History :
With 24 states in the Union, Canton was incorporated during the presidency of James Monroe in 1821 as Mexico declared independence from Spain, 9 years after the War of 1812, 20 years before the first wagon train rolled onto the Oregon Trail, and a full 46 years before the $7.2 million purchase of Alaska from Russia. The year before Canton incorporated, the District of Maine separated from Massachusetts and was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. Missouri was admitted to the Union the next year.