Lee M. Sutton Memorial
Lee M. Sutton Memorial
Memorial honoring Lee M. Sutton, a Washington and Lee student from Kinston, North Carolina, who drowned alongside fellow student Paul Roderick Dunn in the North River in 1908.
Erected: June 12, 1916
Removed: Summer 2021
Originally Located In: Lee Chapel
Current Status: Unknown
Commissioned By: Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brothers
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Lee M. Sutton was a Washington and Lee student from Kinston, North Carolina, and a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. On May 30, 1908, Sutton and fellow student, Paul Roderick Dunn of Raleigh, drowned in the North River near Lexington. The two students had apparently taken a boat onto the river near the old Leyburn Dam, but the circumstances of their deaths remained a mystery. When neither returned, fellow students organized an extensive search along the river and surrounding countryside. Dunn's body was recovered on June 1, followed by Sutton's the next morning. According to the Lexington Gazette, “within the past twenty years some six or eight students and cadets have lost their lives in the river.”
On June 2, a funeral service for Sutton was held in Lee Chapel, conducted by the Rev. J. A. Scott and Dr. J. K. Howerton. His remains were subsequently returned to Kinston for burial. Reflecting upon the community's response to the tragedy, the Gazette observed that the tributes to the two young men “were handsome and numerous, and were an inadequate expression of the love and esteem in which the unfortunate young men were held.”
Eight years later, on June 12, 1916, Sutton's fraternity brothers unveiled a memorial tablet in Lee Chapel during the annual celebration of the University's literary societies and student athletes. William A. Bell of New Orleans, Class of 1895, presented the memorial before assembled members of the fraternity, recalling Sutton's life and tragic death. Its inscription honored Sutton as one “Who in the supreme test proved himself.”
University officials removed the plaque alongside other memorials from the Chapel sanctuary in 2021.
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IN MEMORY OF
LEE M. SUTTON Α.Τ.Ω.
WHO IN THE SUPREME TEST
PROVED HIMSELF.
DROWNED IN NORTH RIVER, MAY 28TH, 1908.
ERECTED BY HIS FRATERNITY MATES.
1889 — 1908 -
On June 4, 2021, the Washington and Lee University Board of Trustees announced plans to rename Lee Chapel and restore its auditorium to an “unadorned design,” physically separating it from the Lee family crypt and memorial sculpture. As part of these changes, university officials removed twenty historical plaques and memorials from the chapel sanctuary.
In a July 21, 2022, update, the university explained that the removed plaques and artifacts had been relocated to other exhibits or placed in temporary storage pending renovations. It further announced that “most of the other plaques will be moved to the galleries in the building or to the new institutional history museum, where they can be displayed with more historical context.” The university has not publicly announced plans for the reinstallation or exhibition of this particular memorial.
The university has not responded to recent TGR inquiries concerning the whereabouts and future exhibition of removed plaques. However, in September 2026 correspondence with The W&L Spectator, Museum Director Matt Davis stated: “Our storage facility is not open to the public, nor do we make a list of our collections inventory available to the public.” He further explained that “the size and weight of some of these artifacts are not conducive to public viewing.” Regarding their future exhibition, Davis wrote: “It is possible that some or all of these artifacts will eventually be incorporated into temporary or permanent exhibits once the new museum is open, and we hope to have online databases and viewing rooms in the future.”
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