CANTON—On the south side of the North Canadian River at the crossroads of Oklahoma 51 and 58 is a little railroad town called Canton. Prior to its platting in 1905, there was a nearby military post called Cantonment that was established in 1879, hence where the town derived its name.
When the river overflowed in one of the worst floods that Canton had experienced in October 1923, the residents pleaded for flood control. The U.S. Congress finally authorized the Canton Lake project in 1938. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started work on the Canton dam and completed it in 1948.
Over a decade ago, Canton was heavily impacted by record-low lake levels which devastated tourism and ultimately the local economy. In 2013, in the midst of severe drought in the state, Oklahoma City (which owned the water rights to the lake) voted to withdraw 9.8 billion gallons from the lake to alleviate potential shortages of water.
The Canton Lake Association told the Enid News & Eagle in February 2019 that lake levels were finally getting back to normal and the town was beginning to see an uptick in visitors.
Today, this lakeside town continues to experience that ebb and flow. There are less than 500 residents during the winter, but the community swells by the thousands between April and September every year when fishers, boaters, and campers arrive, particularly in May for the Walleye Rodeo, Oklahoma’s oldest and largest fishing tournament.
In June, local businesses rally together under the Canton Chamber of Commerce to host the annual Vendor Market Extravaganza to bring people to town. More than 70 vendors, food trucks, and businesses participate including Lemons & Lace Marketplace and Divine Treasures.
Lemons & Lace Marketplace opened for business in 2016 in the former Goode’s Department Store location on Canton’s Main Street.
Long-time Canton resident and antique dealer Darlene Robinson wanted to get back into business locally so she, her daughters Debbie Robinson and Pam Bond, along with Pam’s daughter-in-law Joni Bond and Joni’s mom Penny Robison, combined their creative juices to create a marketplace downtown with a rustic farmhouse front porch and Victorian-style pharmacy bar.
All five ladies bring their own flair to Lemons & Lace.
Debbie is all about her hometown of Canton—she served on the town board for six years, is secretary of the chamber, and has been the town mayor for the past two years.
“I retired back here and wanted to be involved in my community,” she said in a recent interview. She remembered shopping at Goode’s when she was a child so she was excited when the building became available to rent after Canton Drug relocated.
Her mom Darlene, at 95, is still going strong antiquing. Her kinfolk built the original back bar in the 1920s; the present owners re-painted it and use it for décor.
Joni and Penny are artists who’ve taught paint techniques at Northwest Technology Center and refurbish furniture. They are responsible for Lemons & Lace’s marketing.
All five co-owners helped remodel the rented building that still has its original wood flooring to make it a place where other small businesses could have a place to market their wares.
The farmhouse display was rescued from Canton High School where it had been a prop for the “Wizard of Oz”-themed prom.
The ladies even found an old Volkswagen in a pasture with no motor and four flat tires—picture the five women pushing it through the back door, Debbie said—to give visitors their own Kodak moment.
“We have fun,” Debbie said.
Currently there are 14 different vendor booths that seamlessly flow one into another throughout the 3,400-square-foot shop; everything from apparel, jewelry, antiques, home décor, furniture, toys, and more can be found at Lemons & Lace.
Two storefronts west of the marketplace is Divine Treasures.
In 2022, owners Timothy and Ashley Allison bought out the previous thrift shop and transformed it into an antique and vintage shop. They then bought the building, built in 1904, which has housed several businesses over the past century, Ashley said, like Duckwall Variety Store as well as Canton’s senior citizens center.
She and her husband are raising their family outside of Fairview and he works full-time at Tyson in Enid, but Canton’s Main Street was calling to her to set up shop.
“I always wanted to do it,” she said, adding she had a booth in the previous thrift shop, so when that store owner wanted to sell, it seemed the perfect time to buy.
And rather than have booth renters like Lemons & Lace, the Allisons designed Divine Treasures to be a store that sold anything and everything at reasonable prices:
- Ashley’s canned goods and handcrafted items such as jewelry and resin art
- Thrifty-priced clothes and shoes
- Anime and comic books
- Holiday-themed decor
- Antique and vintage items including books, kitchenware, home décor, and toys
“We mainly buy out estate sales,” Ashley said, something she had already been doing as a stay-at-home mom, but they do carry some newly released products too.
She also hosts Canton’s farmer’s market starting in May as well as participating in sidewalk sales and doing storewide $1 promotions.
Ashley said she’s thankful for her regular customers who keep Divine Treasures’ doors open in this lakeside town, which relatively shuts down in the winter.
They carefully budget for the year, she said. Summer on the lake drives in most of the tourism dollars to guarantee the bills are paid year-round.
The Allisons also believe in giving back to the community. Half of Divine Treasures’ profits are donated back into the area, whether it’s anonymously paying for utility bills for those in need, sponsoring charity events, providing for the local food bank, or ensuring families have a good Christmas.
Lemons & Lace Marketplace, 105 W. Main, is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (580) 886-3456 or go online to shopllm.com.
Divine Treasures, 115 W. Main, is open Monday and Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (580) 886-5662 or go online to facebook.com/divinetreasuresandantiques.