Caroll Lee Walker, now retired from a career of timber production and land deveolment in the South, has taken to restoring some of the buildings of Walkerton and renting them to other businesses. He would like to renovate the mill and establish a milling museum therein. Also since 2005, he has envisioned building a museum to commemorate Walkerton's role as a past steamboat port town.

Col. Thomas Walker, in 1691, received a royal grant for some land along the Mattaponi River in King & Queen County, Virginia. He founded thje hamlet of Walkerton, building a cotton gin, a manufacturing-grist mill, a copper smithy, and a store. Thomas was born in 1670 in Rye Field which later became Locust Grove.

John Temple may have built another or rebuilt this mill in 1799-1801. He sold half and later all the mills to his brother, Joseph Temple, John Walkers grandfather. John Walker lived at Walkerton Mills in 1806, being employed as a miller by his grandfather, the elder Temple.

Walker bought half interest in the saw mill, owning it and the grist mill with his great uncle Joseph until 1817, when he sold his part of the saw mill and his store at Walkerton back to Joseph Temple. John Walker went west to Nashville for about a year, where he became a convert to the Methodist faith. Joseph died in 1819 and the mills were sold to a brother of Joseph, William, who in turn sold it back to John Walker, and for three years partner with his cousin Baylor Temple.

A disagreement about the price iof hiring Walkers slaves for the mill-the price was paid, but the friendship ended-resulted in Temple buying Walkers share of the mill, Walker going into farming in 1824. As a miller, Walker worked with his neighboring farmers, knew farm production-knew who brought in the plumpest kernels of wheat.

At Walker's Chatham Hill farm, he raised mostly cattle and grew wheat, corn, oats, and cotton. Also cultivated orchards of apples and peaches, even experimenting with raising silkworms. He was instrumental in developing and helping to develop, plows, thrashers, rakes and anythinglse to make the farmers life production easier and more productive.