Preston Nutter Corporation photograph collection

Collection

Identifier: P0289

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Preston Nutter Corporation/Price photographs were donated by Howard Price, Jr. who married Virginia Nutter, a daughter of Preston Nutter. The collection consists of photographs from both the Nutter and Price families.

Dates

circa 1870-1985

Creator

Nutter family (Family)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Note

The history of the Preston Nutter Corporation must of necessity begin with its founder and namesake, Preston Nutter. From childhood, Nutter wanted to be a cattleman, and by the time he died in his eighty fifth year, he had succeeded in that ambition beyond his dreams. At one time he owned more land and ran more cattle than any other rancher in the Intermountain West. Preston Nutter's name should not be remembered only in connection with cattle ranching, however. He was also involved in prospecting in Idaho, Montana, and Colorado, and freighting in Colorado. He was a friend of many well known Indian leaders, including Ouray and Chipeta of the Ute Tribe.

Preston Nutter was born in what is now West Virginia in 1850. His father, a breeder of fine horses, died suddenly when Preston was quite young. When his mother died shortly thereafter, he was sent to live with an aunt and uncle who were strict Methodists. Chafing under their harsh discipline, he ran away after a few months and lived with a storekeeper. After a brief stint as a cabin boy on a steamboat plying the Mississippi, he set out for the West with a government supply train in 1863. On his way West, Nutter resolved to become a cattleman. To commemorate that resolve, his first brand was a "63," which he used on his horses until his death.

During 1883 and 1884, Nutter began to buy cattle and hold them on land near Montrose, Colorado. In 1885, he moved his herd onto a new range near Thompsons, just east of Green River, Utah. From there, he ranged his cattle north into the Hill Creek area of the East Tavaputs Plateau, which he recognized as good cattle country. By the unprecedented expedient of keeping his cattle near the railroad and feeding them through the winter rather than allowing them to wander, Nutter survived the disastrous winter of 1886 1887, which ruined so many other ranchers throughout the West. In 1888, he formed a partnership with two local ranchers, calling it the Grand Cattle Company, but he bought out his partners the following year.

At Nine Mile Ranch in Arizona Preston Nutter met his future wife, Katherine Fenton. Katherine Fenton, born in Ohio in 1871, was the manager of the Postal Telegraph Company office in Colorado Springs, Colorado by 1900. When the Ute Reservation was opened for settlement in 1905, as a lark she entered a lottery for a homestead. Her name was drawn, and, against the advice of her friends, she determined to visit her homestead. The stage route ran through Nine Mile Canyon past the Brock Ranch. The stage driver, new to the route, mistook the Brock Ranch for the Rock House, the regular stage stop. Katherine Fenton was forced to stay overnight at Nutter's ranch, and a romance soon blossomed. Preston Nutter proposed to her the next year, but she wanted to "prove up" on her homestead first. The couple waited until 1908 to get married. The first of their two daughters, Catharine, was born in 1909. Virginia was born in 1912.

The first decades of the twentieth century were prosperous and busy ones for Preston Nutter. He spent much of his time traveling between his far flung ranches, and through his good management they did well. During World War I, he took advantage of the booming market for beef and made huge profits. Unlike most ranchers of the time, however, he did not overextend himself in anticipation of a long war. Instead, he invested in Liberty Bonds, and so was able to weather the drop in beef prices brought about by the Armistice. Katherine Nutter, plagued by a goiter that developed after she had spent a few years living at Nine Mile Canyon, was forced to go to Chicago to seek treatment. She stayed there almost a year. After her return in the spring of 1920, she moved to Salt Lake City instead of the Nine Mile Ranch. There both Catharine and Virginia attended St. Mary's of the Wasatch, a Catholic school for girls.

The year 1921 marked a change in the fortunes of Preston Nutter. The beef market had continued to decline, and also in that year his friend and banker, William McCornick, died. The bank was taken over by Walker Brothers Bank, and Nutter was never able to develop the close working relationship with the larger Walker Bank that he had enjoyed with McCornick. His health, taxed by decades of hard work and travel in all weather conditions, began to fail. In 1930, he was forced to incorporate his interests into two separate businesses. The Arizona holdings became the Nutter Livestock Company, while the headquarters ranch became the Preston Nutter Corporation.

Preston Nutter died from a horse injury in 1936. Katherine Nutter died in 1965.

Extent

8 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Preston Nutter Corporation photograph collection contains photographs of members of the Nutter and Price families, photographs of the Nutter Ranch; photographs and postcards of World War I collected by Gen. Howard C. Price.

Arrangement

Boxes one, three, four, and five, contain images of the Preston Nutter family and Ranch. These photographs detail the life of the Nutter family, settling of Katherine Fenton Nutter's property, and cattle ranching in Southern Utah.

Boxes one, two, five, six, and oversize box one, contain images of the H.C. Price family. These boxes consist of portraits of Price relations, family life, and postcards collected by General Howard C. Price, Sr. during World War I. The Preston Nutter Corporation collection also contains General Howard C. Price Sr.'s photograph album from his time spent serving in the military in the Philippines and South America from the 1890s-early 1900s.