Welcome To Canton
A Message From Stanford Beasley, Executive Director
Welcome!!
The Canton Housing Authority is “changing lives one key at a time,” and we are proud of the service that we provide to the affordable housing community within the City of Canton and surrounding areas. The need for affordable housing continues to grow, and the CHA is working diligently through public and private partnerships in addressing this growing need.
I am excited about our latest three acquisitions of Royal Estates (32 units), Canton Manor (32 Units), and Madison Heights (80 Units). Rehab of all three of these affordable housing developments will begin within six months.
The Canton Housing Authority is always looking at ways in which we can make the lives of those we serve better. For the next few years the Canton Housing Authority has decided to “grow” housing through new construction and partnerships with affordable housing developers; “advocate” on behalf of clients for public policies and laws that do not have an adverse impact on the constituents we serve; and “preserve” our current housing stock and other developments through acquisitions that are already designated as affordable.
Again, welcome and enjoy navigating through our website!!!
Stanford Beasley,
Executive Director
Our History
Madison County, the 23rd county in Mississippi, was named for fourth President James Madison and was created in 1828 out of Yazoo and Hinds Counties. It incorporates lands between the Pearl and Big Black Rivers, where General Andrew Jackson met with the Choctaw Chieftain, Pushmataha. That meeting resulted in the 1820 Treaty of Doak's Stand.
This area attracted large numbers of settlers from Virginia and the Carolinas who came to farm the lush, rolling hills, and fertile soil.
In 1833, the Madison County Board of Police (a governing body similar to today's supervisors) appointed surveyor John B. Peyton to select a geographical center for a new county seat and to lay it out in blocks. In 1834, 40 acres of land belonging to Killis and Margaret Walton were deeded to the county for $100. The land was divided into square parcels with the plot nearest the center reserved for the public square.
In 1836, the town was legally incorporated and boasted a population of 400. The first recorded ordinance made it a misdemeanor to gallop horse, mare, or mule on any street or alley.
By 1838, Canton boasted two banks, two hotels, ten dry goods stores, a drug store, three groceries, a bakery, a tin shop, three tailor shops, and two watchmakers. The public buildings were a courthouse, jail, church, and a female academy.
The town enjoyed notoriety for having as visitors the celebrated original Siamese twins, Chang and Eng, who ordered two custom suits from Perlinsky's Tailor Shop.
There are two stories concerning the naming of Canton, and both attribute the name to a Chinese origin. One states that Canton, Mississippi, is the exact opposite side of the world as Canton, China, and was thus named.
The other story states that the daughter of a Chinese family died in the area, and the sympathetic community named the town for the family. There is really no more proof for one over the other; it's just which one you wish to believe.
Implementing Public Housing Programs In Canton, Mississippi
The Housing Authority of the City of Canton was established in 1952 with the purpose of providing decent, safe, and sanitary housing at an affordable cost. Canton Housing Authority is located in the city of Canton approximately 30 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and falls within the jurisdiction of Madison County. The Canton Housing Authority (CHA) efficiently operates 150 low-income public housing units located between two (2) developments (Joe Prichard and Pat Doherty Homes) that are centrally located within the city limits.
The public housing authority (PHA) is not a federal department or federal agency. The public housing program is administered at the local level by PHAs authorized by State legislation and generally established by action of a town, city, county, regional area, or state.
The agency is managed by an executive director, Stanford H. Beasley, and a five (5) member Board of Commissioners.
