Sutton (

Ahtna The Ahtna (also Ahtena, Atna, Ahtna-kohtaene, or Copper River) are an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the Athabaskan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. The people's homeland called Atna Nenn', is located in the Copper River area of southern ...

: ''Ts'es Tac'ilaexde''; Dena'ina: ''Ts'es Tuk'ilaght'') is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in the

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its borough seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. As of the 2020 census ...

in the U.S. state of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. At the 2020 census the population was 1,038, down from 1,447 in 2010. The CDP includes the former

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

community and road construction camp of Sutton, as well as the former mining camps of Eska and Jonesville.

Geography

Sutton-Alpine is located in southeastern Matanuska-Susitna Borough at (61.712473, -148.885625), 52–72 miles (84–116 km) northeast of

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

along the

Glenn Highway The Glenn Highway (part of Alaska Route 1) is a highway in the U.S. state of Alaska, extending from Anchorage near Merrill Field to Glennallen on the Richardson Highway. The Tok Cut-Off is often considered part of the Glenn Highway, for a ...

. It sits along

Alaska Route 1 Alaska Route 1 (AK-1) is a state highway in the southern part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It runs from Homer northeast and east to Tok by way of Anchorage. It is one of two routes in Alaska to contain significant portions of freeway: the Se ...

, the Glenn Highway, between Buffalo Soapstone to the west and Chickaloon to the east. The

Matanuska River The Matanuska River ( Dena'ina: ''Ch'atanhtnu''; Ahtna: ''Ts'itonhna’'') is a 75-mile (121 km) long river in Southcentral Alaska, United States. The river drains a broad valley south of the Alaska Range eponymously known as the Matanusk ...

forms the southern edge of the CDP.

Palmer Palmer may refer to: People and fictional characters * Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land * Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Palmer (surname), including a list of people and f ...

, the

borough seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

, is to the southwest via the Glenn Highway. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the Sutton-Alpine CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 0.92%, are water.

Climate

Sutton has a

continental subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

Dfc) with cold, snowy winters and mild summers.

Demographics

Sutton-Alpine first appeared on the 1940 U.S. Census as the unincorporated village of "Sutton." It did not appear on the 1950 census, but did return in 1960 and 1970. In 1980, Sutton was made a census-designated place (CDP). In 2000, the name was changed to the present Sutton-Alpine. The area of the CDP includes the aforementioned Sutton as well as the former mining villages of Eska (1950 pop: 54, 1960 pop.: 53) and Jonesville (1950 pop: 97). As of the census of 2000, there were 1,080 people, 278 households, and 179 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 352 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 67.50%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.54%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 22.41% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.37%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.74% from other races, and 4.17% from two or more races. 1.57% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 278 households, out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.3% were non-families. 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09. In the CDP the population was spread out, with 19.3% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 40.7% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 208.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 261.8 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $35,652, and the median income for a family was $36,563. Males had a median income of $31,827 versus $28,750 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $20,436. About 6.9% of families and 11.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 15.8% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

History

The first people in Sutton were the

and Dena'ina Athabascans, who called Sutton ''Ts'es Tac'ilaexde'' and ''Ts'es Tuk'ilaght'', respectively. In both languages, the name means 'where fish run among rocks'.

References

External links