Canton School District History

Canton High in 1884

“Central,” Canton’s first permanent high school was built in 1884 and was regarded as one of the best in eastern South Dakota, if not one of the best in all of the Dakota’s. It was a large two-story brick structure with enough room to house all the students on the first floor. But in a few years, as enrollment started to climb, all the rooms were put to use. By 1910 there were too many students for the school and some had to be sent to the Augustana campus, which was not in use that year. In 1923 the “old” Canton High School was built. This ultra new structure was complete with a swimming pool, gymnasium, and an auditorium with a balcony and seating for over 900 people. Once again Canton was considered to have one of the best schools in the state.

Canton High in 1961

The Canton School District has a rich tradition of excellence in education. School was first held in Canton during the winter of 1868-69 in a sod house on the southwest corner of what is now the Lincoln County Courthouse block. In 1870 Canton’s first real school building was constructed. This building quickly overflowed and in 1878 a two-story frame building was erected consisting of one large classroom on each floor. With the coming of the railroad in 1879, Canton once again needed a larger school. In 1884 a large two-story brick building, designed to hold elementary classes on the first floor and high school classes on the upper floor.

In 1961 two new elementary buildings were built to replace the old wooden buildings. One of the new elementary buildings named after C.C. Jacobson, a long-time teacher, coach, principal, and superintendent in Canton. The other building was named after E.O. Lawrence, a 1918 graduate of Canton High School and the 1939 recipient of the Noble Prize in Physics for his work in developing the cyclotron, a machine for accelerating atomic particles.

Current Canton High building

The current Canton High School was built in 1997 and Canton was once again cited for having a school that surpassed other schools in the areas of technology and innovation. Canton is continually looking for ways to improve the quality of education that we provide for our community. We are currently working with the City of Canton on a joint venture that would enhance recreational opportunities available to community members.