Wolfe School, District #55

The WolfeSchool, District #55, was originally located near Fairfield in Clay County, Nebraska operating until 1963. The School was made available to us by the Clay County Fair Board. The land was a part of the Sutton Park and was deeded to the Historical Society for the School. We thank all who helped us obtain and move the school.

The School is furnished and equipped much as it was during its operation.

We have three objectives for the school:

o Illustrate a typical one-room country school houseo Provide a setting for educational programs for children and adultso Host a country school museum with resources and information about the 67 rural schools of Clay County and additional schools throughout the area.

We hope that the school provides our visitors, especially youth, with an accurate glimpse of what it was like to attend a rural school in Nebraska.

John & Emma Gray Historic Home

John and Emma Gray built their retirement home next to their original Sutton home in 1908. The house served as the home for several Sutton families for several years until the Unterseher’s converted it into Aunt Emma’s Tea House. The tea house was well known in the area and a popular destination for nine years.

The Unterseher’s restored the house beautifully and upgraded the home’s electrical, plumbing and heating and A/C for their tea house. The house was a prime candidate for the historic home that the Sutton Historical Society was looking for to preserve.

The home is furnished with typical household furnishings and antiques from the 1900 period. John Gray was a lumberman and he installed distinctive woodwork and cabinetry that is intact and remains in great condition.

The Gray Historic Home is the centerpiece of the Sutton Historical Society’s museum complex.

Open Sunday afternoons and by appointment...

The Sutton Museum complex is open Sunday afternoons from 2 – 5 PM or by appointment: call 402-773-0222 for information. Additionally, there is often someone at the museum on weekdays when visitors are also welcome. Just check the OPEN/CLOSED sign in the window of the Historic House.

The Museum complex includes three buildings at the North Way location:

- The John & Emma Gray Historic Home

- The museum (original Gray home and recently the Schinzel house)

- Wolfe country school, District #55

Opening of the Sutton, Nebraska History Blog

This blog is intended to be one of the means for the Sutton Historical Society to communicate with members and friends of our organization. Additional consequences such as attracting new interested people to our efforts will be a welcome bonus.

We expect to describe the activities of the historical society and provide updates on projects and programs. We will also use this forum to publish information about the history of the Sutton community, especially those items that we come across in our research.

The Sutton Historical Society was founded in the late summer of 2005 and has approximately 80 members as of the founding of this blog in May, 2008. The Society owns two buildings, a historic home of the 1908 period and a country school. The society has use of a second home which houses the museum.
jj