Canon, GA

Canon is a Franklin and Hart County city of 643 residents in the 2020 census. Before it had its present name, the place was called West Bowersville and was laid out in 1875. The Georgia General Assembly incorporated it as the Town of Canon in 1902, drawing a one-mile circle from the intersection of Broad and Depot streets. Georgia State Routes 17 and 51 pass through the center, with Royston four miles south on SR 17.

ATTRBrian Stansberry / CC BY 4.0

Those streets still give Canon a readable town center. Depot Street and Broad Street mark the old civic and commercial grid, while the city office on Georgia Highway 17 handles utilities, council meetings, and day-to-day municipal business. Canon also grew as a newspaper town: the Franklin County Register was published here as a weekly in the 1880s, carrying local and regional news. Today the highway junction, small downtown, and two-county location tie Canon to farms and neighboring communities on both sides of the county line.