{{Short description|Unincorporated community in Grand Traverse County, Michigan}} {{Distinguish|Walton Township, Michigan}} {{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Walton, Michigan | settlement_type = [[Unincorporated area|Unincorporated community]] | nickname = | motto = <!-- Images --> | image_skyline = Walton, Michigan.jpg | image_size = 275 | image_caption = Sign along Union Street | image_flag = | image_seal = <!-- Maps --> | pushpin_map = Michigan#USA | pushpin_label = Walton | pushpin_label_position = left<!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none --> | pushpin_map_caption = | image_map = | mapsize = | map_caption = <!-- Location --> | coordinates = {{Coord|44|31|15|N|85|23|58|W|region:US-MI_type:city_source:GNIS|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{Flagu|United States}} | subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]] | subdivision_name1 = {{Flag|Michigan}} | subdivision_type2 = [[List of counties in Michigan|County]] | subdivision_name2 = {{Flagicon image|Flag of Grand Traverse County, Michigan.svg}} [[Grand Traverse County, Michigan|Grand Traverse]] | subdivision_type3 = [[Civil township|Township]] | subdivision_name3 = [[Fife Lake Township, Michigan|Fife Lake]]
<!-- Government --> | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_title = | leader_name = | established_title = Settled | established_date = 1872 <!-- Area --> | area_footnotes = | area_total_sq_mi = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_sq_mi = | unit_pref = Imperial
<!-- Elevation --> | elevation_footnotes = <ref name="gnis">{{cite gnis|1615746|Walton}}</ref> | elevation_ft = 1027 | elevation_m = <!-- Population --> | population_footnotes = | population_as_of = | population_total = | pop_est_footnotes = | pop_est_as_of = | population_est = | population_density_sq_mi = | population_density_km2 = <!-- General information --> | timezone = [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]] | utc_offset = -5 | timezone_DST = EDT | utc_offset_DST = -4 | postal_code_type = [[ZIP Code|ZIP code(s)]] | postal_code = 49633 ([[Fife Lake, Michigan|Fife Lake]]) | area_code = [[Area code 231|231]] | blank_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID | blank_info = 1615746<ref name="gnis"/> | website = | footnotes = | other_name = Walton Junction }}
'''Walton''', often referred to as '''Walton Junction''', is an [[Unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] in the northern [[Lower Peninsula of Michigan|Lower Peninsula]] of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Michigan]]. The community is located within [[Fife Lake Township, Michigan|Fife Lake Township]], [[Grand Traverse County, Michigan|Grand Traverse County]], and lies immediately north of the [[Wexford County, Michigan|Wexford County]] line.
== History == The railroad junction at Walton was established in 1872 with the completion of an extension of the [[Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad]] north from Clam Lake (now [[Cadillac, Michigan|Cadillac]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=michiganrailroads.com - Evolution Map - Lower - 1872 |url=https://www.michiganrailroads.com/evolution-of-michigan-railroads/507-evolution-lower-peninsula/176-evolution-1870s/4367-evolution-map-lower-1872 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=www.michiganrailroads.com}}</ref> The extension include a [[Wye (rail)|wye junction]], with one branch extending northeast to [[Fife Lake, Michigan|Fife Lake]] (eventually to [[Petoskey, Michigan|Petoskey]]), and the other extending northwest to [[Traverse City, Michigan|Traverse City]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=michiganrailroads.com - Evolution Map - Lower - 1873 |url=https://www.michiganrailroads.com/evolution-of-michigan-railroads/507-evolution-lower-peninsula/176-evolution-1870s/4366-evolution-map-lower-1873 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=www.michiganrailroads.com}}</ref> While the settlement was originally called Walton Junction, a post office by the name of Walton opened on February 14, 1873.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Romig |first=Walter |title=Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities |publisher=[[Wayne State University Press]] |year=1986 |isbn=0-8143-1838-X |location=[[Detroit]] |pages=581}}</ref> It is unclear when this post office closed. Early on, the town gained a reputation due to its lack of law enforcement and for being a rowdy and dangerous locale.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-28 |title=The Long, Lost Town of Walton Junction {{!}} Randy D Pearson |url=https://www.randydpearson.com/books/trac-brothers/walton-junction/ |access-date=2023-11-01 |language=en-US}}</ref>
The community grew as northerly rail traffic to Traverse City and Petoskey increased throughout the 1880s and 1890s. In 1890, the local publisher, DeWitt Clinton Leach, built a dam on a creek southwest of Walton, and established a [[cranberry bog]]. The bog was abandoned by the early 1920s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-01-27 |title=A Ticket to Hell – The Long, Lost Town of Walton Junction {{!}} Randy D Pearson |url=https://www.randydpearson.com/randys-writing/walton-junction/ |access-date=2023-11-01 |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 1909, an extension of the [[Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad]] (M&NE) opened through the community. This line, which eventually connected [[Mesick, Michigan|Mesick]] to [[Grayling, Michigan|Grayling]], was obliterated in 1925.<ref>{{Cite web |title=michiganrailroads.com - Evolution Map - Lower - 1925 |url=https://www.michiganrailroads.com/evolution-of-michigan-railroads/507-evolution-lower-peninsula/181-evolution-1920s/4415-evolution-map-lower-1925 |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=www.michiganrailroads.com}}</ref>
In 1940, [[U.S. Route 131|US Highway 131]], which had originally run through the community, was shifted onto a newly constructed alignment east of town.<ref name="MSHD40-12">{{cite MDOT map|date=1940-12-01|section=G9}}</ref> Today, all that remains of Walton are a handful of residences and open plats. The original railroad junction is still used and operated by the [[Great Lakes Central Railroad]].
== Geography == Walton is located in the [[Northern Michigan|northern Lower Peninsula]] of Michigan. The community lies immediately north of the Grand Traverse–[[Wexford County, Michigan|Wexford]] county line. The community is roughly equidistant between [[Cadillac, Michigan|Cadillac]] and [[Traverse City, Michigan|Traverse City]], being about {{convert|17|mi|km}} north of Cadillac, and about {{convert|17|mi|km}} southeast of Traverse City.
=== Major highways === * {{jct|US|131|state=MI}} is a major north–south thoroughfare running immediately east of the community. * {{jct|M|113|state=MI}} is a primarily east–west route serving as a connector between US 131 and the [[Traverse City, Michigan|Traverse City]] area.
== See also == * [[List of cities, villages, and townships in Michigan]] * [[List of ghost towns in Michigan]]
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Grand Traverse County, Michigan}}
[[Category:Unincorporated communities in Grand Traverse County, Michigan]] [[Category:Unincorporated communities in Michigan]] [[Category:Ghost towns in Michigan]] [[Category:1872 establishments in Michigan]] [[Category:Populated places in the United States established in 1872]]