The small village of Canon, on the western edge of Franklin County, is home to three historic churches, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The photo above shows Canon Universalist Church, founded in 1885 by John M. Bowers and still active today. Bowers was also known as the editor and publisher of the Universalist Herald, which he purchased in 1896 and moved from Notasulga, Alabama, to Canon, where it was published until 1991. The other two historic churches in the village are Canon Baptist, organized in 1895, and Canon Methodist, organized in 1905. Both can be seen in the gallery photos below. All three churches were added to the National Register in 1985.

Canon itself is a picturesque farm community just three miles from Bowersville in Hart County. It was originally called West Bowersville when laid out in 1875, but the name was changed to Canon when the town was incorporated in 1902 to avoid confusion with its neighbor.

Franklin County, created in 1784, was the first county established in Georgia after the Revolutionary War. The area was originally inhabited by the Lower Cherokee until they ceded the land in the treaty of 1783. Much of this region was settled by descendants of Job Bowers, born in Virginia in 1755, who moved to Georgia around the time of the Revolution. A soldier in the war, Bowers was tragically murdered by Loyalists while home on furlough in 1779. In gratitude for his service, his widow, Charity, was granted substantial land. Many of their descendants remain in the area and are active in the community.

It is rare for a rural village with a population of just over 800 to have three historic churches still standing. Two of them, the Universalist and the Methodist, continue to hold regular services, while the Baptist congregation now worships in a newer, larger facility. These churches remain cherished landmarks, preserving both the faith and the history of this small Georgia town.