The Canton Commercial Historic District consists of one and one-half blocks of late-19th century and early 20th century commercial buildings in downtown Canton, GA. It is centrally located within the city on a high rise of ground. Streets in the District form part of the city's original gridiron street system. Lots are generally long and narrow, and they are relatively small in size. Buildings are uniformly set back from the streets. Buildings, ranging from one to three stories in height, have long, narrow proportions. They date from the 1890s to the 1930s.

Georgia Historic Preservation Division http://www.gashpo.org/

Architecture

Styles represented in the district include simple Victorian Eclectic, early 20th century Commercial, Beaux Arts, and Art Moderne; several buildings in the District are utilitarian in design and express no architectural style. Brick, the predominant building material, is used both structurally and decoratively. Detailing is confined primarily to front facades and is, for the most part, relatively simple. Examples of corbeled cornices and stringcourses, decorative spandrels, segmental arches, and pent/parapet roof lines are all found in this District.

The Beaux Arts style marble-clad Bank of Canton (1892) and the Art Moderne, stucco-clad Canton theatre (1913, remodeled CA 1940) stand out because of their distinct styles and building materials. Many storefronts in the District have been remodeled, along with a few front facades, although there were virtually no non-historic structures in the District.

History

The Commercial Historic District is significant for representing the intact portion of Canton's historic central business district. Downtown Canton served as the historic commercial center for the city and much of Cherokee County during the 19th and 20th centuries. Canton, originally named Etowah, was founded in the early 19th century in conjunction with the north Georgia gold rush. In 1833, it was designated county seat, and in 1834, the town's name was changed to Canton to recognize one of the communities first industries--silk manufacturing.

Canton grew slowly in the antebellum years, and it was almost completely destroyed by Sherman's troops during the Civil War. The town began rebuilding following the war and was aided by the 1879 arrival of the Marietta & North Georgia Railroad. It began to prosper and expand.

Buildings in the Commercial Historic District dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries reflect Canton's second period of historic growth and development. This period began in the 1890s with the establishment of two major local industries--the Georgia Marble Finishing Works (1891) and the Canton Cotton Mills (1899). Additionally during this period, the town got its first bank, the Bank of Canton (1892).

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