CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Roughly halfway between Ann Arbor and Detroit is an area that used to be known as “the Sweet Corn Capital of Michigan.”
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European and New England settlers began farming what would become Canton Township in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It is now the second-most populated township in the state.
Originally a part of Plymouth Township, Canton Township broke off and became its own municipality in 1834. Settlers came to the area and formed several districts that became defined areas of Canton Township today.
Sheldon Corners was established where Michigan Avenue now runs. It was a small village with homes, a post office, a general store, a blacksmith, a church, and a school. Most of it has been destroyed because of the expansion of Michigan Avenue, but the Sheldon Brick School House remains standing.
Cherry Hill Village is home to Canton Township’s first church -- the United Methodist Church. Originally known as “The Ridge,” Cherry Hill Village developed at about the same time as Sheldon Corners. It became known as Cherry Hill after the construction of the Cherry Hill House -- the current home of Indigo Salon, Spa & Boutique. The Cherry Hill House was used as the community’s social center for generations.
For most of the 20th century, Canton Township’s location made it a hub for dairy farming, where milk was processed and distributed across Metro Detroit.
The regional airport, Canton–Plymouth Mettetal Airport, started as a grass strip for crop dusters in the early 1900s before being established as a public use airport in 1939.
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Canton Township’s population more than quadrupled within just a few years of the completion of I-275 in 1977, and since that point, the population has more than doubled, being just shy of 100,000 residents.
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