Harvey and Elizabeth Sutton House
N 40° 12.157 W 100° 37.559
14T E 361614 N 4451513
Only Frank Lloyd Wright house in the Cornhusker State...
Waymark Code: WMRYP7
Location: Nebraska, United States
Date Posted: 08/23/2016
Views: 14
The Sutton house is a cruciform Prairie house in a prairie town. The living room opens to a dining room on one side, reception room on the other, and forward to a veranda. Behind the Roman brick fireplace is the kitchen. Upstairs are five bedrooms and a sleeping porch. Because of the dry Nebraska climate there is a cistern in the attic.
The Suttons moved West from Chicago for Harvey's health and to McCook to lead the prestigious Burlington Northern Band and became a jeweler. It was "Eliza" rather than Harvey who was more involved in the design and construction of the house.
The Suttons sold it to a Dr J Harold Donaldson, Jr, in the 1960s. He converted the house to a medical office and a built a concrete block wall around the perimeter of the property, including cherub-holding water features. With his retirement in the 1970s, Dr Donaldson tried to sell the home, but it languished on the market for several years. There was even talk about demolishing it and building apartments on the site. There was much damage to the house over the years particularly while it was a medical office, though all but one of the original art glass windows were intact. Historical photos of the house may be viewed here (
visit link) . Luckily, Don and Mary Poore of McCook purchased it in 1978 and began a painstaking restoration. They sold the house to Van and Janet Korell who completed the restoration and modernization. Van Korell is President of AmFirst Bank.
The block wall has been removed and the house is clearly visible from the sidewalk on either street, but do not encroach on the house as it is a private residence.