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History · Suttons Bay

Suttons Bay’s post office opened in 1861, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1900.

1861first post office
1on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
2famous people
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Photo: Gpwitteveen · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Suttons Bay began

When was Suttons Bay founded?

1861

The Suttons Bay post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1898.

First census: 398 in 19002020 census: 613165 years
Founding year: the first Suttons Bay post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1898.The full story ↓

What stands out about Suttons Bay’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Suttons Bay are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Suttons Bay’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Suttons Bay’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Suttons Bay came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Suttons Bay.

Read it all →

The community is named for one of the first settlers of European descent, Harry C. Sutton, who arrived in 1854. He arrived with a crew of woodsmen to supply fuel for passing wood steamboats.

In 1903 the Traverse City, Leelanau, and Manistique Railroad began a route between Traverse City to the South and Northport to the North, stopping at Suttons Bay, as well as Hatch's Crossing, Fountain Point, Bingham, Keswick, and Omena.

Before the turn of the 20th century, four churches had been established—two Lutheran, one Roman Catholic, and one Congregational.

In 1920, Leelanau County voters approved moving the county seat to Suttons Bay, but the move never took place.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Suttons Bay, 1910 to 1957

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1910Born hereWillard J. Smith is born here
  3. 1940Born hereJeannie Peterson is born here
  4. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Suttons Bay, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Suttons Bay village hall (Michigan)2020Suttons Bay village hall (Michigan)Suttons Bay downtown M-222020Suttons Bay downtown M-22Suttons Bay2019Suttons BaySuttons Bay Schools2019Suttons Bay SchoolsSuttons Bay Marina and village beach2019Suttons Bay Marina and village beachSutton Park2019Sutton ParkHerman Community Park2019Herman Community ParkBay Theatre2019Bay TheatreSuttons Bay Michigan Sign M-222011Suttons Bay Michigan Sign M-22Suttons Bay Michigan Post Office2011Suttons Bay Michigan Post OfficeSuttons Bay Downtown Looking South M-222011Suttons Bay Downtown Looking South M-22MIMap-doton-SuttonsBay2005MIMap-doton-SuttonsBay
On the map

Suttons Bay on the map, 1957 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Suttons Bay. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Suttons Bay on the 1957 USGS mapSuttons Bay on the 1983 USGS map1957Traverse City sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Suttons Bay.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Suttons Bay

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Suttons Bay, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 618

Between 392 and 618 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Suttons Bay’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Suttons Bay

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Willard J. SmithUnited States Coast Guard admiral · b. 1910
J
Jeannie PetersonJournalist · b. 1940

Questions about Suttons Bay’s history

What year was Suttons Bay founded?

The Suttons Bay post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1898.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.