The historic Hotel Walton, built around 1904, is the namesake of Carthage's first hotel built by Col. William Walton the original land grant owner and founder of Carthage. The original Hotel Walton, a woodframe structure, stood on the east side of the square and was destroyed by fire in 1885 along with every other structure on that side of the square.

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Less than 10 years later Monroe and Sally Fisher built the present Hotel Walton on Main Street, one block north of the original. The hotel's opening coinciding with a visit to Carthage by Col. Walton's grandson again made the Walton name a logical choice for the Fisher's new hotel. The hotel's grand opening was attended by finely dressed ladies, gentlemen in scissor-tailed tuxedos, fine food, and musical entertainment brought in from Nashville.

 

In its early years, riverboat passengers were frequent visitors at the hotel as well as passengers from the railroad passing through on the south side of the river. Tourist train passengers were brought from the siding in South Carthage, across the river by ferry, to the Walton and Riverside hotels in Carthage.

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The health resorts in Red Boiling Springs being popular at this time many visitors stayed at the Hotel Walton as they passed through on the way to that destination. Traveling salesmen used the hotel as their working base for as long as a week at a time before moving on.

 

A.C. Read, Sr. and Tom B. Read later purchased the hotel from the Fishers and the hotel remained in the Read family hands for many years until purchased in 1975 by Raymond Greene. The hotel was subsequently purchased by Fritz and Betty Sircy. Next to own the hotel was C.D. "Digger" Poindexter who purchased the hotel and over several years painstakingly restored it to it's present status. In 2020, The Hotel Walton was purchased by John & Caroline Leftwich who are the current owners.