Seattle was as far away from Canton as the man had been, and here he stood at the meeting point between the great transcontinental railroads and the great trans-Pacific steamship lines. Here was the gateway to an unforgettable journey to unexplored territories in Alaska. This was the life of Winthrop Packard, who explored the Arctic […]
First come the chainsaws, growling and ripping through ancient trees. Within days the landscape is transformed into a blank canvas of sand, dirt, and ledge. Then come the heavy equipment ripping and scarring the earth, tossing all that is an obstacle aside. Surveyors move in to flag new roadways; cement castings arrive to become embedded […]
A rich photographic history is preserved at the Canton Historical Society. With well over 4,000 catalogued images, each moment in time helps us see the fabric of the people and places of Canton. Through the lens of time, we take a moment to showcase photographs of then and now. Photos 1 & 2: Still standing […]
The house you live in today is likely an unremarkable dwelling. Built by a general contractor, suited for 21st century living. Our houses today are not especially special and in 100 years many of them will have been replaced by whatever is the fashion of that day. This is not a happy or sad statement; […]
The Canton Historical Society recently completed three photograph albums of every Canton High School graduate since the very first class in 1869. The albums were completed by Historical Society members Susan O’Neill and Marie Duffy. The three albums were presented to Jim Halley, president of the Canton High School Alumni Association, Mark Lague, director of […]
The boys set out on an August day to swim at Houghton’s Pond. It was a bucolic summer day; a light breeze pushed big puffy clouds through the sky. Tossing their hats, jostling each other and generally roughhousing, they tumbled through the fields like lion cubs out on the savannah. For most youngsters, summertime in […]
You have driven by the small cemetery in Ponkapoag countless times. The weed-choked berm leaves no place to even pull over to take a quick walk through. It sits on a hill sandwiched between two modern subdivisions, and yet it is one of our oldest historic sites and one that tells a story of […]
When a real estate sign goes up in front of an old historic estate house, local historians shudder at the thought of a developer buying the property simply to tear the house down to build new multi-family units or condominiums. It has happened many times in Canton, and each time there is a quiet outcry; […]
There were more than 124 passengers on board the Washington Irving when she set sail from Liverpool, England, in the summer of 1850. The passengers all had mostly one thing in common: They were the Irish that could escape the famine that raged through their native land.
The following is an excerpt from “End of the Line,” the latest installment of True Tales from Canton’s Past by local historian George T. Comeau. Henry Crane Jr. was the first Crane to live in what is now Canton. He received his property on what is now Green Street in the best way possible — […]
