Walton is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Van Zandt County Van Zandt County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas, in the northeastern part of the state. As of the 2020 census, its population was 59,541. Its county seat is Canton. The county is named for Isaac Van Zandt (1813–1847), a mem ...

, Texas, United States. According to the

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

, the community had a population of 35 in 2000. It is located within the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.

History

Walton was named for an early settler. It was originally in Henderson County until 1848. The first settlers came as early as 1865. A post office was established at Walton in 1875 and remained in operation until 1905. After that, it was sent from Athens. A

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

chapter was established here in 1876. At its most prosperous peak, the community had three churches, general stores, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

shop,

cotton gin A cotton gin—meaning "cotton engine"—is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, enabling much greater productivity than manual cotton separation.. Reprinted by McGraw-Hill, New York and London, 1926 (); a ...

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

s, a racetrack, and a saloon. It then became a stop for

cattle drovers Droving is the practice of walking livestock over long distances. It is a type of herding. Droving stock to market—usually on foot and often with the aid of dogs—has a very long history in the Old World. An owner might entrust an agent to deli ...

and oxcart freighters from

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

, and Porter's Bluff at the end of the 19th century. It reported a population of 49 in the 1930s. Its downtown area moved when the highway between

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and Canton bypassed the community a mile east of it. A new settlement was founded there. Both townsites were known as Old and New Walton. The two businesses and houses that were in Old Walton in 1936 had disappeared in 1987, while a town hall and the Dr. Theo Blanchard house from 1860 remained. New Walton had a church and several houses in 1936, as well as four businesses, two churches, and a cemetery in 1987. Its population was reported as 35 from 1974 through 2000.

Geography

Walton is located at the intersection of Farm to Market Road 1861 and

Texas State Highway 19 State Highway 19 (SH 19) is a state highway in Texas runs from Huntsville to Paris in east Texas. Route description SH 19 begins at an interchange with Interstate 45 in southeast Huntsville. The highway runs through the eastern edge of the ...

, south of

Canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ent ...

in extreme south-central Van Zandt County.

Education

Walton had its own school in 1890 and had 18 students in 1905. It continued to operate in 1936. Today, Walton is served by the Athens Independent School District.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Van Zandt County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas