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Welcome to Sutliff  History of Sutliff Bridge Sutliff Stagecoach
Sutliff Stagecoach
SUTLIFF – Harry Phelps didn’t think much about history in 1958 when he bought the old stone stagecoach house on one of the highest points in Johnson County. He was too busy farming the 80 acres, which he later increased to 120 acres.
Then Harry met Helen, a widowed bride with six children in 1963. Then nitrates were found in the farm’s soil and he had to quit raising hogs. Then the farm crisis came along and he sold off 40 acres. Well, you get the idea. Harry was too busy to worry about history. But, in the last couple of years, with the youngest child now 41 years old and with his farm chores reduced to 10 head of cattle and renting out his crop land, he has had time to dig up a little history about the old stone house a mile northeast of here on Yellow Pine Avenue. Very little.
“The problem I’m having,” Harry says, “is getting anything authenticated.” “It’s not that they didn’t keep records” he says, “it’s just that nobody knows where they’re at.”
From old issues of the Palimpsest, the State Historical Society of Iowa publication, to visits to historical societies, from Johnson County to the State Historical Society in Iowa City, Harry has run into one dead end after another. He has learned that such research is not easy.
“Yes, yes” he says, tilting his head forward and gazing over the rims of his glasses. “That’s why I’m talking to you, so you’ll do my work for me.” Then he chuckles. While Harry knows a lot about the house, he’d like to know more. That’s why he’d love to find someone who knows about the 1840s in Iowa.
Records show that the stone house, located northeast of the Cedar River in the very extreme tip of Johnson County, was built in the early 1840s, then homesteaded in 1849 by Abraham Townsend.
One book, “Stagecoach Trails in Iowa” by Inez Kirkpatrick, has descriptions that say the stagecoach trail passed through his property. Many stagecoach routes followed along rivers, because the terrain was level and crossing rivers was difficult without too many bridges.
Mail contracts in the 1840s, however, changed that, Harry says. Mail contracts required that routes be moved away from flooding rivers, which could prevent the mail from getting through. The contracts also improved record keeping.
Harry has seen an 1846 map that shows the stagecoach route, which ran from Muscatine to Tipton to Marion. But, a later 1870 map doesn’t show the route.
Harry says his old stone house, about 20 miles from Tipton and Marion, is positioned perfectly for stage routes of the time. Stagecoach houses were established every 10 miles, he says, which means there should have been one halfway between his house and each community.
The Phelpses’ 20-foot-by-30-foot stone house has 18-inch thick walls and three floors. They use the basement for a living room and a utility room while the upper two floors have two bedrooms each.
Harry tore down an old addition to the south side of the house shortly after he bought it, then built another addition to replace it. The new addition completed in 1965, brought running water into the house for the first time. From the rise in the side yard, Harry and Helen and their border collie, Duke, can see for miles.
On the Fourth of July he can see fireworks in all directions – Tipton, Martelle, the Amana Colonies and Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids. Before trees grew too tall, he also could see water towers as far away as Marion.
But, who built this house? What private stagecoach line used to stop to let passengers off and change horses? When did the stagecoach house cease being used as such? Questions, questions, questions, and no answers.
“Sometimes you get frustrated,” Harry says about his search. “You’re close to something and then you run right into the wall.”
If you can help Harry, you don’t need to send a letter by stage. You can give him a call at 455-2888 and tell him I sent you.
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