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Sutton, officially the Town of Sutton, is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in Worcester County,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, United States. The population was 9,357 in the 2020 United States census. Located in the
Blackstone Valley The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and Natio ...
, the town was designated as a Preserve America community in 2004.


History

A
Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian languages, Eastern Algonquian language, probably the Loup language. Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the f ...
, John Wampas, visited
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in 1627 and deeded land in the Sutton area to Edward Pratt, who later sold interests to others. Competing claims involving the Nipmucs led to a
Massachusetts General Court The Massachusetts General Court, formally the General Court of Massachusetts, is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts located in the state capital of Boston. Th ...
case in 1704, which granted Pratt and fellow proprietors an eight-mile-square section of land, which is now Sutton. Three families were the first to settle in Sutton, namely those of Elisha Johnson, Nathaniel Johnson, and Benjamin Marsh, who is credited as a founder of the town and the First Baptist Church of Sutton. In 1717, The Great Snow completely buried structures their home cabins. According to accounts, a local Indigenous peoples of the Americas Indigenous person rescued the Johnson family by noticing
smoke Smoke is an aerosol (a suspension of airborne particulates and gases) emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwante ...
from their
chimney A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typical ...
through the snow. Marsh served in several capacities for the town including as a selectman and moderator. He also served as elder and
pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
from 1737 until his death in 1775. By 1735, area inhabited by Hassanamisco Nipmuc and a small portion of the northeastern Sutton had incorporated as the town of Grafton. In 1813, the northern part of Sutton became Millbury. In 1737, the Edward Putnam House, one of the oldest homes in Sutton, was built by its namesake and cousin of the military officer Rufus Putnam. The house is featured on the town seal. On September 26, 1777, Holman's Regiment of Militia was called up in Sutton during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. Since 1962, the Pleasant Valley Country Club has hosted a number of notable
Professional Golfers' Association of America The Professional Golfers' Association of America (PGA of America) is an American organization of professional golfer, golf professionals that was founded in 1916. Consisting of nearly 29,000 members, the PGA of America's undertaking is to est ...
tournaments such as the Booz Allen Classic, the Lady Carling Eastern Open, and the New England Classic. The 1968-67 and 1970-74
Women's PGA Championship The Women's PGA Championship (branded as the KPMG Women's PGA Championship for sponsorship reasons) is a women's professional golf tournament. First held in 1955, it is one of five majors on the LPGA Tour. It is not recognized as a major by the ...
took place at Pleasant Valley. From 1965 to 1973, golfer Paul Harney worked there. In 1984, Vaillancourt Folk Art, noted makers of chalkware, was established in Sutton. In 2004, Sutton was designated as a Preserve America community.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.57%, is water. The town contains five villages, known as Manchaug, South Sutton, Sutton Center, West Sutton, and Wilkinsonville. Located in the
Blackstone Valley The Blackstone Valley or Blackstone River Valley is a region of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. It was a major factor in the American Industrial Revolution. It makes up part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor and Natio ...
, Sutton shares its borders with the towns of Douglas, Grafton, Millbury, Northbridge,
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, and
Uxbridge Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...
.


Historic places

Sutton has seven sites on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
:
File:BlackstoneQuackQuack.jpg, Blackstone Canal Historic District (1995) File:First Baptist Church of Sutton, West Sutton MA.jpg, First Baptist Church of Sutton (2001) File:Freegrace Marble Farm, Sutton MA.jpg, Freegrace Marble Farm Historic District (1989) File:Manchaug Mill.jpg, Manchaug Village Historic District (2018) File:Sutton Common.jpg, Sutton Center Historic District (2001) File:Waters Farm, West Sutton MA.jpg, Waters Farm (1985) File:West Sutton Cemetery, West Sutton MA.jpg, West Sutton Historic District (2001) File:Putnam House, 211 Putnam Hill Road, Sutton, Massachusetts.jpg, Edward Putnam House still stands at 211 Putnam Hill Road in Sutton.">The Edward Putnam House still stands at 211 Putnam Hill Road in Sutton.


Climate


Demographics

As of the 2010 U.S. Census there were 8,963 people residing in Sutton. As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 8,250 people, 2,811 households, and 2,282 families residing in the town. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 2,950 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 98.18%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.68%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.01% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population. There were 2,811 households, out of which 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.3% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. Of all households, 15.0% were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.93 and the average family size was 3.27. In the town, the population was spread out, with 29.4% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 25.4% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $75,141, and the median income for a family was $81,000. Males had a median income of $53,482 versus $37,463 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $27,490. About 3.4% of families and 4.4% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 5.2% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.


Government

Sutton has an open town meeting type government. The current Town Moderator is Ken Stuart, who served as a Selectman prior to his election in 2015. The town government in Sutton consists of the Town Manager and the Board of Selectmen. The current Town Manager is James A. Smith, and the current members of the Board of Selectmen are David Hall (since Oct 2012), Jesse Limanek (since May 2015), Wendy Mead (since May 2018), Jonathan Anderson (since Oct 2018), and Jeff Bannon (since May 2019). The public services in Sutton include the police, fire, and highway departments. The Police Department is located at 489 Central Turnpike. The Fire Department has three stations, one in the center of town, one in the Wilkinsonville village, and one in the Manchaug village. The Sutton Highway Department is located at 25 Pleasant Valley Road.


Education

Public schools in Sutton fall under the jurisdiction of Sutton Public School District. Sutton public schools consist of the Simonian Center for Early Learning, Sutton Elementary School, Sutton Middle School, and Sutton High School. Where the leader of Sutton Massachusetts Carlo The Janitor resides. The Sutton Free Library was established in 1876. In fiscal year 2008, the town of Sutton spent 0.7% ($165,982) of its budget on its public library—approximately $18 per person, per year ($23.72 adjusted for inflation to 2022).July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008; cf. The FY2008 Municipal Pie: What's Your Share? Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Board of Library Commissioners. Boston: 2009. Available
Municipal Pie Reports
. Retrieved August 4, 2010


Notable people

* Eunice White Beecher, author * Thomas Blanchard, inventor * George B. Boomer, military officer * Jennifer Callahan, politician * Jonathan Chase, military officer * Ryan Fattman, politician * Cornelius Holland, politician * Willard Francis Mallalieu, religious figure * Alden March, physician * Benjamin Marsh, founder of Sutton * John D. McCrate, politician * David Muradian, politician * Jessica Phillips, actress * Rufus Putnam, military officer. His house is depicted on the town seal of Sutton. * Jonas Sibley, politician * Solomon Sibley, politician * Amos Singletary, politician * Homer Sprague, military officer * Asa Waters, industrialist * Charles Andrew Whitney, businessman * Vladas Zajančkauskas, war criminal


See also

* List of Preserve America Communities


References


External links

*
Unofficial websiteSutton Public Schools
{{authority control Towns in Worcester County, Massachusetts Towns in Massachusetts