Arthur S. Caton was born June 28, 1852 in Ohio. His parents were immigrants from Ireland. He married Dottie Moore Sept. 11, 1873 in Delaware, Ohio.

By 1880 the Catons were living in Jackson, Ohio, where Arthur was in the dry goods business. It would appear that he somehow connected with Prohibitionist Party supporter John R. Chaplin (also born in 1852), and was in on the ground floor of the Olympia Development Company.

Chaplin is a well known figure in the history of Olympia, and the subject of a previous OlyBlog post. He organized the Olympia Development Company in Ohio and part of the profits were earmarked to support his People's University in Olympia.

Arthur S. Caton arrived in Olympia about 1906, around the time the People's University was folding up, and started out as the Manager of the Olympia Development Co. His base of operations was always on the Westside. He did move around the Harrison-4th Ave. W. area for awhile before settling in the 4th Ave./Milroy block about 1915, when the area was still open farmland.