Canton, located along U.S. Hwy. 52, is the first Minnesota city along this major north-south route.
Canton was originally founded in 1879 as a stopping point for the railroad. At first its legal name was Boomer, depicting how fast it was built, but because another town in Minnesota had the same name, Boomer was changed to Canton. Canton’s population has remained constant over the years at under 400 residents. For many years its economy was based on agriculture. This has changed, however. Increasingly more of its citizens like the small-town flavor of Canton, the affordable housing, closeness to various large cities that offer employment and easy access to a major highway. Abundant pheasant, deer, raccoon, and turkey populations, as well as great trout streams, make hunting and fishing a major attraction around Canton. Groomed snowmobile trails run through the area and city. For more City of Canton information visit cantonmn.com.
Canton Depot restoration project is progressing with plans to return the building to a downtown point of interest in process.
Canton’s train depot was built in 1879 by the Caledonia, Mississippi and Western Railroad Company. In 1880, the line transferred to Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific. In 1901, the narrow-gauge rails were widened to standard-gauge. For several decades the depot was the centerpiece of the community and surrounding area. By the 1950’s, train travel was waning in popularity due to the increased use of automobiles. Passenger service was discontinued in Canton in the mid-50’s. Freight rail continued for another 20 years, with the Preston to Reno Milwaukee Lines abandoned on October 27, 1976. A year later, the tracks were torn up and the land sold back to abutting property owners.
In 2011, Larry Huber, a native of Austin, Minnesota, purchased the building and gifted it to the Canton Historical Society. Restoration began three years later. The Canton train depot was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018. The Canton Historical Society is continuing its efforts to renovate and restore the 1879 depot to its original state.
The restoration project has been the recipient of grant funds of $20,000 from the Harmony Community Association in cooperation with the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and $17,000 from the Minnesota Historical Society. A gift in memory of Allan Sather, a former Canton resident, for $50,000 was earmarked for the project as well, according to the Canton Historical Society. The projects for this phase will be to stabilize the station master’s bay window, replace skirting on the bottom of the structure, construct a freight/passenger platform with ADA compliant ramp, repair chimneys and replace two windows. Completion will be in phases and will be dependent upon multiple factors. The Canton Historical Society is hopeful that contractors will be secured to complete their planned restoration projects in the upcoming year. Additional funding will need to be secured to fully complete the Depot Restoration. Persons with a passion for the history of trains in the area will be interested in tracking the progress of the project.
American Legion Veterans Memorial Park has been developed into a must see in Canton, honoring military service members.
Canton American Legion Post 400 established the Veterans Memorial Park in the downtown square on Main Street, and it was dedicated May 30th, 2022. The park includes a flag display, military marker, benches, a bronze Field Cross statue, fire pit and 1,200 embedded bricks, some of which are engraved. There is a Memorial Day Program held annually at the park honoring fallen service members. To assist with funding its projects, the Legion Post has a fundraising pancake breakfast at the Canton Town Hall in the spring of each year. The post was organized in 1919, after the end of World War I, with fifteen charter members. It was named in honor of Paul H Blegan, the first World War I soldier to die in combat. To get information on post activities and events, visit Facebook American Legion Post 400 Canton, Minnesota. Interested persons can also purchase engraved pavers honoring veterans to have the post members install.
The oldest church in Fillmore County, the 1856 Lenora Methodist Church, is located just four miles north of Canton.
The Minnesota Conference of Methodism was organized in 1845, well before Minnesota became a territory in 1849. Although the congregation is reported to have been visited by circuit missionary Reverend Benjamin Crist in 1854, the congregation was officially organized in 1856 by Elder John L Dyer. Dyer donated the land and began construction of a stone church structure, financed by the sale of lots in the town of Lenora. The Panic of 1857 thwarted the development of the area and many pioneer families moved back east. Dyer left the community and moved to Colorado. Construction on the church stalled for the next eight years, with half-completed stone walls.
In 1865 the area was seeing financial prosperity again and a stone mason used material from the large uncompleted church to build a smaller structure. This building was not completed until 1866, when it was dedicated by Reverend Daniel Cobb. Due to the railroad bypassing Lenora, the church never prospered and closed as an active congregation in the late 1920’s.
It has been preserved by the church congregation in nearby Newburg and is now known as the Lenora United Methodist Pioneer center, open for occasional church services, special events and concerts. It is worth a visit to see the structure, constructed from locally quarried stone. Inside are hand carved pews, a pot belly stove, an old reed pump organ, as well as kerosene lamps which provide the lighting. It appears much like it did in its pioneer days, with no electricity or modern-day conveniences. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Visit Facebook to see pictures of the area church: Lenora Methodist Episcopal Church.
Elliota is a ghost town in Canton Township, Fillmore County, south of Canton on State Line Road.
Elliota was founded in 1853 by Captain James Elliott, the first settler, postmaster, and blacksmith. Elliota as originally listed in Fillmore County Section 32, 101-9; dated December 13, 1854; II. K. Averill, Jr. (United States deputy surveyor); established by J. W. Eliott. A post office was opened at Elliota in 1854, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1882. Elliota School, District 25, initially was established in the winter of 1855-56, in an addition to the house of C. B. Kimball, and was presided over by Sarah Allen, of Bellevue. This was east of the village, and during the following summer it was moved to the house of Andrew Cheney. In 1856, the stone schoolhouse was constructed. This served the purpose up to 1869, when it burned, and after quite a bitter contest a new schoolhouse was put up at a cost of about $500, on the northeast corner of section 31.
According to the 1880 census, there were 71 residents in the newly founded town. Elliota was reported to have been considered to be on the path of the railroad passing through the area, but in 1879 the depot and railroad line was constructed in Canton instead. Some of the homes built in Elliota were reported to have been moved to Canton after it was bypassed. All that remains in the former location of Elleota is the Elliota cemetery, located approximately 0.1 miles from the Winneshiek County, Iowa border in Section 32 of Fillmore County’s Canton Township. The earliest burials at the cemetery occurred around 1865. In 1955 the Elliota Cemetery Association filed Articles of Incorporation and the grounds were surveyed and platted. The public cemetery remains active and is the final resting place of many Winneshiek County and Canton area former residents.
Canton-Scotland Presbyterian Church is a PCUSA-affiliated congregation.
Twelve charter members organized the First Presbyterian Church in 1884. Shortly after, construction started on the church, at a cost of $1,680, with the building dedicated in 1885. The Honorable W.W. Braden, former State Auditor, donated the church’s stained-glass window located in the front of the sanctuary. Braden came to Minnesota from Ohio in 1854 and farmed near Lenora, serving on the legislature in 1866-67 as well as eight years as Fillmore County Treasurer prior to his ten years of service as state auditor. Numerous improvements to the original structure have been made over the years. In 1928, a basement, complete with a kitchen, a restroom and dining area was added. In 1958, the inspiring stained-glass windows depicting the life of Christ were installed. An expansion project in the early 1990s included additional sanctuary seating and a pastor’s office on the main floor, a new entry way and elevator, expanded dining area, men’s and women’s restrooms and two Sunday school classrooms were also added all in the lower level.
The Presbyterian Church in Canton merged with Scotland Presbyterian (a small parish five miles north of Harmony) nearly 50 years ago. The Scotland name reference comes from the rural Richland Prairie Presbyterian Church, built in 1868 in Preston Township. It was called Richland Prairie because the natural terrain reminded the settlers of their native Scotland. In 1893, First Presbyterian and Richland Prairie began sharing a pastor. That partnership continued until the merger of the two congregations to form the present-day Canton-Scotland community of faith. Although membership today has dwindled over the years, Canton-Scotland has continued to be an active part of the community.
The close proximity of the area churches with their rich history would be of interest to those having family connections as well as visitors who enjoy religious historical sites and have interest in the congregations’ roots.
The farmland around Canton, with its rich soils, was the first area of choice by the local Amish community, which began to settle just north of town in 1974. That community has grown steadily and now encompasses many acres. There are several Amish businesses in the area, from furniture businesses, garden shops selling plants and produce and also those selling Amish baked goods. Buggies are a common sight in town and in the countryside. U.S. Hwy. 52 between Prosper and Preston is a designated Amish Buggy Byway.
On the third weekend in August, the people of Canton take a “Day Off.”
The city’s annual summer celebration dates back to 1903. At that time, Percy Young of the Canton Bank offered to bring a band to town to entertain during the Ladies Aid Society of the Church of the Assumption sponsored church supper. The following year, the celebration was moved downtown and on August 15, 2004, the whole town sponsored the first Canton Day Off festival. By WWI, the Day Off had become a regional event and special trains were run to bring in out-of-town visitors. Festivities were increased to include county championship baseball games, speakers, merry-go-rounds, aerialist acts and evening dances at the town hall.
Annual day off celebrations were held in Canton for over 50 years, discontinuing on August 15, 1955. It has subsequently been revived and currently Canton Day Off events include a BBQ contest, beanbag tournament and live music among other activities. Every fifth year, the community observes “the big one” with an expanded slate of events. The event is well publicized and visitor come annually to take part in the scheduled activities. For dates and events visit cantondayoff.com or the Facebook page for the Canton Community Association to follow their sponsored activities.
