs.

Akron-Canton Regional Airport is located 10 miles (16 km) north of the city, between Canton and Akron.

Public transportation is provided by SARTA, the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority.

File:1985-canton-highways.jpg
Proposed highway plan for Stark County, 1985

References

  1. ^ http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=279481, and http://www.cityofcanton.com/citygov/cityofcanton/history.html

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

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