The recent commercial developments are changing Canton from country casual to country chic, or creating the best of both worlds here. Some residents see the developments as an irritating intrusion on the town’s staunch small-town character. Others see the change as a welcome opportunity to expand the tax base and relieve some of the pressure on residential property assessments.

Canton is an amalgamation of four very different villages: industrial Collinsville, rural Canton Center, North Canton and Canton Village, that surround the busy Albany Turnpike (Route 44) strip. Canton Center and North Canton were originally parts of West Simsbury. What was once South Canton became, during the early industrial era, the river-edge mill village of Collinsville (famous for Sam Collins’ axes, bayonets, and machetes). Canton Village emerged as a trading center along the Albany Turnpike.

Canton still has the smallest population of the Valley towns, but percentage-wise, the fastest growing. The town’s prime commercial properties along Route 44, and reasonably priced scenic acreage, have recently attracted spillover development from Avon and Simsbury. The Shoppes at Farmington Valley, a mix of big retailers and designer boutiques that opened a few years ago just over the Avon-Simsbury town line, is the largest new commercial venture this part of the Valley has ever seen.

The heart of Canton is the village of Collinsville. Surrounded by steep hills that curl along the Farmington River, it once thrived as an industrial center. Today it is Canton’s own distinctive downtown, the seat of its town government, an artistic center, and designated one of America’s 10 “coolest” small towns by a national travel magazine. It also offers some of the Valley’s most affordable housing.

Collinsville’s industrial history is evident in the group of Collins Company Axe Factory mill-style buildings (c.1826) that still stand along this section of the river. After the factory closed in the mid-1960s, several of the buildings were recycled into a variety of uses including art studios, antiques outlets and artisan workshops. The town has strongly supported a mixed-use, historical restoration plan for the buildings, but that effort has stalled. However, to the delight of treasure hunters, a fascinating multi-floor, multi-dealer antiques emporium is back again.

Recycling many of its historical resources has enlivened modern Collinsville. A three-mile section of the Rails-to-Trails Greenway passes over the Farmington River on a restored old trestle bridge. At the Canton Historical Museum on Front Street, volunteers have assembled a fascinating collection of Collins Company memorabilia.

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