State University of New York at Canton State University of New York at Canton The State University of New York at Canton (SUNY Canton) is a public, coeducational, residential college located in the Town of Canton in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Its northern location places it close to the Adirondack Mountains, the St. Lawrence River, and major Canadian cities such as Ottawa and Montreal. The College works with the State University of New York Polytechnic Institute to offer students three master's degree programs. SUNY Canton's 14 athletic teams compete as members of the NCAA Division III and the USCAA. Founded in 1906 as the
Lake Champlain 'door of the country' or 'lake to the country'. The lake is an important eastern gateway to Iroquois Confederacy lands. The lake was named after the French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who encountered it in July 1609. While the ports of Burlington, Vermont, Port Henry, New York, and Plattsburgh, New York today are primarily used by small craft, ferries, and lake cruise ships, they were of substantial commercial and military importance in the 18th and 19th centuries. New France allocated concessions all along lake Champlain to French settlers and built forts to defend the waterways. In colonial times, Lake Champlain