Madison County, the 23rd county in Mississippi was named for fourth President James Madison, and was created in 1828 out of Yazoo and Hinds Counties. It incorporates lands between the Pearl and Big Black Rivers where General Andrew Jackson met with the Choctaw Chieftain, Pushmataha. That meeting resulted in the 1820 Treaty of Doak's Stand.

This area attracted large numbers of settlers from Virginia and the Carolinas who came to farm the lush, rolling hills,and fertile soil.

In 1833, the Madison County Board of Police (a governing body similar to today's supervisors) appointed surveyor JohnB. Peyton to select a geographical center for a new countyseat and to lay it out in blocks. In 1834, 40 acres of landbelonging to Killis and Margaret Walton were deeded to thecounty for $100. The land was divided into square parcelswith the plot nearest the center reserved for the publicsquare.

In 1836, the town was legally incorporated and boasted a population of 400. The first recorded ordinance made it a misdemeanor to gallop horse, mare, or mule on any street or alley.

By 1838, Canton boasted two banks, two hotels, ten dry goods stores, a drug store, three groceries, a bakery, a tin shop, threetailor shops, and two watchmakers. The public buildings werea courthouse, jail, church, and a female academy. The townenjoyed notoriety for having as visitors the celebrated originalSiamese twins, Chang and Eng, who ordered two custom suitsfrom Perlinsky's Tailor Shop.

There are two stories concerning the naming of Canton, and both attribute the name to Chinese origin. One states that Canton, Mississippi is the exact opposite side of the world as Canton, China, and was thus named. The other story states that the daughter of a Chinese family died in the area and the sympathetic community named the town for the family. There is reallyno more proof for one over the other, it's just which oneyou wish to believe.

The Courthouse

The very center and glory of our town is the beautiful GreekRevival Courthouse. Members of the local Masonic Order laidthe cornerstone to the Courthouse in July 1855. The Boardof Police paid $26,428 for it, as well as $65 per month toa commissioner to supervise proper construction - a magnificentsum at that time. The brick used were salvaged from the oldCourthouse that had been condemned in 1840 because of thedeterioration of the mortar. The new Courthouse was the sceneof a huge Fourth of July celebration in 1857, but was notlegally accepted until 1858. The beautiful iron fence was added later at a cost of $5,250.

The large dome (twenty feet in diameter and thirty feet high)has twice been threatened with removal for security reasons.The first time was during original construction in 1856,and the second time was during remodeling in 1925. Both times the women of the town were successful in protecting it by insisting that "beauty prevail over reason."

The Courthouse has also served as a gathering place to welcome the railroad, send soldiers off to war, as a Court of Justice and the Seat of county offices, a polling place, an early library, a theater, and a hospital during the yellow fever epidemic.

The happenings within the Courthouse walls have reflected thehumorous, chivalrous, hardheaded, hospitable personalitieswho have given the South its distinctive character. Duringreconstruction, there was so much ballot box stuffing andtensions that when Election Day threatened to become bloody,a group of officials dispersed a gathering crowd by climbinginto the dome and shooting down rocks with sling shots.

The legal chambers within the Courthouse have witnessed manyfiery trials, several of which resulted in duels betweenlawyers. When dueling had been outlawed in the state, JudgeCalhoun and Judge Bowers, respecting the law, traveled togetherto Vicksburg and crossed the river into Louisiana to settlea court quarrel with pistols. Neither man was injured, itwas simply a matter of honor.

In 1994-1995 a new Courthouse was built one block north of the Square and the beautiful old Courthouse underwent a $2,000,000 renovation. The 1855 cornerstone was opened and re-laidby the Masonic Order. The first floor is currently hometo the Madison County Economic Development Authority, andthe old courtroom, on the second floor, is currently notin use.

The Courthouse Square

In 1982, the Canton Courthouse Square District was officially entered into the National Register of Historic Places and declared one of three best examples in the State of Mississippi.

The Courthouse Square, still the focus of exciting activities, is the scene twice yearly of the nationally famous Canton Flea Market Arts & Crafts Show. The Market attractsup to 100,000 visitors annually from across the United States and beyond.

It is estimated that over $20,000,000 in public and private funding has been invested in the Canton Square District, includingthe new and old Courthouses.

In recent years, the beauty, uniqueness, and preservation efforts of our Courthouse Square and Historic District, with itsbeautiful homes, have attracted the attention of Hollywood.In addition to the five major films, many advertising agencieshave chosen Canton as the location for commercial and corporateshoots, and PBS again chose the town for a segment of a sixhour blues documentary on blues great Skip James to air in2003.

With the site of the Nissan Automotive Plant located one milesouth of the city, proposed plans for the Mississippi FilmComplex, and the continued efforts toward preservation bythe community, Canton's future is well-assured.