Canton's Historic Stumptown neighborhood was one of the oldest predominantly Black neighborhoods in Cherokee County, established as a tight-knit community and safe haven for Canton's Black residents throughout the early 20th century and remaining so into the 1980s. Named for the tree stumps left underneath house foundations when the area was developed, the community centered on Crisler Street and the side streets of Burge, formerly Chamblee, Roy, Teasley, and Jefferson Circle. By the 1960s, it was self-sufficient, with businesses including a barber shop and beauty parlor, a grocery store, and a funeral home. St. Paul AME and Zion Baptist churches offered fellowship and worship, while Thompson Cafe, owned by Doc and Ada Thompson, and the Swingtime Cafe served as social centers, with live music and dancing on Saturday nights at the latter. Before integration, Canton Jr. High, an elementary school for grades one through seven run by Professor J.A. Burge and his wife, Marie Burge, educated children there before they were bussed to the Cherokee County Training School, later Ralph J. Bunche High School, in Pearidge. In the mid-1960s, residents played a crucial role in the integration of Cherokee County as Cynthia Durham transferred to Cherokee High School, her siblings Chuck and Shirley transferred to Canton Elementary School, Mary Tanner Young became an elementary school teacher at Canton Elementary School, and Stumptown's youth staged a successful sit-in to integrate the Pinecrest Restaurant. Residents had earlier petitioned Mayor Grady Coker in the 1930s for water and streetlights, and in 1949 Crisler Street was paved as part of a larger city beautification project. As the 1980s came and went, small businesses closed, families moved for new opportunities, and larger stores became more convenient, but family and community care remained central as new families joined the neighborhood and descendants of the historic community continued to call Stumptown home.