Editing Canton, Maine (section)

==History==

Canton Point was the site of Rockemeka, village of the Anasagunticook (or [[Androscoggin (tribe)|Androscoggin]]) [[Abenaki]] [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indians]]. It is said the tribe had {{convert|500|acre|km2}} cleared to raise [[maize|corn]]. By 1757 the tribe population was devastated by [[smallpox]].

The land became part of a grant the [[Massachusetts General Court]] awarded to Captain Joseph Phipps and 63 other soldiers for their services during the [[French and Indian War]]. Called Phipps-Canada, it was incorporated in 1795 as [[Jay, Maine|Jay]] in honor of [[John Jay]], the first [[Chief Justice of the United States|chief justice]] of the [[United States Supreme Court|U. S. Supreme Court]]. On February 5, 1821, Canton was set off from Jay and incorporated, named after [[Canton, Massachusetts]].<ref name=Coolidge>{{Cite book  | last = Coolidge  | first = Austin J.|author2=John B. Mansfield  | title = A History and Description of New England| publisher = A.J. Coolidge  | year = 1859| location = Boston, Massachusetts| pages = [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ/page/n118 84]–85| url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OcoMAAAAYAAJ| quote = coolidge mansfield history description new england 1859.  }}</ref>

Settlement began in the early 1790s when William Livermore, William French, Joseph Coolidge, and Alexander Shepherd arrived. Others followed, principally from [[Massachusetts]]. The surface of the town is uneven in the outskirts, but smooth and level at Canton Point, where the soil was considered unsurpassed in the state for agriculture. The outlet of Lake Anasagunticook provided [[water power]] for industry. [[Gustavus Hayford]] settled here in 1814. In addition to a [[log cabin]], he built a [[sawmill]] and [[gristmill]]. First called Hayford Mills, it was renamed Canton Mills, and then Canton. In the 19th century, it had a [[machine shop]] to manufacture [[farm implement]]s, a [[tinware]] factory, and an iron [[foundry]].<ref>{{Citation
  | last = Varney
  | first = George J.
  | title = Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Canton
  | place = Boston
  | publisher = Russell
  | year = 1886
  | url = http://history.rays-place.com/me/canton-me.htm
  | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130201014857/http://history.rays-place.com/me/canton-me.htm
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = February 1, 2013
  }}</ref> It remains the business center. The [[Rumford Branch]] of the [[Maine Central Railroad]] passed through the town in the late 1850s, carrying freight and also tourists. The community developed as a resort area for [[campsite|camping]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120711161836/http://history.rays-place.com/me/canton.htm Historical Sketch of Canton, Maine (1889)]</ref>

In December 2005 the town began a project to relocate the town center and about 60 homes on the [[floodplain]]s surrounding the [[Androscoggin River]] due to frequent spring flooding. Proposals have been floated to replace the vacated lots with parkland or nature trails.