J. H. Sutton

J.H. Sutton was a native of New Castle, New Brunswick. He spent time in western Canada and then immigrated to Alaska in 1897. He was engaged by the Canadian government to pack large quantities of goods over the coastal passes.1)

J.H. Sutton and Walter Woodburn were sued by Mae Field who went to court to receive $100 in back wages for her services as a dance hall girl in the Opera House theatre.2) The Opera House, located on Front Street, was built in the fall of 1897 and was the first purpose-built theatre in Dawson. It opened in late October with performers previously living in Circle, Alaska. The Opera House burned in a fire that consumed downtown Dawson at the end of November 1897.3)

In the spring of 1898, Sutton brought a consignment of provisions into Dawson and sold them at a great profit.4)

In the fall of 1899, Sutton received a contract with the Canadian government to build the Ridge Road into the goldfields. The contract was given late in the fall and Sutton hired a large force and paid them a very high wage of $8 per day in order to finish the road before winter set in. A Dawson newspaper reported the road to be in excellent condition in October 1899.5)

1) , 4) , 5)
The Klondike Nugget (Dawson), 1 November 1899; “Some Whose Riches Were Not Made In The Mines.” AlaskaWeb.org, 2020 website: http://alaskaweb.org/mining/nonminers.html.
2)
Jay Moynahan, Gold Rush Girls of the Klondike 1896 – 1901. Spokane: Chickadee Publishing, 2008: 49-51.
3)
Michael Gates, Hollywood in the Klondike.Lost Moose, 2022: 42, 45.