Jump to content

Canton, Ohio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by RoryS89 (talk | contribs) at 17:09, 28 May 2006 (→Famous People from Canton). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Canton, Ohio
Nickname: 
Hall of Fame City
Location within the state of Ohio
Location within the state of Ohio
Country
State
County		United States
Ohio
Stark
Government
 • MayorJanet Weir Creighton (R)
Population
 (2000)
 • City80,806
 • Metro
406,934
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Websitehttp://www.cityofcanton.com
Founded1805
Incorporated1854

Canton is a city located in Stark County, Ohio. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 80,806, but according to a July 1, 2004 Census estimate, the population has declined to 79,905. Despite this decline, the 2004 figure actually moved Canton up from 9th to 8th place among Ohio cities, as Youngstown, once considerably more populous than Canton, suffered a larger decline. Canton is the county seat of Stark CountyTemplate:GR. The Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area has a total population of 406,934 as of the census of 2000.

Canton is home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The First Ladies National Historic Site is also in the city.

Geography

Canton is located at 40°48'18" North, 81°22'33" West (40.804958, -81.375792)Template:GR.

Canton is bordered by Plain Township and North Canton to the north, Meyers Lake and Perry Township to the west, Canton Township to the South, and Nimishillen Township and Osnaburg Township to the east.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.3 km² (20.6 mi²). 53.2 km² (20.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.05% is water.

History

Canton was founded in 1805. Cantonrep.com quotes Kim Kenney, the "curator of the William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum" as saying that canton was incorporated as a village in 1822, and then as a city in 1838. However, the history page of the City of Canton's web page [1] gives the date for incorporation as a village as being in 1815, as a town in 1834, and as a city in 1854. [1]

Bezaleel Wells, the surveyor who divided the land of the town, named it after Canton (now Guangzhou), China. The name was a memorial to a trader named John O'Donnell, whom Wells admired. O'Donnell had named his Maryland plantation after the Chinese city, as he had been the first person to transport goods from there to Baltimore.

Government

Canton works under a Mayor – Council government. It is the largest city in Ohio to operate without a charter. The current Mayor is Janet Weir Creighton (R).

City council is divided among 9 wards with 3 At- Large Seats and the Council President

Economy

The Canton area's economy is primarily industrial, with a significant agricultural segment. The city is home to the Timken Company, a major manufacturer of tapered roller bearings and specialty steel. Other companies that have significant operations are the Hoover Company (vacuums and floor cleaners), the Belden Brick Company (brick and masonry producer), and Diebold (ATMs, electronic voting devices, and bank vaults). LTV Steel (formerly Republic Steel) had historically been large employer, until its bankruptcy in 2000. Poultry production and dairy farming are also important segments of its economy.

However, like many industrial areas of the United States, employment in the manufacturing sector is in a state of long-term decline. The area is undergoing a transition to a retail- and service-based economy. In 2004 Timken Company proposed closing some of their factories in the Canton area, striking a blow to the economy and a bigger blow to city image and pride.

Canton, Like many mid sized Downtown Cities Has lost Most of it's Retail business Downtown To the outer suburbs. Many people instead go to the Westfield Shoppingtown at Belden Village or The Strip in Jackson or to Massillon. Most of the Retail shopping can be found at the extremes of the City Limits, With Canton Centre Mall and a WalMart at the Extreme West of The city Limits and a Walmart and A Kmart and a Walmart on the Extreme East of the city. There are also veins of retail along Tuscarawas Avenue; Formerly the Lincoln Highway. Revitilization has been slow in Coming. Downtown shopping is hampered by a lack of Parking space, a labyrinthine traffic flow scheme which has every street Going one way and every other street going the other, and parking meters on every street.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 80,806 people, 32,489 households, and 19,785 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,518.2/km² (3,933.0/mi²). There were 35,502 housing units at an average density of 667.0/km² (1,728.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 74.45% White, 21.04% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races, and 3.06% from two or more races. 1.24% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 32,489 households out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.1% were married couples living together, 19.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.04.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.6% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,730, and the median income for a family was $35,680. Males had a median income of $30,628 versus $21,581 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,544. 19.2% of the population and 15.4% of families were below the poverty line. 27.4% of those under the age of 18 and 11.3% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Due to Canton’s diverse demographic, many pollsters used Canton as a microcosm of the country as a whole. President George W. Bush visited Canton on a number of occasions, as well as Democratic Presidential Nominee and Massachusetts Senator John Kerry in an effort to win Ohio, a vital state in the 2004 Election.

Education

Canton's K- 12 students are primarily served by Canton City Schools, although students north of 28th St. NE/NW have an Overlap with Plain Local Schools. There is also Malone College, a Christian College.

Media

Print

Canton is served by one newspaper, the Canton Repository.

Television

Canton, like Akron to the north, is lumped into the Cleveland television market. However, due to its proximity to Youngstown, it is not uncommon for residents to receive stations from that area as well via over-the-air television transmissions.

There are also 3 television stations that broadcast from Canton, though none of them are major network affiliates.

  • Channel 17: WDLI - (TBN) - Canton
  • Channel 52: WIVM - (A1) - Canton
  • Channel 67: WOAC - (SAH) - Canton

Radio

AM

  • 900: WCER, (Melodynamic Broadcasting Corporation, Christian Talk) - Canton
  • 1060: WILB, (Living Bread Radio Inc., Catholic) - Canton
  • 1480: WHBC, (NextMedia Group, Oldies/News/Talk) - Canton
  • 1520: WINW, (Unknown, Black Gospel) - Canton

FM

  • 92.5: WZKL, (Unknown, Hot AC) "Q92" - Alliance(Canton Market)
  • 94.1: WHBC-FM, (NextMedia Group, Adult Contemporary) "Mix 94.1" - Canton
  • 95.9: WNPQ, (Tuscarawas Broadcasting Co., Contemporary Christian), New Philadelphia (Canton market)
  • 98.1: WKDD, (Clear Channel Communications, Hot AC) - Canton
  • 106.9: WRQK, (Cumulus, Hard Rock) "Rock 107" - Canton

Neighborhoods

Famous People from Canton

Sports

There is an intense high school football rivalry between the Canton McKinley High School Bulldogs and the Massillon Washington High School Tigers.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is located in Canton. The American Professional Football Association, the forerunner of the NFL, was founded in a Canton car dealership on September 17, 1920.

Every summer, Canton holds the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival, which includes a (hot air) balloon festival, the Ribs Burn-off, fashion show, community parade, Sunday morning race, enshrinenee dinner, the Hoover Pro Football Hall of Fame Grande Parade, and culminates in the enshrinement of the new inductees and then the Hall of Fame Game on the following Monday night between the AFC and the NFC at Fawcett Stadium.

The Canton Invaders of the National Professional Soccer League and American Indoor Soccer Association played home games at the Canton Memorial Civic Center from 1984 until 1996, winning five league championships.

Canton was home of the Canton Coyotes, a minor league baseball team which has since moved to Columbia, Missouri and has been renamed the Mid-Missouri Mavericks.

The Canton Legends play in the American Indoor Football League at the Civic Center, and the city is also home to the league's offices. The Great Lakes Indoor Football League also has offices in Canton.

The Ohio Aviators of the American Basketball Association (21st century) also play in Canton, but their future is uncertain at best.

New to Canton in 2006-2007 will be the Canton Firebirds, a women's ice hockey team that will likely compete in the Northest Ohio Women's Hockey Organization (NOWHO) and the Pennsylvania-Ohio Women's Hockey Association (POWHA). The team is now in the process of being formed.

Canton Is also home of the baton twirling International Championships. The event is sponsered by Twirling Unlimited.

Transportation

Canton Is connected To Akron and Cleveland to the North by Interstate 77. East - West Travel is Provided by U.S. Route 30 and U.S. Route 62, both of which are limited-access highways through the city and its suburbs.

Akron-Canton Regional Airport is located 10 miles north of the city, between Canton and Akron.

Public Transportation is provided by SARTA.

References

  1. ^ http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=279481, and http://www.cityofcanton.com/citygov/cityofcanton/history.html

Template:Mapit-US-cityscale

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canton,_Ohio&oldid=55593156"