Sutton Historical Society BuildingsSHS is the owner and custodian of several historical buildings in Sutton. The Meetinghouse is the readily identifiable focal point of SHS buildings, joined by the nearby South Sutton Schoolhouse and the Azariah Cressey House which houses SHS headquarters. In addition, SHS has an agreement with the Town of Sutton to manage the Old Store Museum.
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South Sutton Meetinghouse
Work on two meetinghouses, one in the North Village and the other in the South Village, began in 1794. Wood shavings caught fire and the South Meetinghouse burned to the ground before it was completed. The building was rebuilt and was completed shortly after the North meetinghouse in 1797. All three buildings had the same dimensions, 50 ft. X 40 ft. with enclosed stairways (porches) on both ends.
The present South Meetinghouse was built in 1839 and is nearly identical to the Sutton Mills church, which was also built in 1839. The fate of the original South Meetinghouse is not known. It may have been renovated to become the present building.
The interior of the building remains as it was when constructed, with a only few minor changes. Repairs after a lightning strike in 1898 included lowering the pulpit to 20 in. in height. A chandelier paid for by Minnesota Governor John Pillsbury was installed in 1900.
Denominations using the meetinghouse in the past include Calvinist Baptist, Universalists, Osgoodites, and Seventh Day Adventists. At present, there are two annual services, Old Home Day and the Children's Christmas Pagent.
The Meetinghouse was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The Meetinghouse is open during special events. and by appointment.
Work on two meetinghouses, one in the North Village and the other in the South Village, began in 1794. Wood shavings caught fire and the South Meetinghouse burned to the ground before it was completed. The building was rebuilt and was completed shortly after the North meetinghouse in 1797. All three buildings had the same dimensions, 50 ft. X 40 ft. with enclosed stairways (porches) on both ends.
The present South Meetinghouse was built in 1839 and is nearly identical to the Sutton Mills church, which was also built in 1839. The fate of the original South Meetinghouse is not known. It may have been renovated to become the present building.
The interior of the building remains as it was when constructed, with a only few minor changes. Repairs after a lightning strike in 1898 included lowering the pulpit to 20 in. in height. A chandelier paid for by Minnesota Governor John Pillsbury was installed in 1900.
Denominations using the meetinghouse in the past include Calvinist Baptist, Universalists, Osgoodites, and Seventh Day Adventists. At present, there are two annual services, Old Home Day and the Children's Christmas Pagent.
The Meetinghouse was entered on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. The Meetinghouse is open during special events. and by appointment.

South Village School (District No. 9)
The maximum number of school districts and one room schools in Sutton at any one time was 15. The original South Village (District 9) schoolhouse was built in 1820 on a site along Meetinghouse Rd. A land dispute resulted in building the present schoolhouse closer to the meetinghouse in 1863.
By 1945, there were three remaining schools in Sutton. The South Village school served eight grades until 1945, when it was closed and all the grades in Sutton were divided between the Mills and the North Village schools. Due to the number of students, this arrangement did not work out and in 1946 the fourth and fifth grades attended South Village school. In 1949 another change was made, when grades 7 & 8 were located in the South Village. It remained that way until the new central school opened in February of 1954.
The South Village School was sold to the Old Home Day Association in 1954. “The Friends of the South Sutton Schoolhouse” maintained the schoolhouse until 1995 when ownership of the schoolhouse was transferred to the Sutton Historical Society. The School House is open during special events and by appointment.
The maximum number of school districts and one room schools in Sutton at any one time was 15. The original South Village (District 9) schoolhouse was built in 1820 on a site along Meetinghouse Rd. A land dispute resulted in building the present schoolhouse closer to the meetinghouse in 1863.
By 1945, there were three remaining schools in Sutton. The South Village school served eight grades until 1945, when it was closed and all the grades in Sutton were divided between the Mills and the North Village schools. Due to the number of students, this arrangement did not work out and in 1946 the fourth and fifth grades attended South Village school. In 1949 another change was made, when grades 7 & 8 were located in the South Village. It remained that way until the new central school opened in February of 1954.
The South Village School was sold to the Old Home Day Association in 1954. “The Friends of the South Sutton Schoolhouse” maintained the schoolhouse until 1995 when ownership of the schoolhouse was transferred to the Sutton Historical Society. The School House is open during special events and by appointment.

Azariah Cressey House
Built in 1879 for Azariah Cressey, this house now serves as the Sutton Historical Society headquarters. As such it is home to the society's collections and the Larry and Jean Bennett Library.
Azariah Cressey, his wife, Dorothy and two children came to Sutton from Bradford in 1858. Four more children were born in Sutton. He was a tinsmith and established a business manufacturing stoves. He served as clerk of School Dist. No. 9. The Advent Christian Conference ordained Azariah in 1884. He helped organize the Advent Christian Conference of Sutton and was elected its first pastor. Dorothy died in 1880. Azariah married second, Sophronia Stockwell, in 1885. He died Dec. 2, 1898.
The Cressey family sold the house to Harrington Wells in 1918.
The office of Civil Defense was established in May of 1941. Among the first organizations formed by the OCD was the Aircraft Warning Service (AWS). It was established with the goal to help defend the east, west and Gulf coasts from air attack. It was the first OCD large-scale organization to accept civilian volunteers. The men and women who kept watch for enemy aircraft were called spotters and were members of the Ground Observer Corps of the AWS. Sutton had a dedicated group of spotters that ranged from young women to some of the town’s elders The Cressey house served as Sutton's aircraft lookout station. Volunteers manned it around the clock usually in teams of two. Harry and Myrtle Wells were good hosts and somehow were able to function as a family during the trying times.
The Cressey House is open on selected dates during the summer and fall or by appointment.
Built in 1879 for Azariah Cressey, this house now serves as the Sutton Historical Society headquarters. As such it is home to the society's collections and the Larry and Jean Bennett Library.
Azariah Cressey, his wife, Dorothy and two children came to Sutton from Bradford in 1858. Four more children were born in Sutton. He was a tinsmith and established a business manufacturing stoves. He served as clerk of School Dist. No. 9. The Advent Christian Conference ordained Azariah in 1884. He helped organize the Advent Christian Conference of Sutton and was elected its first pastor. Dorothy died in 1880. Azariah married second, Sophronia Stockwell, in 1885. He died Dec. 2, 1898.
The Cressey family sold the house to Harrington Wells in 1918.
The office of Civil Defense was established in May of 1941. Among the first organizations formed by the OCD was the Aircraft Warning Service (AWS). It was established with the goal to help defend the east, west and Gulf coasts from air attack. It was the first OCD large-scale organization to accept civilian volunteers. The men and women who kept watch for enemy aircraft were called spotters and were members of the Ground Observer Corps of the AWS. Sutton had a dedicated group of spotters that ranged from young women to some of the town’s elders The Cressey house served as Sutton's aircraft lookout station. Volunteers manned it around the clock usually in teams of two. Harry and Myrtle Wells were good hosts and somehow were able to function as a family during the trying times.
The Cressey House is open on selected dates during the summer and fall or by appointment.

Old Store Museum
The Old Store Museum was probably built shortly after an earlier store had burned on the South Sutton Village site in 1850. Beginning in the 1880's it functioned as the G.G. Wells General Store. The completion of the Concord and Claremont Railroad from Concord as far as Bradford in 1853 did its part to kill long distance stagecoach travel, but it also gave business to a local and long enduring daily stagecoach route between Bradford and New London that stopped right at the G.G. Wells store. Freight wagons and freight sledges on runners for winter travel delivered a wise variety of goods to the store, including Pillsbury flour from Minnesota.
In the 1890's the store had refrigeration by means of locally cut ice and advertised the availablity of western beef. Even oysters from the seacoast of New Hampshire or Massachusetts could be delivered fresh to the store daily. In 1896 the first telephone in town was installed in the store, connected with a phone at the Bradford train station. That original phone still hangs on the wall of the museum. Phone service came to Sutton exactly twenty years before the first electric lines arrived.
Harrington Wells inherited the store from his father, and after his death in 1944 his brother Carlton owned it. Carl Wells began collecting items for the museum. His widow, Helena, deeded the building and its contents to the Town of Sutton, which accepted ownership upon her death in 1965. The building and its displays have been reorganized during the past several years, thanks in large part to our Town Historian, Jack Noon. The museum contains unsold store items from more than a century ago as well as early farming and carpenter's tools that are more than two centuries old.
Under agreement with the Town of Sutton, SHS is responsible for the inventory and display of museum contents.
The Old Store Museum is open during special events and by appointment.
The Old Store Museum was probably built shortly after an earlier store had burned on the South Sutton Village site in 1850. Beginning in the 1880's it functioned as the G.G. Wells General Store. The completion of the Concord and Claremont Railroad from Concord as far as Bradford in 1853 did its part to kill long distance stagecoach travel, but it also gave business to a local and long enduring daily stagecoach route between Bradford and New London that stopped right at the G.G. Wells store. Freight wagons and freight sledges on runners for winter travel delivered a wise variety of goods to the store, including Pillsbury flour from Minnesota.
In the 1890's the store had refrigeration by means of locally cut ice and advertised the availablity of western beef. Even oysters from the seacoast of New Hampshire or Massachusetts could be delivered fresh to the store daily. In 1896 the first telephone in town was installed in the store, connected with a phone at the Bradford train station. That original phone still hangs on the wall of the museum. Phone service came to Sutton exactly twenty years before the first electric lines arrived.
Harrington Wells inherited the store from his father, and after his death in 1944 his brother Carlton owned it. Carl Wells began collecting items for the museum. His widow, Helena, deeded the building and its contents to the Town of Sutton, which accepted ownership upon her death in 1965. The building and its displays have been reorganized during the past several years, thanks in large part to our Town Historian, Jack Noon. The museum contains unsold store items from more than a century ago as well as early farming and carpenter's tools that are more than two centuries old.
Under agreement with the Town of Sutton, SHS is responsible for the inventory and display of museum contents.
The Old Store Museum is open during special events and by appointment.
Contact us to make an appointment to visit one or more of our buildings.