Canton’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Canton. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The earliest known visitor to the area was Lewis P. Hyde, who first came to the area in 1866. The first actual settler was August Linderman. By 1868, there were 35 people living in Lincoln County. The residents named the community Canton, believing the location to be the exact opposite of Canton, China. By the summer of that year, a caravan of 180 Norwegian settlers crossed the Big Sioux River to make their home in Canton. In 1880, the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad crossed the Big Sioux River to reach Canton. The city still has an active rail freight service. The city has many historical homes and buildings dating back to the late 1800s. Some notable sites include The Kennedy Mansion on Dakota Street, as well as the Historical Society House built in 1886. Lincoln County Courthouse was built in 1889, and Canton Lutheran Church was built in 1908.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Canton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Canton’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewCanton, S. Dak, 1907: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Canton, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Canton, S. Dak (1907) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (5) and the Library of Congress (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.