The Walton Building
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The three-story brick building at the left of this photo,
taken in the
mid-19560s, was built by well-known Huntington businessman
William O. Walton. It’s topped by a carved marble sign with
Walton’s last name and the 1904 date it was constructed.
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The Walton Building, a three-story
brick structure at
413 9th St., has been part of downtown Huntington’s
landscape since 1904, when real estate broker
William O. Walton erected it.
Young William Walton was 6 years old
when his
parents left their native England and came to
this country, settling in Pittsburgh.
About 1880, Walton made his way to
Huntington, where
he engaged in the timber business for a number of years,
first with the Lyons Lumber Co. and later with
Lawrence Johnson & Co. Still later he
established himself as a real
estate broker.
When Collis P. Huntington founded the
City of Huntington
in 1871, he organized the Central Land Co. to sell lots in
the new town. In 1893, Walton was part of a group of
Huntington businessmen who purchased the Central
Land Co., renaming it the Huntington Land Co.
Walton was elected to a four-year term
as Cabell County
sheriff in 1896 and had the distinction of being the first
Republican elected to that office since the county was
founded in 1809. He was a 32nd degree Mason, a
Shriner and a member of the Knights Templar.
In addition to his real estate
business, Walton had extensive oil
and gas holdings. He maintained his own office in the building
he built and leased space to various businesses. Over its
120-year history, the building was home to a number
of firms, including such familiar ones as the Western
Union Telegraph Co., the Beneficial Finance
System and Silver Brand Clothes,
a menswear store.
Still standing, the venerable 9th Street building now houses a bar.
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Note: This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on April 16, 2024.
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