# Walton, Michigan

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Unincorporated community in Grand Traverse County, Michigan

Not to be confused with [Walton Township, Michigan](/source/Walton_Township%2C_Michigan).

Unincorporated community in Michigan, United States

Walton, Michigan Walton Junction Unincorporated community Sign along Union Street Walton Show map of Michigan Walton Show map of the United States Coordinates: 44°31′15″N 85°23′58″W / 44.52083°N 85.39944°W / 44.52083; -85.39944 Country United States State Michigan County Grand Traverse Township Fife Lake Settled 1872 Elevation [1] 1,027 ft (313 m) Time zone UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) • Summer (DST) UTC-4 (EDT) ZIP code(s) 49633 (Fife Lake) Area code 231 GNIS feature ID 1615746[1]

**Walton**, often referred to as **Walton Junction**, is an [unincorporated community](/source/Unincorporated_area) in the northern [Lower Peninsula](/source/Lower_Peninsula_of_Michigan) of the [U.S. state](/source/U.S._state) of [Michigan](/source/Michigan). The community is located within [Fife Lake Township](/source/Fife_Lake_Township%2C_Michigan), [Grand Traverse County](/source/Grand_Traverse_County%2C_Michigan), and lies immediately north of the [Wexford County](/source/Wexford_County%2C_Michigan) line.

## History

The railroad junction at Walton was established in 1872 with the completion of an extension of the [Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad](/source/Grand_Rapids_%26_Indiana_Railroad) north from Clam Lake (now [Cadillac](/source/Cadillac%2C_Michigan)).[2] The extension include a [wye junction](/source/Wye_(rail)), with one branch extending northeast to [Fife Lake](/source/Fife_Lake%2C_Michigan) (eventually to [Petoskey](/source/Petoskey%2C_Michigan)), and the other extending northwest to [Traverse City](/source/Traverse_City%2C_Michigan).[3] While the settlement was originally called Walton Junction, a post office by the name of Walton opened on February 14, 1873.[4] 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.[5]

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](/source/Cranberry_bog). The bog was abandoned by the early 1920s.[6]

In 1909, an extension of the [Manistee and North-Eastern Railroad](/source/Manistee_and_North-Eastern_Railroad) (M&NE) opened through the community. This line, which eventually connected [Mesick](/source/Mesick%2C_Michigan) to [Grayling](/source/Grayling%2C_Michigan), was obliterated in 1925.[7]

In 1940, [US Highway 131](/source/U.S._Route_131), which had originally run through the community, was shifted onto a newly constructed alignment east of town.[8] 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](/source/Great_Lakes_Central_Railroad).

## Geography

Walton is located in the [northern Lower Peninsula](/source/Northern_Michigan) of Michigan. The community lies immediately north of the Grand Traverse–[Wexford](/source/Wexford_County%2C_Michigan) county line. The community is roughly equidistant between [Cadillac](/source/Cadillac%2C_Michigan) and [Traverse City](/source/Traverse_City%2C_Michigan), being about 17 miles (27 km) north of Cadillac, and about 17 miles (27 km) southeast of Traverse City.

### Major highways

- [US 131](/source/U.S._Route_131) is a major north–south thoroughfare running immediately east of the community.

- [M-113](/source/M-113_(Michigan_highway)) is a primarily east–west route serving as a connector between US 131 and the [Traverse City](/source/Traverse_City%2C_Michigan) area.

## See also

- [List of cities, villages, and townships in Michigan](/source/List_of_cities%2C_villages%2C_and_townships_in_Michigan)

- [List of ghost towns in Michigan](/source/List_of_ghost_towns_in_Michigan)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-gnis_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-gnis_1-1) ["Walton"](https://edits.nationalmap.gov/apps/gaz-domestic/public/search/names/1615746). *[Geographic Names Information System](/source/Geographic_Names_Information_System)*. [United States Geological Survey](/source/United_States_Geological_Survey), [United States Department of the Interior](/source/United_States_Department_of_the_Interior).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["michiganrailroads.com - Evolution Map - Lower - 1872"](https://www.michiganrailroads.com/evolution-of-michigan-railroads/507-evolution-lower-peninsula/176-evolution-1870s/4367-evolution-map-lower-1872). *www.michiganrailroads.com*. Retrieved November 1, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["michiganrailroads.com - Evolution Map - Lower - 1873"](https://www.michiganrailroads.com/evolution-of-michigan-railroads/507-evolution-lower-peninsula/176-evolution-1870s/4366-evolution-map-lower-1873). *www.michiganrailroads.com*. Retrieved November 1, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_4-0)** Romig, Walter (1986). *Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities*. [Detroit](/source/Detroit): [Wayne State University Press](/source/Wayne_State_University_Press). p. 581. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8143-1838-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8143-1838-X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["The Long, Lost Town of Walton Junction | Randy D Pearson"](https://www.randydpearson.com/books/trac-brothers/walton-junction/). January 28, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["A Ticket to Hell – The Long, Lost Town of Walton Junction | Randy D Pearson"](https://www.randydpearson.com/randys-writing/walton-junction/). January 27, 2019. Retrieved November 1, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["michiganrailroads.com - Evolution Map - Lower - 1925"](https://www.michiganrailroads.com/evolution-of-michigan-railroads/507-evolution-lower-peninsula/181-evolution-1920s/4415-evolution-map-lower-1925). *www.michiganrailroads.com*. Retrieved November 1, 2023.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-MSHD40-12_8-0)** Michigan State Highway Department & Rand McNally (December 1, 1940). *Official Michigan Highway Map* (Map) (Winter ed.). [c. 1:850,000]. Lansing: Michigan State Highway Department. § G9. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [12701143](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/12701143).

v t e Municipalities and communities of Grand Traverse County, Michigan, United States County seat: Traverse City City Traverse City‡ Map of Michigan highlighting Grand Traverse County.svg Villages Fife Lake Kingsley Charter townships East Bay Garfield Long Lake Civil townships Acme Blair Fife Lake Grant Green Lake Mayfield Paradise Peninsula Union Whitewater CDPs Chums Corner Grawn Interlochen Other communities Acme Brookside Devils Elbow Fivemile Corner Hannah Hilltop Jacks Landing Karlin Long Lake Mapleton Mayfield Monroe Center Neahtawanta Old Mission Summit City Walton Wexford Corner‡ Williamsburg Yuba Ghost towns Angell Archie Bartlett Bates Beitner Cedar Run‡ East Bay Hodge Keystone Kratochvil's Plat Mabel Ogdensburg Slights Westminster Wylie Indian reservation Grand Traverse Indian Reservation‡ Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties Michigan portal United States portal

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Walton, Michigan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walton%2C_Michigan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walton%2C_Michigan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.