Caton Hall was the second building constructed on the Miller School of Albemarle campus.  In 1880, builders Thomas Woodroffe, A.P. Cutting, and M.P. Higgins were asked to design and build a large workshop building for what was then the Miller Manual Labor School.  It took two years to complete the building, which opened for use on July 1, 1882.

One striking feature of the building is the drive shaft on the main floor that powered the belt-driven shop machines in the days before Thomas Edison electrified the campus.  The drive shaft was incorporated into the design for the 2009 renovation of the main floor, gracing the state-of-the-art science laboratories with a piece of history.

In addition to the newly-renovated science laboratories, Caton Hall is home to the woodshop on the second floor and the music and photography studios on the top floor.  Known as the Arts Building until 2010, Caton Hall was recently dedicated in memory of the father and brother of Mr. Douglas Caton, MSA trustee emeritus.