Canton, with its somewhat higher ground but still close river proximity experienced rapid growth over the next nine years after Tully's demise and by 1860 had a population of over 2,000 people. The town was officially incorporated on January 28, 1851. Ferry service across the Mississippi River dates back as far as 1844 in the Canton area, the first being at Tully. On February 24, 1853 a charter was granted for the "Lewis-Adams" river ferry. The early ferries were paddlewheel craft with the power supplied by horses on treadmills. Local travelers and those heading westward in pursuit of a new life meant heavy use of the ferry, with early fares being 50 cents per wagon and 10 cents for travelers on foot. In an era where railroads were still few Canton, along with Alexandria, Missouri several miles upriver to the north, became major trading and shipping points for towns and counties on the northeast Missouri interior. A stage line ran from Canton as far west as Kirksville, some eighty miles away in Adair county, prior to the American Civil War. right|thumb|200px|WPA mural in Canton, MO post office right|thumb|200px|Henderson Hall looks out over Canton from atop "The Hill" Another key event in Canton's history came about in 1853 with the founding of "Christian University", now known as Culver-Stockton College. Closed for a period of time during the Civil War, the college reopened in 1865 and has been a foundation of the community since. Henderson Hall, a.k.a. "Old Main", on the Culver-Stockton campus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As a strategic river port, Canton was involved considerably in the Civil War. Loyalties were heavily mixed and both the Union and Confederate armies recruited heavily in the town and surrounding area. Federal troops occupied Canton in July, 1861 to quell recent unrest and quash recruiting for the Missouri State Guard and pro-Confederate guerrillas by Lewis county residents Martin E. Green, Joseph C. Porter and others. On August 2, 1862 Colonel Porter ordered a raid on Canton. One resident was killed and another, a Union sympathizer, kidnapped by the bushwhackers, who also stole large quantities of weapons, medicine and other supplies. right|thumb|200px|Flooding at Canton in June, 2008. The river crested at its second-highest level ever at Canton, 27.73 feet. Canton continued its role as gateway to northeast Missouri agricultural after the war, with several industries catering to those needs. Pork processing had begun in the 1840s, with thousands of hogs being slaughtered by the late 1870s. Iron plows, wagons, a patented hand corn planter, and buttons—using mussel shells from the nearby river—were some of the diverse items manufactured in Canton in the 19th century. Limited rail service had existed in Canton in antebellum times but the tracks were destroyed during Civil War fighting. Rail service was finally restored to the town in 1871 with the arrival of the St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern Railroad. While the Mississippi river has been the lifeblood of the town, it has also been Canton's nemesis throughout the years. Major flooding has occurred many times in the town's history. Some of the more notable, in addition to the aforementioned 1851 flood, were in 1929, 1973, 1993 and 2008. The 1929 flood was caused by a levee break. Within an hour of the break two square miles of the town and surrounding countryside were underwater, including more than 200 homes and the Canton school building but there were no deaths. During the New Deal era, Jessie Hull Mayer won the federal commission to complete a mural in the Canton post office. Murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. Mayer's mural, Winter Landscape was installed in 1940 and was restored in 1971, with additional restoration work performed in 2005.
canton with its somewhat higher ground but still close river proximity experienced rapid growth over the next nine years after tully's demise and by 1860 had a population of over 2000 people the town was officially incorporated on january 28 1851 ferry service across the mississippi river dates back as far as 1844 in the canton area the first being at tully on february 24 1853 a charter was granted for the "lewis-adams" river ferry the early ferries were paddlewheel craft with the power supplied by horses on treadmills local travelers and those heading westward in pursuit of a new life meant heavy use of the ferry with early fares being 50 cents per wagon and 10 cents for travelers on foot in an era where railroads were still few canton along with alexandria missouri several miles upriver to the north became major trading and shipping points for towns and counties on the northeast missouri interior a stage line ran from canton as far west as kirksville some eighty miles away in adair county prior to the american civil war right|thumb|200px|wpa mural in canton mo post office right|thumb|200px|henderson hall looks out over canton from atop "the hill" another key event in canton's history came about in 1853 with the founding of "christian university" now known as culver-stockton college closed for a period of time during the civil war the college reopened in 1865 and has been a foundation of the community since henderson hall aka "old main" on the culver-stockton campus is listed on the national register of historic places as a strategic river port canton was involved considerably in the civil war loyalties were heavily mixed and both the union and confederate armies recruited heavily in the town and surrounding area federal troops occupied canton in july 1861 to quell recent unrest and quash recruiting for the missouri state guard and pro-confederate guerrillas by lewis county residents martin e green joseph c porter and others on august 2 1862 colonel porter ordered a raid on canton one resident was killed and another a union sympathizer kidnapped by the bushwhackers who also stole large quantities of weapons medicine and other supplies right|thumb|200px|flooding at canton in june 2008 the river crested at its second-highest level ever at canton 2773 feet canton continued its role as gateway to northeast missouri agricultural after the war with several industries catering to those needs pork processing had begun in the 1840s with thousands of hogs being slaughtered by the late 1870s iron plows wagons a patented hand corn planter and buttons—using mussel shells from the nearby river—were some of the diverse items manufactured in canton in the 19th century limited rail service had existed in canton in antebellum times but the tracks were destroyed during civil war fighting rail service was finally restored to the town in 1871 with the arrival of the st louis keokuk & northwestern railroad while the mississippi river has been the lifeblood of the town it has also been canton's nemesis throughout the years major flooding has occurred many times in the town's history some of the more notable in addition to the aforementioned 1851 flood were in 1929 1973 1993 and 2008 the 1929 flood was caused by a levee break within an hour of the break two square miles of the town and surrounding countryside were underwater including more than 200 homes and the canton school building but there were no deaths during the new deal era jessie hull mayer won the federal commission to complete a mural in the canton post office murals were produced from 1934 to 1943 in the united states through the section of painting and sculpture later called the section of fine arts of the treasury department mayer's mural winter landscape was installed in 1940 and was restored in 1971 with additional restoration work performed in 2005