[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10615]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING CITY OF CANTON, MISSISSIPPI

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 19, 2014

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
City of Canton, Mississippi.
  Madison County, the 23rd county in Mississippi, was named for the 
fourth President, James Madison, and was created in 1828 out of Yazoo 
and Hinds Counties. It incorporates lands between the Pearl and Big 
Black Rivers where General Andrew Jackson met with the Choctaw 
Chieftain, Pushmataha. That meeting resulted in the 1820 Treaty of 
Doak's Stand.
  This area attracted large numbers of settlers from Virginia and the 
Carolinas who came to farm the lush, rolling hills, and fertile soil.
  In 1833, the Madison County Board of Police (a governing body similar 
to today's supervisors) appointed surveyor John B. Peyton to select a 
geographical center for a new county seat and to lay it out in blocks. 
In 1834, 40 acres of land belonging to Killis and Margaret Walton were 
deeded to the county for $100. The land was divided into square parcels 
with the plot nearest the center reserved for the public square.
  In 1836, the town was legally incorporated and boasted a population 
of 400. The first recorded ordinance made it a misdemeanor to gallop 
horse, mare, or mule on any street or alley.
  By 1838, Canton boasted two banks, two hotels, ten dry goods stores, 
a drug store, three groceries, a bakery, a tin shop, three tailor 
shops, and two watchmakers. The public buildings were a courthouse, 
jail, church, and a female academy. The town enjoyed notoriety for 
having as visitors the celebrated original Siamese twins, Chang and 
Eng, who ordered two custom suits from Perlinsky's Tailor Shop.
  There are two stories concerning the naming of Canton, and both 
attribute the name to Chinese origin. One states that Canton, 
Mississippi is the exact opposite side of the world as Canton, China, 
and was thus named. The other story states that the daughter of a 
Chinese family died in the area and the sympathetic community named the 
town for the family. There is really no more proof for one over the 
other, it's just which one you wish to believe.
  The very center and glory of our town is the beautiful Greek Revival 
Courthouse. Members of the local Masonic Order laid the cornerstone to 
the Courthouse in July 1855. The Board of Police paid $26,428 for it, 
as well as $65 per month to a commissioner to supervise proper 
construction--a magnificent sum at that time. The brick used were 
salvaged from the old Courthouse that had been condemned in 1840 
because of the deterioration of the mortar. The new Courthouse was the 
scene of a huge Fourth of July celebration in 1857, but was not legally 
accepted until 1858. The beautiful iron fence was added later at a cost 
of $5,250. The large dome (twenty feet in diameter and thirty feet 
high) has twice been threatened with removal for security reasons. The 
first time was during original construction in 1856, and the second 
time was during remodeling in 1925. Both times the women of the town 
were successful in protecting it by insisting that ``beauty prevail 
over reason.''
  The Courthouse has also served as a gathering place to welcome the 
railroad, send soldiers off to war, as a Court of Justice and the Seat 
of county offices, a polling place, an early library, a theater, and a 
hospital during the yellow fever epidemic.
  The happenings within the Courthouse walls have reflected the 
humorous, chivalrous, hardheaded, hospitable personalities who have 
given the South its distinctive character. During reconstruction, there 
was so much ballot box stuffing and tensions that when Election Day 
threatened to become bloody, a group of officials dispersed a gathering 
crowd by climbing into the dome and shooting down rocks with 
slingshots.
  The legal chambers within the Courthouse have witnessed many fiery 
trials, several of which resulted in duels between lawyers. When 
dueling had been outlawed in the state, Judge Calhoun and Judge Bowers, 
respecting the law, traveled together to Vicksburg and crossed the 
river into Louisiana to settle a court quarrel with pistols. Neither 
man was injured; it was simply a matter of honor.
  In 1994-1995 a new Courthouse was built one block north of the Square 
and the beautiful old Courthouse underwent a $2,000,000 renovation. The 
1855 cornerstone was opened and re-laid by the Masonic Order. The first 
floor is currently home to the Madison County Economic Development 
Authority, and the old courtroom, on the second floor, is currently not 
in use.
  In 1982, the Canton Courthouse Square District was officially entered 
into the National Register of Historic Places and declared one of three 
best examples in the State of Mississippi.
  The Courthouse Square, still the focus of exciting activities, is the 
scene twice yearly of the nationally famous Canton Flea Market Arts & 
Crafts Show. The Market attracts up to 100,000 visitors annually from 
across the United States and beyond.
  It is estimated that over $20,000,000 in public and private funding 
has been invested in the Canton Square District, including the new and 
old Courthouses.
  In recent years, the beauty, uniqueness, and preservation efforts of 
our Courthouse Square and Historic District, with its beautiful homes, 
have attracted the attention of Hollywood. In addition to the five 
major films, many advertising agencies have chosen Canton as the 
location for commercial and corporate shoots, and PBS again chose the 
town for a segment of a six hour blues documentary on blues great Skip 
James to air in 2003.
  With the site of the Nissan Automotive Plant located one mile south 
of the city, proposed plans for the Mississippi Film Complex, and the 
continued efforts toward preservation by the community, Canton's future 
is well-assured.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the City 
of Canton, Mississippi.

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