Name: Canton, Texas
Address: Canton, TX

Canton, TX RoadyGoat

Canton is renowned for its First Monday Trade Days, the largest flea market in the world. This tradition, which began with the swapping of surplus stock by barter, has grown to include casual bargaining for or swapping of a wide variety of items on a 30-acre grounds. The event is so popular that Canton's population swells from 5,100 to over 30,000 during each First Monday weekend. This significant local industry has not only brought economic prosperity to the city but also made Canton a destination for thousands of visitors each month.

RoadyGoat →

Canton, TX RoadyGoat

Canton was founded in 1850 by settlers moving from Old Canton in Smith County, Texas. The community stands on the original survey of Jesse Stockwell, an early settler in the area. The town was laid out and named by these settlers, who were drawn to the area for its potential for settlement and development. The first district courthouse opened in 1850, the same year a post office was established, marking the beginning of Canton's growth as a significant town in Van Zandt County.

RoadyGoat →

How Salt Killed the Refrigerator Problem RoadyGoat

Before refrigerators, salt was how the world kept food from rotting, and the trick is pure physics. Pack meat in salt and you set up osmosis: water always flows toward the saltier side of a membrane. Bacteria and mold are mostly water, so when they land on salted food, the salt yanks the moisture right out of their cells and they shrivel and die. No water, no spoilage. Sugar does the exact same thing, which is why jam keeps, it's just sweet instead of salty. That single chemical trick is why salt was once worth its weight in trade: it meant you could eat through winter. The salt that did it for thousands of years, all over the world, is the same kind sitting in the dome beneath Grand Saline.

11.9 mi away

George Washington Tull, Sr.

1852

George Washington Tull, Sr. (1827-1917), better known as G. W. Tull, was one of the earliest and most successful merchants in Canton. His family migrated from Georgia, where G. W. was born, to Alabama, Mississippi, and then Tennessee. In 1852, G. W. moved to Texas, then traveled west to California in hopes of striking gold. He returned to Canton in 1858 with his savings and partnered with William B. Moore to start a mercantile business on the courthouse square. Tull and Moore’s Grocery and Saloon was known as “Our House.” In 1860, Tull bought Moore’s stake and became sole owner. He served as a confederate army private during the Civil War, then returned to operate his mercantile store for more than fifty years until his death. His son, George Washington Tull, Jr., also known as G. W. Tull, inherited the business in 1917 and ran it until his own death in 1957, nearly a century after it opened. George Washington Tull, Sr. shepherded the development of canton in its formative years. His store was the anchor of the commercial district and outlasted many other businesses. In 1872, after Van Zandt County Commissioners deemed all bids for a new courthouse insufficient, the court contracted with Tull to build the new courthouse, then reimbursed him. He owned several commercial and rural properties, built the first brick store building in 1892, and helped develop Canton’s commercial district. Tull was married three times and twice widowed, fathering fourteen children. He overcame many of the hardships and losses typically associated with frontier development. Tull was noted as being a generous man. Though regarded as the wealthiest man in Canton, Tull was called “the poor man’s friend.” He believed that his financial success depended on steadfast integrity, diligence, and prudence.

Historical Marker →

Dixie Hotel

1915

On September 2, 1915, the Canton Herald announced plans for a new hotel. Its site along the Dixie Highway gave the hotel its name and a prime location to attract travelers and residents. The hotel’s square floor plan included two full floors with wraparound gallery porches, and dormer windows and a half-floor in the attic. Sheriff John Kellis, the owner and contractor, sold the hotel for $2,750 to Mrs. A. R. Maume and her daughter, Mamie, on October 18, 1916. Mamie became the hotel manager. In 1919, she oversaw construction of a two-story annex. The Dixie Hotel became known regionally for its lodging and meals. Maggie Bowles, and later Aarona Maxie and her sister, Nannie Hambrick, were the renowned cooks. For 85 cents on weekdays, or a dollar on Sundays, a customer could eat all he wanted. U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson arrived by helicopter to sample some of Aarona’s good cooking. The Dixie had two dining rooms, one public and one private. The private room was used by juries during long trials. The hotel was also visited by politicians, businessmen, and such celebrities as Will Rogers, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. When the Van oil field drew hundreds of men and women in the 1920s and 1930s, the Dixie was always full, and cots were even placed on the porches to accommodate all the people. Pure Oil Company contracted with Miss Mamie for a separate office space and living quarters behind the hotel. Dallas and Fort Worth newspaper articles about the hotel brought motorists to Canton, while residents enjoyed Sunday singing, organization meetings, and Aggie Muster at the Dixie. Miss Mamie operated the hotel until May 5, 1954, the day she died. The Dixie closed for good that night.

Historical Marker →

John H. Reagan

1839

John H. Reagan John Henninger Reagan was born in 1818 to Timothy Richard and Elizabeth Reagan in Sevier County, Tennessee. He worked at his father's tannery and on the family farm, attending school sporadically, until leaving the state in 1838. Reagan came in 1839 to Nacogdoches, Texas, where he met with Martin Lacy, Indian agent for the Cherokee Tribe in present day Cherokee and Smith Counties. He helped deliver a message from Texas President Mirabeau Lamar to the Cherokees, threatening force if the tribe did not move north of the Red River. Reagan was assigned to Gen. Thomas J. Rusk's regiment of the Texas militia, which engaged the Cherokees in July 1839. The last skirmish was the Battle of the Neches, fought in today's Van Zandt County, resulting in the deaths of Chiefs Bowles and Big Mush, and the removal of the Cherokees to Indian Territory. After his work with the militia, Reagan studied surveying, working in the Nacogdoches Land District. As part of his survey work, he petitioned the creation of Henderson, Van Zandt and Kaufman Counties, suggesting the names for each. Reagan also studied law and became a state representative and then district judge in East Texas, presiding over the court in Canton from 1853 to 1857, after which he was elected to congress. During the Civil War, Reagan served as Postmaster General for the Confederacy. He was captured and imprisoned, as was Pres. Jefferson Davis, in 1865. After returning to Palestine, Reagan was reelected to congress in 1875 and helped frame the 1876 Texas constitution. He served as U.S. Senator, 1887-1891, then became first Texas Railroad Commissioner, a position he held until 1903. He died in 1905 and was buried in Palestine. 									(2002)

Historical Marker →

Neches, Battle of the

1839

The battle of the Neches, fought on July 15 and 16, 1839, was the principal engagement of the Cherokee War , a conflict that began when President Mirabeau B. Lamar announced that the time had come for an "exterminating war" on Native Americans in Texas. Under Lamar's leadership, the Republic refused to recognize earlier treaties with the Cherokees who lived in East Texas and, after accusing them of planning to join Mexico in an insurrection, sent troops commanded by Gen. Thomas J. Rusk to occupy their lands. The Cherokee leader, Chief Bowl (Duwali) led an evacuation of their main town, but they were attacked a few miles west of present-day Tyler at dusk on July 15. The first day's battle proved indecisive, but on July 16, Texas troops led by Rusk and Edward Burleson overwhelmed the Cherokees and their allies, the Kickapoos , Delawares , and Shawnees , in a fight on the headwaters of the Neches River in present-day Van Zandt County. Chief Bowl entered the battle on horseback, but when his mount was wounded and he was shot through the thigh, he dismounted. After being wounded again, he sat on the battlefield where a Texan soldier shot him in the head. Approximately one hundred Native Americans died in the fight; Texan losses were reported as five dead and twenty-eight wounded. Most of the Cherokees and their allies who survived the battle fled to the Indian Territory. Only the Alabamas and Coushattas remained in significant numbers in East Texas. A Texas Historical Marker was erected on the site of the battle in Van Zandt County in 1968, and an annual Cherokee reunion took place in the county.

Tsha Handbook →

Free State of Van Zandt

1861

Several explanations have been proposed for the origin of the name Free State of Van Zandt for Van Zandt County. The first is that when Van Zandt and Kaufman counties were formed from Henderson County, all debts for the area were retained by Henderson County, and consequently Van Zandt County became known as a debt-free territory. Resentful politicians of Henderson County thereafter referred to Van Zandt County as a free state. Another explanation states that in 1861 some 350 residents attended a meeting to protest secession . They reasoned that if Texas could leave the Union, then Van Zandt County could leave the state of Texas. These people tried to organize a government until they were threatened with military intervention. In another story, a slaveowner from out of the state came through Van Zandt County seeking a place to keep his slaves after Confederate setbacks. Asked if Van Zandt County would suffice, the man replied, "Hell no, I had as soon think of taking them to a free state. I came all the way from Quitman and never so much as saw a slave." In yet another tale, during Reconstruction residents declared Van Zandt County independent of state and national authority. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan sent troops, eventually captured the perpetrators, and imprisoned them near Canton. Although the rebels had temporarily routed the United States troops, in their eagerness to celebrate they drank too much and failed to post a guard. All eventually escaped.

Tsha Handbook →

Canton, Texas

Music in Canton

Songs About Canton

Artists From Canton

Rivers & Roads in Song near Canton

History of Canton

Canton, TX RoadyGoat

Canton, TX RoadyGoat

How Salt Killed the Refrigerator Problem RoadyGoat

George Washington Tull, Sr.

Dixie Hotel

John H. Reagan

Neches, Battle of the

Free State of Van Zandt

Things to Do in Canton

Everything Near Canton