The Walton Chapel community in the northwest corner of Butler County has a rich history. The area was settled in 1841 by pioneers who came by covered wagons from Kentucky and Tennessee and settled in the Cane Creek area of what was then Wayne County.

On January 18, 1841, a small company of Tennesseans launched their boats from the mouth of Beaver Creek, Jefferson County, Tennessee and moved toward the new country everybody was talking about. They disembarked at New Madrid on March 1, 1841, sold their boats and moved on in wagons exploring the country for a suitable place to settle. Having heard about land in the Cane Creek and Ten Mile valleys, they hired someone to show them the area. On December 11, 1841, they set up camp on Cane Creek. They looked at Ten Mile but decided to take Cane Creek. On December 14th, they loaded up their wagons and made their way through the brush to select their home sites.

The pioneers chose ground in the Shiloh and Walton Chapel areas and the two communities were so intertwined it is difficult to separate them. The first visitor to the newly established colony was the Methodist Circuit rider, who had lost his way in the wilderness and was guided to the camp by it's dim light -- half frozen, he staggered into camp. Before leaving, he preached and arranged for an appointment for his next circuit round in May of the same year.

Butler County was created on February 27, 1849 and was carved out of the southern portion of Wayne County. Butler County was named in honor of General William Orlando Butler (a Kentuckian). It is presumed that many of the citizens of Butler County came from Kentucky and wished to honor a man of their former state.

The people were deeply religious and worshiped in homes of the area until in the 1860's, with annual "camp meetings". The Shiloh Camp Ground had cabins made of logs and was large enough to house and feed a very large group of families for several weeks. In August 1847, a new camp ground was established southeast of where the county road (now 410) crosses the spring branch on what was then the old King farm (later the LeGrand and now the Kester farm). Tradition is that the new camp was the meeting place of the Shiloh and Walton Chapel congregation before they divided -- not because of any rift, but for convenience in travel. Yearly meetings were held at the Camp until 1860. The war started in 1861 and by the end of the war the camp was about rotted down, so Brush Camp Meetings were held (starting in 1865). In 1865, Shiloh erected a frame for an arbor and in 1871 land was deeded for a church building -- unfortunately, the Shiloh church no longer existed. Also in 1865, a large "brush arbor" was erected in the Walton Chapel area and to this day you will find the name of Brush Arbor on the Missouri Atlas Topo Maps for the area.

In 1890, land was donated in the Walton Chapel Community by John Walton for a church. The first church was across Cane Creek on top of a hill past the Walton homesteads. As the church deteriorated, a new site was chosen on Cane Creek Hill just west of the King/LeGrand/Kester farm and land from the old Kindrick place next to the old Ferguson property was the location of the new church. Arthur T. Brewster and his wife Lily M. Brewster and Eleanor Schaum (a single person) deeded five acres of land more or less for the church. Later a newer church (which still stands today) was built next to the old building and the old building was torn down. The church was part of the Methodist Association until May 9, 1971. When individuals moved away, the church was closed for a while but kept repaired for singings, weddings, funerals, revivals, etc. The church was reopened on May 4, 1986 as a non-denomination church and the building and land was obtained from the Methodist Association by the Walton Chapel Church.

The Walton Chapel Cemetery is part of the land deeded to the Methodist Church Association and obtained by the community when the transfer of property was handled for the church. The cemetery has it's own board of trustees.

The first school in the Walton Chapel area was on a hill on the east side of Cane Creek on the Walton acreage near the Butler/Carter County line. Land was donated by John A. Walton for the school and a one room school was erected in 1900. In 1940, land was donated to the Walton Chapel School District by Robert Harold Rash and Zelma Mary Rash, his wife, for a new two room rock building on what is now Butler County Road 417. School was held until the district consolidated with the Ellsinore School District (now East Carter County R-II). The school building and property was deeded back to the community for a Community Center. The rock building burned and a new building was erected. This building is what was restored and is being used as the Walton Chapel Community Center.