| Biography/History: |
born in Iowa, became locomotive engineer, invested in silver mines in Idaho; moved to Spokane, Wash., in 1906; married Mary "May" Arkwright in 1887; also known as Al Hutton Among the Inland Northwest legends is May Arkwright Hutton, a mining camp cook who struck it rich and later campaigned for women’s suffrage. Levi Hutton had his own colorful tales as train engineer. Union miners hijacked his train in 1899 and used it to haul dynamite to Wardner, Idaho’s concentrator mill. There, they blew up the mill to protest low wages and management’s unwillingness to negotiate. For several years the Huttons worked part-time with other partners at their mining claim near Wallace. When they hit a rich vein of silver and lead, the Hercules Mine propelled them into Spokane society, where May began campaigning for women’s right to vote. When she died three years later, their home could not hold all the mourners. Levi fulfilled their dream to create a homelike place for orphaned children. He spent his last years actively involved with the Hutton Settlement Children’s Home, which continues to provide residential care to children. |