The Cottrill Opera House was built and opened in 1902 as a vaudeville theatre. The venue was sold to the Sutton family in the 1920s, and operations were changed to motion picture exhibition. A Wurlitzer theatre organ installation was completed in February 1928.

Sutton Theatre owner Cathryn Sutton leased the theatre’s operation to its former projectionist Roger Bonner, effective 1 August 1962.

At some point the venue’s name was changed back to the Cottrill Opera House, and the venue was entered on the National Register of Historical Places in 1979. The theatre is (slowly) being restored to accommodate live performances once again.

References: Cinema Treasures website; Theatre Organs website : with additional information supplied by Savanna Violet.