Canton is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,995 at the 2010 census. The town contains two villages: one also named Canton, the other named Rensselaer Falls. The town is named after the great port of Canton (now named Guangzhou) in China. Canton is the home of St. Lawrence University and SUNY Canton. Canton Central School District is centered in the village of Canton.HistoryThe first settler arrived in 1800. The town was organized/incorporated on May 14th, 1805 from part of the town of Lisbon. The name Canton was supposedly selected due to contemporary interests in the China trade. Canton was one of the original ten towns of the county. In 1845, the community of Canton was incorporated as a village. The Brick Chapel Church and Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.GeographyAccording to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 105.9 square miles (274.3 km²), of which, 104.8 square miles (271.4 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (1.03%) is water.
