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Canton, Connecticut

Population: 8,840
Located in Hartford County

With a population of a little over 8,800, Canton is a small town compared to others in the Valley. Its history and its distance from Hartford and other large urban centers have given it an unpretentious nature, and a slower pace, which residents prize. The heart of Canton is the village of Collinsville. It is Canton's own distinctive downtown, the seat of its town government, an artistic center, and formerly its industrial center.

Collinsville's early industrial history is still evident in the group of old Collins Company Ax Factory (1826) mill buildings along this section of the Farmington River. After the factory closed in the mid-60s, several of the buildings were recycled for a variety of uses, including art studios, antiques outlets and artisans' workshops. The Collinsville Antiques Company, a rambling emporium of treasures funky and fine, occupies a large space on two floors.

Recreation: Meanwhile, Collinsville has been enlivened by the opening of a three-mile section of the Rails to Trails Greenway. Part of the trail passes over the Farmington River on a restored old trestle bridge offering a spectacular view up and down river, and of the rapids which once powered the Collins factory turbines.

Two peaceful places tucked away in Canton are the Roaring Brook Nature Center - great for hiking all year round - and the Mill's Pond Recreation Area. Mill's Pond has soccer fields, tennis courts, a playscape, and the town pool.

Visitors along the trail get a taste of the special things Collinsville residents have come to love. At the Canton Historical Museum on Front Street volunteers have assembled a fascinating collection of Collins Company memorabilia. Across the parking lot, the classic, old, wooden train station promises to reopen soon as an upscale coffeehouse.

Route 179 follows the Cherry Brook, a stream that flows between two picturesque hills full of farms in North Canton. On the hillside, at a curve in Cherry Brook Road, the North Canton School House sits white and pristine. Some of the town's attractive new housing subdivisions are being developed in this area.

Dining: Up the street, at LaSalle Market, John Rainey has made the old market an informal breakfast, lunch, and dinner restaurant, a deli, a pizza and ice cream parlor, a catering business, a country store and a music venue that's enthusiastically embraced by Collinsville regulars and visitors alike. Below the Market is Quiet Sports, a favorite of the serious Farmington River fly fisherman.

Shopping: Just down the street, at the Front Street Building, which once housed offices for the Collins Company, Griffin Brothers Lighting gives new life to lovely old fixtures. Just off Main Street, on Market Street, is the Canton Town Hall, which serves municipal functions, and whose small auditorium is home to the Acts Factory Players, an all-volunteer community theater group.

A look in the opposite direction offers a view of the quaint village green, with its landmark Collinsville Congregational Church. At Collinsville Savings Society, another historic Main Street brick building, tellers still hand-enter deposits and withdrawals in your savings account passbook.

North on Route 179 from Collinsville, past Canton Feed and Supply, Canton's landscape becomes distinctively rural. The roadside is surrounded by several family-run farms and, in the summer months, many outdoor vegetable stands.

Between the rural charm of Canton Center and the bustle of Collinsville is Canton Village proper. Its life is centered around Route 44, also called the Albany Turnpike. Along this modern commercial strip, you'll find restaurants, daycare centers, all kinds of shopping, as well as residential neighborhoods and condo developments.

Golf: Another local institution, along Route 44 toward Avon, is Canton Golf Course, where owner Walter Lowell has taught generations of local residents to play the sport. And, over the next few years, the more-than-100-acre course will morph into a New England-style boutique complex called The Shoppes at Farmington Valley.

Canton may just be the slice of heaven you have been looking for with affordable housing, four distinct seasons and many recreational activities.

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