Sutliff, Iowa Explained

Official Name:Sutliff, Iowa
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Iowa#USA
Pushpin Label:Sutliff
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Iowa
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Johnson
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:689
Coordinates:41.8392°N -91.3917°W
Area Code:319
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:462124

Sutliff is an unincorporated community in Cedar Township, Johnson County, Iowa, United States, just south of Lisbon. The community was founded at the location of Sutliff's ferry. The ferry was operated from 1838[1] or 1840[2] onward by Allen (or Allan) C. Sutliff (1796–1873),[3] [4] [5] the elder brother of the Ohio Supreme Court Judge Milton Sutliff (1806–1878). Sutliff, later sold the ferry service to Jim McLellan, whose nickname of "Butts" also tagged the community with the name Buttsville.[6] [7] The community is known for its bridge, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which was badly damaged during the Iowa Flood of 2008.[8] Baxa's Sutliff Store & Tavern is the main public business. The Sutliff Store has been sitting on the banks of the Cedar River next to the Historic Sutliff Bridge since 1899. The Sutliff Bridge was reconstructed through FEMA funding approved by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors by a 3–2 vote. The reconstruction was supervised by VJ Engineering and construction was completed by Iowa Bridge and Culvert of Washington, Iowa. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in October 2012 to open the bridge to the public again. It had been closed for four years following the devastation of the 2008 flood.

Notes and References

  1. http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/
  2. Year Book of the Old Settlers' Association, Johnson County, 1905, p. 10.
  3. News: The Sutliff Family. Iowa City Press-Citizen. 28 January 1950. 4. Newspapers.com. August 7, 2014 .
  4. http://www.sutliffbridge.com/main/ Sutliff Bridge
  5. Sutliff, Samuel Milton. 1909. A History of the American and Puritanical Family of Sutliff or Sutliffe. Downers Grove, IL: Kelmscott, p. 117.
  6. News: A Fact a Day about Iowa City: 'Buttsville'. Iowa City Press-Citizen . February 14, 1946. 4. Newspapers.com. May 21, 2018.
  7. News: Stuliff, Iowa. Iowa City Press-Citizen . July 16, 1988. 1C, 10C. Newspapers.com. May 21, 2018.
  8. Iowa City Press-Citizen, Oct. 19, 2008.