The scenic campus of the Hutton Settlement for Children

View more photos of the grounds and artifacts that Hayley Hydrick showed us on the tour.

by EPH project director Henry A. Pierce III

By popular demand, a fresh EPH newsletter is in the works, featuring an article about mining magnate and philanthropist Levi Hutton and his great humanitarian achievement, the Hutton Settlement Children’s Home. Hutton was a contemporary of the Spokane Shriners Hospital for Children co-founders, my grandfather Henry A Pierce Sr. (1884-1959) and Dr. Charles F. Eikenbary, and most certainly operated in similar circles. After working on my grandfather’s home for so long, the work and impact of these early Spokane philanthropists had been on my mind.

 

EPH project engineer Mick Deviny talks with Hayley about growing up at the Hutton Settlement.

I was particularly intrigued by the Levi Hutton story when Haley, a server at my favorite restaurant, told me her parents had met there as childhood residents. They later married and raised her at the Hutton Settlement, where they served for many years as house parents. I was excited when Haley invited me and EPH project engineer Mick Deviny to tour the Hutton Settlement, and said she would be our guide.

On our tour of the Hutton Settlement, I took more than 200 pictures of this beautiful place to which Levi Hutton left his entire substantial wealth. Those who research and read the history of Levi Hutton will likely shed a tear of gratitude, as I did.