Most Worshipful Brother William James Sutton was born in Lapeer County, Michigan on September 29, 1865 and graduated from the Michigan State Normal School in Fenton in 1886. After his graduation, he moved to Cheney, Washington where he was instrumental in setting up the Cheney School District in 1887 as well as the State Normal School (now Eastern Washington University) at Cheney in 1889. Sutton served as the first vice-principal of the Normal School, and was then the principal starting in January 1892. The Normal School, which started as the Benjamin P. Cheney Academy in 1882, served as public school for the city of Cheney until the establishment of the Public School in 1887. In 1889, with the statehood of Washington, the Academy was offered to the State of Washington as the State Normal School.
After resigning from the State Normal School in February 1897, he married Nellie Hutchinson, the former principal of the Training School at the Normal School and he purchased a farm on the western edge of town.
Our Brother would be brought to Masonic Light on March 3, 1890, in Temple Lodge, No. 42, a man of sincere heart, and honest conviction, and generous impulse. By these qualities he rose among his brethren and gained distinction wheresoever he went, until rising step by step in his own Lodge and community he stood in 1914, as Grand Master of Masons in Washington and a citizen distinguished in the political life of his state.
Sutton was first elected to the Washington State Senate in 1913, where he pushed through an appropriation of $300,000 to the Normal School over the veto of Governor Ernest Lister. The appropriation was used to replace the administration building lost in the 1912 fire with what would become the prominent Showalter Hall on the campus of Eastern Washington University. Other accomplishments as a politician include saving the State College from being demoted to a trade school.
After retiring from the Senate in 1932, he continued to farm and act as a prominent citizen of Cheney until his death on December 22, 1940.His legacy endures on the campus of Eastern Washington University.
Sutton Hall was completed in 1923 and was the first men's dormitory on campus. In the 1970s, Sutton Hall was used as a residence for armed services veterans, many of whom had recently returned from the conflict in Vietnam. Around 1978 it ceased operation as a dormitory and a few years later the interior was dismantled and removed in anticipation of remodeling that was completed in 2001. Sutton Hall is now used as an office building on the campus, housing Admissions, Financial Aid & Scholarships, the Registrar's office, Veteran's Services, and Academic Advising.
The Red Barn, originally called Sutton Barn, was part of the Sutton farmstead where Sutton raised horses together with his wife Nellie. The barn had originally been built by William Bigham in 1884 for Nellie's father. The farm site was later purchased by Eastern Washington University in 1969. In 1974, classes in sustainability began there, where students learned organic gardening, spinning and weaving, dyeing, direct current electricity, wind power, natural medicines, history of the American west, quilt making, food preservation, bee keeping, healthy diet or edible wild plants. A course in wind power built a wind generator behind the barn, and on July 4, 1976, an American flag hung over the front of the building, which was lighted up with wind power. The present Cheney Recycling Center also got its start at the Red Barn. In 1979, the barn was renovated and assumed its current use, housing the campus police and safety offices as well as parking services.
To many men it is given to work well in a single field. To Most Worshipful Brother William James Sutton, it was given to do well in many. As director of an infant teacher's training school, he left his mark on, and gave his inspiration to, many who later shaped both the youth of the state and the institution which was to train it. As a legislator, his influence is written in much more of the code and the traditional policy of this State. As a Mason, he shaped the course of Temple Lodge and held it ever true to the principles of the Craft. As a leader and councilor, he guided the Grand Lodge in the way of justice and of truth. His record, in truly Masonic fashion, is written in his works.