City Spotlight: Canton

Heading
east on highway 80 from Dallas-Fort Worth, the softly undulating prairie gives
way to the East Texas forests. Rich with lumber, water, minerals — and
eventually oil — the northeast corner of the state gave birth to dozens of
small towns in the mid-19th century. Canton was like many of them. With a
population of close to 4,000, the town owes its success to its role as county
seat of Van Zandt. But what’s made the town a destination for thousands of
Texans are Canton’s famous First Monday Trade Days, a tradition that dates back
to the town’s very founding.

The
Free State

Van
Zandt County has been known as the “Free State” for so long, historians aren’t
entirely sure how the area received the name. Some believe it relates to the
county’s founding: When adjacent Henderson County was saddled in debt in the 1840s,
the state split into two new counties, creating Van Zandt and freeing its
residents from debt. Other historians believe the moniker comes from the
pro-Union area’s attempt to secede from the Confederate States of America at
the outbreak of the Civil War.

Although
Canton was named the county seat when Van Zandt County was formed, it almost
lost the title in 1872, when the newly constructed Texas and Pacific Railway
bypassed it. County residents took the case all the way to the Texas Supreme
Court, which defended Canton’s right to remain the head of the county
government.

Trade
Days

The town’s real economic engine is its First Monday Trade Days. Dating back to the mid-19th century, the trade days began when area farmers and craftsmen came together to barter and trade. During the Civil War, when cash was scant, these trade days sustained the local economy.

Today,
a 100-acre fairground becomes the largest flea market in the world during every
weekend (Thursday through Sunday) before the first Monday of the month. Vendors
selling everything from junk to animals and tools to electronics crowd into the
little town. Up to 100,000 shoppers search for found and forgotten treasures
and barter for items just as they have done in Canton for more than 150 years.

County Fair

Canton is home to another longstanding East Texas tradition: the Van Zandt County Fair. Featuring pageants, a rodeo, and other events, the Van Zandt County Fair offers a perfect excuse to visit Canton each spring. While you are there, check out its historic courthouse, unique for its Art Moderne design, and experience true East Texas charm.

For more East Texas charm, travel the East Texas music highway or learn about singer Don Henley’s efforts to save Caddo Lake.