Beyond New York’s Canton Avenue: How Many Places in the US Bear the Name “Canton”? 68!
除咗紐約廣東大道，美國仲有幾多個Canton（廣府、廣東）命名的縣鎮鄉
Brooklyn, New York, officially unveiled Canton Avenue. The word Canton was the historical Western name for Guangzhou, the provincial capital known to Cantonese people. What many do not know is that, by incomplete statistics, there are 68 inhabited places named Canton across the United States.
Why are there so many locations called Canton in America?
The story dates back to the era of the Canton System in the Qing Dynasty. Back then, Guangzhou was China’s only port open to Western trade. The Thirteen Hongs bustled with merchants, as tea, silk and porcelain were shipped from Huangpu Port to Europe and America in large quantities. In 1784, the American ship Empress of China made its maiden voyage to Guangzhou and returned home with lucrative cargo. Since then, Canton (Guangzhou) became a symbol of wealth and business opportunities from the East.
Many American pioneers and overseas merchants named newly founded towns Canton. It was a tribute to the fortunes generated by trade with Guangzhou, and also a later commemoration of the immense contributions of Cantonese immigrants in the Qing era, who helped settle the frontier, build railroads and develop the American West.
Among these 68 Cantons, the two largest and most famous are in Ohio and Massachusetts.
Canton, Ohio, is the most populous city bearing this name in the US, home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It was named by a local surveyor, whose friend made a fortune through transoceanic trade with Guangzhou. He named this new land Canton in honour of the great trading port in the Far East.
Canton, a town south of Boston, Massachusetts, has an even more interesting origin story. Legend says early settlers believed their town was geographically opposite Guangzhou on the globe. They thought digging straight down through the Earth would lead to Guangzhou, China, so they chose Canton as the town’s name, which remains in use to this day.
Beyond these two major settlements, dozens of counties, towns and villages named Canton are scattered across more than 20 states, including Pennsylvania, Illinois, Mississippi and Georgia. They are cultural marks left by Cantonese civilisation on the American continent.
It is important to distinguish: New York’s Canton Avenue is a commemorative street advocated by local communities to honour Cantonese labourers who built the Transcontinental Railroad. In contrast, the dozens of Canton towns across America originated much earlier, born from the China-US maritime trade boom of the 18th and 19th centuries.
From the sailing ships of the Thirteen Hongs, to the towns named Canton across America, and finally to Canton Avenue in modern New York. A single word, Canton, links a 200-year story of Cantonese people engaging with the wider world. These place names on the other side of the ocean are more than just English labels — they are the historical footprints left by Cantonese ancestors who travelled across the seas.
最近紐約布魯克林正式掛牌「廣東大道」Canton Avenue，呢條街名用嘅Canton，就係舊時西方世界對廣州嘅稱呼，亦即係我哋廣府人熟悉嘅「省城」。好多人唔知，美國境內叫Canton嘅聚居地名，據不完全統計，足足有68個。
好多人會問，點解美國有咁多地方叫Canton？
時間要返到清代「一口通商」嘅年代，當年全中國淨係得廣州可以同西洋各國做生意，十三行萬商雲集，茶葉、絲綢、瓷器由黃埔港源源不斷運去歐美。1784年美國「中國皇后號」首航廣州，滿載貨物返國大賺一筆，Canton（廣州）呢個名，就變成財富、東方商機嘅象徵。當時美國好多開拓者、遠洋商人，將新開發嘅城鎮直接命名為Canton，一方面係紀念同廣州貿易帶來嘅財富，另一方面，亦都係後世紀念清朝年間廣東華工，對美國早期開荒、修鐵路、建設西部嘅巨大貢獻。
呢68個Canton入面，規模最大、最出名嘅有兩個，分別係俄亥俄州Canton同麻省Canton。
俄亥俄州Canton，係美國所有Canton入面人口最多嘅城市，亦即係體育迷熟悉嘅美式足球名人堂所在地。當年命名，就係因為當地土地測量師嘅好友，靠同廣州做跨洋貿易致富，所以將呢片新大陸土地命名Canton，紀念遠在東方嘅通商大港廣州。
而麻省波士頓南郊嘅Canton鎮，故事更加有意思。相傳當年鎮民為新地方起名時，覺得呢個地方同廣州處於地球兩端，只要一直向下挖穿地殼，就可以抵達中國廣州，於是就揀咗Canton作為鎮名，一路沿用至今。
除咗呢兩個大城鎮，美國由賓夕法尼亞、伊利諾伊、密西西比到佐治亞等二十多個州，散佈住大大小小叫Canton嘅縣、鎮、村落，就好似散落美洲大陸一顆顆屬於廣府文化嘅印記。
好多人會混淆：紐約「廣東大道」係後期社區爭取、新增嘅紀念性街名，用Canton去緬懷修築太平洋鐵路嘅廣府華工；而遍布全美幾十個Canton城鎮，起源更早，係十八、十九世紀，由當年中美貿易浪潮所誕生。
由當年十三行帆影，到美國大陸一個個Canton城鎮，再到今日紐約街頭嘅廣東大道。一個Canton，串起兩百年廣府人同世界相會嘅故事。大洋彼岸嘅呢啲地名，唔只係英文標記，亦都係廣東先民走出去，留下嘅歷史足跡。
