Former Post Office for City delivers

A graceful, historic brick building built in downtown Canton in the 1920s during one of the city’s most prosperous eras has had many different uses in the almost one-hundred years it has stood on East Main Street.

The Canton Post Office opened in the building on August 1, 1929, and was the first structure built in Canton under the federal Public Buildings Act. The building was constructed in the Neoclassical Revival style and cost $65,000. The contractor was A.M. Lundberg of St. Louis, Missouri.

The post office was constructed at the same time as the historic white marble Cherokee County Courthouse, the former Canton First United Methodist Church behind the former courthouse, and the former Canton Cotton Mill offices. However, the stock market crash of 1929, one of the worst in U.S. history, ushered in the years of the Great Depression and brought construction projects in the city to a grinding halt.

In those early years, the post office was often a gathering place for patrons who came to get their mail and chat with others about the happenings of the day. The building remained in use as the post office until 1975. After it was no longer used as a post office, the building served as Canton City Hall until the 1990s.

The lovely brick building now serves the city as a fire station, although plans are already underway to eventually build a new fire station. But for now, the station downtown works well for the purpose.

“Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services is honored to provide a high level of services to the city of Canton. The firefighters of Station 16 really enjoy being housed downtown, where they can interact with people in the community,” says Cherokee County Fire Chief Eddie Robinson.

“They often tell me stories about parents stopping by the station with their kids for a visit and looking at the new fire engine. It is also beneficial for the overall operation to have an ambulance downtown during our peak hours.“

“The station is staffed with three firefighters who are assigned to the engine that works a twenty-four-hour shift,” explains Chief Robinson. “There are two additional firefighters who work a twelve-hour shift during the day. We also add additional staffing as needed for special events like First Friday.”

The fire station has a brand new, shiny E-One Typhoon fire engine with a larger water-carrying capacity and state-of-the-art tools for vehicle extrication.

“This apparatus station downtown allows for quick response in the city and gives good access to I-575,” the chief offered.

All fire personnel are trained at the level of state-certified firefighter 2. “They are also trained for vehicle extrication, hazardous materials, flammable, and combustible liquid firefighting. All members are trained and licensed by the state as emergency medical technician intermediate, advanced, or paramedics,” Chief Robinson said.

The beautiful neoclassical building built a century ago, continues to serve city residents today.