The Stoughton Branch Railroad opened in early 1845. The station near the village center was named South Canton to distinguish it from Canton station on the Boston and Providence Railroad mainline. Around 1879, the branch station was renamed Canton, while the mainline station became Canton Junction.[2] The Old Colony Railroad constructed a new freight house at Canton in 1891.[3]
Around 2001, the station was briefly proposed to be closed as part of the South Coast Rail project.[4]
The station is proposed to be reconstructed as part of Phase 2 of the since-modified project, which will extend the Stoughton Branch south to several South Coast cities in 2030.[5] Under plans released in 2013, a second track would be added through the station to support increased bidirectional service; two full-length low-level platforms would be built, each with two mini-high platforms for accessibility.[6] As of 2020[update], full-length high-level platforms are planned.[7]
^"Figure 3.2-20 Canton Center Station Proposed Reconstruction"(PDF). Volume II: FEIS/FEIR Figures Final Environmental Impact Statement/Final Environmental Impact Report on the South Coast Rail Project proposed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New England District. August 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
