The Sutton Register newspaper published by Charles Brown, son of F. M. Brown carried this account of the first years of Sutton in their July 20, 1939 issue as they began to revive Sutton history on the occasion of their celebration of the 65th anniversary of the founding of the town.
There are several opportunities to celebrate milestone anniversaries of the "beginning" of Sutton, Nebraska. The first settler, Luther French took out his homestead on ground now occupied by parts of the town in the spring of 1870 on March 14th. He was pretty much alone in this immediate area for much of the next year.
Settlers began to arrive at or near the site of French's dugout beginning in April and May of 1871 and the numbers increased sharply through the summer. The "End of Track" for the Burlington Railroad came through Sutton on August 14, 1871 connecting the new town with points east.
Growth continued to spurt through the balance of 1871 and into 1872 and 1873. The first attempt to incorporate the town encountered some administrative hurdles but the petition for the successful incorporation was completed in October, 1874 as described at the beginning of this article.
So the 65th anniversary of the founding of Sutton celebrated in October, 1939, 65 years after the formal incorporation of the town.
Subsequent anniversaries have been celebrated to mark other "founding" dates. The 125 year pictorial book came out in 1997, 125 years after 1872. Our plans for celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of our town can legitimately and "with a straight face" occur sometime between the March, 2020 and October, 2024. What is your favorite date, and why?
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