====== Percival Hotel ======
Formerly known as the Farmer's Hotel, the Percival [[hotels|Hotel]] in [[Walton]] (once located on the current site of the Waltonian) was owned and operated by [[Ira Percival]] in the late 1800's.

In the wee hours of 10 January [[1871]], a fire broke out in the hotel.  The cisterns and wells in town were nearly dry, and volunteers had to haul water from a pond just outside of town.  The fire was intense, and the hotel was completely destroyed.  Ira Percival's young son, Orville, a young girl named Christina Ransler who was living with the family, and a domestic servant named Amanda Garrison all died in the fire.  Soon after the tragedy, the Percivals sold the property and moved to [[Union]] where they bought another hotel.

The victims of the fire are buried in the Percival family cemetery on Walton-Nicholson Road, including Amanda Garrison, who is listed as "coloured" on her tombstone.  [[African-Americans]] were generally buried in separate cemeteries at that time.  It is believed that their badly burned bodies were impossible to distinguish, leading to all three victims being buried together.

===== Related Topics =====
  * [[Percival family]]