City of Canton

Many of Minnesota’s early settlers were charged with naming their communities, a task few of us have the opportunity to do today. First settled in 1851, the village of Canton is reported to have had a spirited contest over its naming, with many of the citizens preferring the name Elyria to Canton. The final vote went to Canton, but many of the legal records up to 1860 retained the name Elyria, the apparent work of a persistent Elyria promoter. Both Canton and Elyria are names in Ohio, from where many of the area’s settlers came. Coincidentally, Ohio was also the home of the Amish people, who settled here in the 1970s. The affordable small farms of Canton Township offered plenty of timber for fuel and building and springs for water and cooling milk. In the heart of the Amish settlement, Canton has a peaceful, friendly setting that offers shopping opportunities for antique and Amish crafts.