Canton (village), New York

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canton is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 5,882 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of St. Lawrence County. The name comes from the Chinese city, Canton.

The Village of Canton is centrally located in both the Town of Canton and St. Lawrence County.

1 History
- 1.1 Notable people of Canton
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

The first attempt at settlement was made in 1800, but the first permanent settlement occurred in 1801. The first post office used the name "New Cairo," but changed to Canton by 1807. The early economy was based on farming and lumbering.

The village was incorporated in 1845. Between 1887 and 1889, the village was modernized with a sewage system, water works, and electrical lighting.

St. Lawrence University was founded here in 1856, and the State University of New York at Canton (northwest of the village) was begun in 1906.

[edit] Notable people of Canton

Frederic Remington, the noted Western artist, was born in Canton; and Silas Wright, a New York State Governor and political leader, made the area his home. Wright's home was made into the Silas Wright Museum in 1978, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] Ron Jeremy, actor, has said to have spent the summers of his childhood at an uncle's farm in the area.

[edit] Geography

Canton is located at 44°35′51″N, 75°10′16″W (44.5976, -75.17118)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 8.7 km² (3.3 mi²). 8.4 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (2.99%) is water.

The village is located on the Grasse River, a tributary of the St. Lawrence River.

The village is served by US Route 11, New York State Route 68, New York State Route 310, and County Roads 27 and 85.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,882 people, 1,531 households, and 797 families residing in the village. The population density was 700.9/km² (1,817.9/mi²). There were 1,680 housing units at an average density of 200.2/km² (519.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 91.81% White, 4.49% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.99% Asian, 1.02% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.92% of the population.

There were 1,531 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.9% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.9% were non-families. 38.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the village the population was spread out with 12.3% under the age of 18, 45.8% from 18 to 24, 16.7% from 25 to 44, 13.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $38,627, and the median income for a family was $59,211. Males had a median income of $38,818 versus $28,750 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,745. About 8.5% of families and 15.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.6% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.