Salmon Fletcher Dutton

Salmon Fletcher Dutton (July 7, 1870 – December 2, 1931) was an American businessman, Lieutenant colonel in World War I. He is known for constructing the Dutton House, one of the earliest residences on Carmel Point, California. During the 1920s, he was a founding member of the Abalone League.

Early life


Dutton was born on July 5, 1870, in Cavendish, Vermont. His father was postmaster Richard Henry Dutton (1833-1891), and his mother was Helen Louise Wood (1850-). He was raised in New England. The settlement Duttonsville, was named after his gg grandfather Salmon Dutton (1744-1824) in the early 1780s. In the 1920s, the name was still being used as the official name of the Cavendish village schools.

In 1898, was assigned to duty with the brigade commissary on the staff of Col. Clark, commanding the First Vermont regiment at Chickamauga, Georgia. He was commissioned a Captain during the war by a senatorial appointment from his uncle, governor Redfield Proctor Jr., of Vermont. Dutton was then appointed to the Regular Army in 1901. The position carried a salary of $2,000. As Lieutenant colonel, he served in the Philippines, Denver, San Francisco, and Boston, as well as in France during World War I. In 1904, went for duty to Boston, Massachusetts.

He married Laura May Chase of Charlestown, New Hampshire on September 25, 1901, in Keene, New Hampshire.

Professional background
He was a former druggist at the drug firm of Aldrich & Dutton, in Keene, New Hampshire in the early 1900s.

Dutton and his family moved from the East Coast to San Francisco, California in 1920. After his aunt, Emily Jane Dutton (1835–1915) died, Dutton received a benefit from her trust estate in July 1923.

Dutton House


Dutton and his family moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea by the early 1920s. He built a large two-story house at Carmel Point, at the southern city limits of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. It was one of the first homes on Carmel Point at the southern city limits of Carmel.

The Dutton house was remodeled in 1953 by Francis W. Wynkoop. It was the second house built by Wynkoop on the Carmel Point coastline, called Seaburst House or the Henry Johnson House. It is a mid-century modern Expressionist-style house at 26200 Scenic Road, and was influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's organic architecture style.

Abalone League
He was one of the original members of the Abalone League in the 1920s. The Abalone League was a Carmel focal point for many years. In the 1920s,

Dutton and his son were early players on an Abalone League together. Dutton was the team captain for the "Sardines".

Death
Dutton died on December 2, 1931, at his home in Carmel Highlands, California, at the age of 61. For over a decade, he lived in the Highlands. The funeral services took place at the Freeman chapel in Monterey. His wife died by suicide on September 4, 1939.