suttonw

Transcribed from "An Illustrated History of The Big Bend Country, embracing Lincoln, Douglas, Adams and Franklin counties, State of Washington", published by Western Historical Publishing Co., 1904.

     W. J. SUTTON was born on September 29, 1865, at Dryden, Michigan. After completing the high school course, he entered the Eastern Michigan Normal School, graduating in the normal course in 1886 and the commercial course in 1887. In August, 1887, he came to Adams county, Washington, and later in the same year located a homestead and tree claim eight miles east of Hatton, a section of the country now known as Michigan Prairie. Since that time, Mr. Sutton and his brother, B. L. Sutton, have been interested in farming and have evinced their faith in the future of Adams county by adding to their landed holdings, until now they own one of the most extensive wheat farms in the state. In the fall of 1887, Mr. Sutton was elected principal of the Cheney public schools and organized the first graded school at that place. After serving three years in this position, he was elected assistant principal of the Cheney State Normal School and one year later, was promoted to the principalship, which position he held until 1897. During his term of office, the school underwent many trials and discouragements. First because of the burning of the Benjamin P. Cheney Academy building, the first home of the normal school, and later, by the executive veto of its maintenance appropriation. For two years, the work of the school was continued without state aid. During this time the management of and the standard of the work done in the school was such that the following legislature not only appropriated money to cover the deficiency created during these two years, but made a liberal appropriation for the future maintenance of the school; and in addition to this the same legislature, largely through Mr. Sutton's efforts, appropriated sixty-five thousand dollars for a normal school building. The present magnificent structure is the result of this appropriation.
     In March, 1897, Mr. Sutton was married to Miss Nellie G. Hutchinson, of Auburn, New York, who had been a member of the faculty of the Mankato State Normal School, Mankato, Minnesota, and for six years principal of the training department of the State Normal at Cheney. They are now living in their beautiful home just outside of the city limits of Cheney. On their home farm, which consists of about eight hundred acres of fine prairie land, is one of the best apple orchards in eastern Washington.
     For the past five years Mr. Sutton has given his whole attention to the interests of his Cheney and Adams county farms. Fraternally, he is a thirty-second degree Scottish rite Mason, a Knight Templar, a Shriner and an Odd Fellow.

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