[6] It was named after William Charles Sutherland, a politician who served on Saskatoon's town council before it became a city in 1906.

West of 1st (later Central) Avenue, Albert Hanson subdivided the rest of his land holdings on a north–south axis, and developed it as residential and commercial properties.

On the other side of the tracks, the CPR subdivided its land following the rail axis on an angle from southeast to northwest.

Development of the portion of Sutherland Industrial east of Central Avenue and north of what is now College Drive began in earnest in the early 1960s.

In 1988, the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation settled a land claim which created western Canada's first urban reserve.

Future development plans published by the City of Saskatoon since the 1980s indicate that McKercher Drive is to eventually be extended north into Erindale, providing an additional access point into the industrial area.

The City of Saskatoon, Canadian Pacific Railway and the CNR are under negotiations currently to remove these switching yards.

This would involve construction of a connecting switching yard between CP and CN rail lines near 11th Street and Dundonald which could be done as part of the new Circle Drive extension project.