THE HISTORY OF
THE SUTTON COMPANY

Scott R Sutton was born in West Hollow New York on March 9, 1849. At the age of 17 he worked for a jeweler in Canandaigua NY for a year, and in 1867 opened his own shop in Naples, SR Sutton, Jeweler, which was located approximately where the Naples Village Hall is today (2024). He carried on his business at the same location until his death on November 30, 1915, a period of 48 years. Sutton was a great fisherman and had a cottage on Granger Point on Canandaigua Lake. He made his own fishing spoons and spinners and was so successful using them that other fishermen wanted them too. He began making Sutton spoons, spinners and swivels to sell in his jewelry store as well as to fishing tackle merchants in other towns in the area. After Sutton’s death in 1915, George W. Wells continued making Sutton Fishing tackle. He had worked for Sutton since about 1875 and was an expert toolmaker. Many of the small tools still in use today bear his name. He continued working in Sutton’s jewelry store under the management of Sutton’s son in law William L Kamps. In December 1921 the jewelry store was sold to KD Bolster. George Wells moved the fishing tackle and spoon making equipment into his home and continued the manufacture of Sutton Spoons there until his death on Sept 27, 1929. In 1930 John (Jack) Stafford Sr., John C Bolles, Henry Manahan, and Harry Stone purchased the Sutton Co Fishing Tackle Equipment from Scott Sutton’s daughter Anna Kamps and moved it to the second story of the Morgan Hose Co. building, located behind the former Auto Store. The four men were all avid fishermen who used Sutton Spoons and Spinners and did not want to lose access to their most successful lures. Of the four, it was Jack Stafford who saw the potential of the business and spent most of his spare time at the shop. After about 4 months he bought out the shares of the other partners. On July 21, 1930, John Stafford filed for a DBA certificate under the name of The Sutton Co. in Ontario County, New York. He continued his job as a plumber for about 2 years, working part time at the fishing tackle business. By that time, sales had increased enough that he was able to quit his other job and went full time into the manufacture of Sutton Fishing Tackle. He developed new spoons including the popular “West River” and changed from plating in nickel to silver because of its superior reflective qualities under water. In 1944 Jack Stafford moved the business into its present location in the Tobey Clothing Store Building at 120 South Main Street in Naples which he purchased from Rose Tobey in 1947. A men’s clothing business was started in addition to the fishing tackle. On October 11, 1963, Jack and his two sons, John Jr. and James entered into a Partnership continuing to do business as the Sutton Co.. At the death of John Jr. in April 1971, Jack and James created a new Partnership and Monty Miles came to work for the business. He remained a valued employee until his death in 2009. Jack passed away on July 7, 1987, and in February 1988, The Sutton Co. became a Sole proprietorship under James E. Stafford. The Sutton Co. under Jack Stafford grew from a yearly production of a few hundred Sutton Spoons to approximately 65,000 spoons a year at the time of John’s death in 1988. In early years, sales were confined primarily to The Finger Lakes Region of New York, but in the 1950’s an angler won a fishing tournament on Lake Michigan using a Sutton 88. The results of the event were recorded in several newspapers, sparking an interest and market for Sutton Spoons across the country. From then on, the reputation has only grown until today, the spoons are world-renowned. Sutton Spoons are still made basically the same as they were in 1944. Although there are some modern production methods in use today, most operations including the forming of the spoons are still done by hand. Two differences involve the utilization of a hydraulic press purchased in 1961. The original purpose was to uniformly cut out the blanks for the spoons, replacing tin snips and hand filing. To keep the expenditure for cutting dies within budget, Jack, John and James made the decision to eliminate models that were rarely purchased or were very close in size and shape of another model. After the addition of Monty Miles to the business, new dies whose design mimicked Jack’s hand tools for forming the spoons were purchased. Use of the press and forming dies allowed for greater productivity since there was no need for rest. Jack continued to hand pound spoons into the 1980’s. Even though the forming is now only achieved with the machine, the actual process is the same as when Jack sat on his stool in the back corner of the building pounding spoons by hand. Since James’ death in November 2019, the business is run by his daughter Dierdre Stafford Stevenson DBA The Sutton Co. with help from Debra Miles, Monty’s widow. Monty taught her the spoon manufacturing procedures which have been invaluable for The Sutton Co.’s continuation to a third generation. The business has always been a vital piece of Naples’ commerce and community, from providing gym uniforms and basketball sneakers for school in early days, work clothes for local farmers and laborers, to being the face for registering for the local opening day Rainbow Trout Derby and having all the fishing gear needed to win. There is comfort in returning to Naples knowing that Sutton’s is still there with only minor changes.