The History of Canton, Texas
Canton's history and its identity are one and the same: this Van Zandt County seat is the birthplace of First Monday Trade Days, which grew from frontier court days in the 1850s into the largest and oldest continually operated flea market in the United States. The story of Canton is the story of how a monthly gathering to trade became a world-famous market.
Here's how Canton came to be.
Court Days on the First Monday
Canton was established as the seat of Van Zandt County in the mid-1800s, and it was the rhythms of frontier justice that gave the town its famous tradition. In that era, a circuit judge traveled from county to county to hold court on specific days, and people came to town on those days both to watch the proceedings and to do business. Canton's designated day was the first Monday of each month — the origin of the name First Monday Trade Days.
Because most of Van Zandt County was open range at the time, a state law required that stray horses be rounded up and brought to Canton to be auctioned to the highest bidder. Those auctions, held on court day, became the seed of a market.
From Horse Auctions to a Market
Over time, the first-Monday gatherings grew well beyond stray horses. Traders began bringing other goods and commodities to sell, and the monthly event swelled into a genuine market that drew people from across the region. What had started as an incidental side effect of court day became Canton's main event.
The market grew so large that it eventually outstripped the town square. In 1965 the city set in motion a plan to manage it: with the city lacking funds to relocate the trading area, local citizens Angus Travis and Joe Hackney purchased six and a half acres north of the square for the traders, and the event was soon moved to the fairgrounds, where it had room to keep expanding.
The World's Largest Flea Market
From those humble frontier origins, First Monday Trade Days became a phenomenon — billed as the largest and oldest continually operated flea market in the United States, drawing up to 100,000 shoppers on a single weekend. Today it's held Thursday through Sunday preceding the first Monday of each month, sprawling across hundreds of acres of vendor lots and pavilions.
The market made Canton a destination far out of proportion to its size of roughly 3,600 residents, and it remains the heart of the town's economy and identity. Located just off Interstate 20 between Dallas and Tyler, Canton built its whole modern story around that monthly tradition born of court days and horse auctions.
Timeline
1850s
First Monday Trade Days originates from court days in Canton, when people gathered on the first Monday of each month for court and to trade.
1850s
Open-range law requires stray horses to be auctioned in Canton on court day, seeding the market.
1965
Citizens Angus Travis and Joe Hackney buy six and a half acres north of the square for the growing trading area; the market later moves to the fairgrounds.
present
First Monday Trade Days, billed as the largest flea market in the U.S., draws up to 100,000 shoppers per weekend to Canton.
FAQ: History of Canton
It began in the 1850s from frontier court days. A circuit judge held court in Canton on the first Monday of each month, and people came to town to watch and trade. Open-range law required stray horses to be auctioned there on court day, and the event grew into a market — hence the name First Monday Trade Days.
Canton became famous for First Monday Trade Days, which grew from 1850s court-day horse auctions into the largest and oldest continually operated flea market in the United States, drawing up to 100,000 shoppers a weekend and making the small Van Zandt County seat a major destination.
Yes. Canton is the seat of Van Zandt County, a role it has held since the mid-1800s. Its court days gave rise to First Monday Trade Days, the world-famous flea market that defines the town today.
The name comes from the day the circuit judge held court in Canton — the first Monday of each month. People gathered on that day to attend court and to trade, and the market that grew from it kept the name, even though today it runs Thursday through Sunday before the first Monday.
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