Archives West Finding Aid

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.