Sutton

Sutton. . , For a small town (about 1,400 people) Sutton has a rich history. Two Indigenous Athabascan Nations, the coastal Dena'ina and the interior Ahtna Hwt'aene' (Peoples) including Nay'dini'aa Na' (Chickaloon Native Village), used this part of the Matanuska Valley for hunting, fishing, trading and as a travel corridor for untold numbers of years before Russians or other immigrants came to Alaska., Toward the end of the 1800's foreign explorers came to trade and search for gold and other resources. In the early 1900's the Matanuska Valley became the center of coal mining in Alaska. Alaska Railroad spurs were built to access the coal and on January 1, 1918, the train station at the junction of the Matanuska Spur and Eska Spur was named Sutton after a local homesteader. In the late 1910's and 1920's the Sutton area was prospering with industry while Anchorage was still a tiny railroad stop. The coal industry continued to provide jobs in Sutton until the Jonesville Mine closed in 1967. Today Sutton is a small Alaskan community in the midst of a majestic landscape, which attracts residents and visitors for recreation opportunities.