View source for Sutter's Fort

{{Short description|Historic park in Sacramento, California}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Sutter's Fort
| nrhp_type =
| image = Sutter's Fort from Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion.jpg
| image_size = 250
| caption = Sutter's Fort, 1840s illustration
| locmapin = United States Sacramento#California#USA
| map_width = 235
| map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|38|34|20.9|N|121|28|16.4|W|display=inline,title}}
| location = 2701 L Street <br />[[Sacramento, California]]
| nearest_city =
| area =
| built =  
| architect = 
| architecture =
| added = October 15, 1966
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| refnum = 66000221)
| designated_other1=California
| designated_other1_date =
| designated_other1_number =745
| designated_other2=California
| designated_other2_date =
| designated_other2_number =591
| mpsub =
| governing_body =
}}
[[File:Sutters fort flag 1840.jpg|thumb|Sutter's Fort flag, {{circa}} 1839–1848<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=A 13-Star American Flag associated with pre-statehood California dated, "1840" |url=https://www.freemansauction.com/auctions/a-grand-old-flag-the-stars-and-stripes-collection-of-dr-peter-j-keim-1648/lot/8 |website=Freeman Auction}}</ref>]]
[[File:Sutter's Fort interior (1).JPG|thumb|Sutter's Fort interior]]
[[File:Sutter fort flag 1846.jpg|thumb|Sutter's Fort lone star flag, {{circa}} 1846<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferrigan III |first=James J. |date=11 June 1999 |title=Sutter's Republic (U.S.) |url=https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/us-sutr.html |website=crwflags.com}}</ref>]]

'''Sutter's Fort''' was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican ''[[Alta California]]'' province.<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|work=[[National Park Service]] |url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/American_Latino_Heritage/California_National_Historic_Trail.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150313173223/http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/american_latino_heritage/California_National_Historic_Trail.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 13, 2015 |title=California National Historic Trail}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.linecamp.com/museums/americanwest/western_names/sutter_john/sutter_john.html |title=John Sutter, Sutters Fort |website=linecamp.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707072333/http://www.linecamp.com/museums/americanwest/western_names/sutter_john/sutter_john.html |archive-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Established in 1839, the site of the fort was originally part of a utopian colonial project called [[New Helvetia]] (''New Switzerland'') by its builder [[John Sutter]], though construction of the fort proper would not begin until 1841. The fort was the first non-Indigenous community in the California [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=485 |title=Sutter's Fort State Historic Park |work=[[California Department of Parks and Recreation]] |archive-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313010342/http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=485 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and saw [[Forced labor in California#Settlement of California|grave mistreatment of Indigenous laborers]] in plantation or feudal style conditions. The fort is famous for its association with the [[Donner Party]], the [[California gold rush]], and the formation of the city of [[Sacramento]], surrounding the fort. It is notable for its proximity to the end of the [[California Trail|California]] and [[Siskiyou Trail]]s, which it served as a waystation.<ref name="parks.history">{{cite web |url=http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21507 |title=History of the Fort |work=[[California Department of Parks and Recreation]] |access-date=January 17, 2012 |archive-date=September 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901033446/http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21507 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In modern times, the [[adobe]] structure has been restored to its original condition ({{coord|38.5723|-121.4712}}) and is now administered by [[California Department of Parks and Recreation]]. It was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://interpretingsuttersfort.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SFSHP_IMP_3_8_2022.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313143337/https://interpretingsuttersfort.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SFSHP_IMP_3_8_2022.pdf|url-status=usurped|archive-date=March 13, 2022|year=2022|publisher=California Department of Parks and Recreation|title=Sutter's Fort SHP: Interpretation Master Plan DRAFT|access-date=6 April 2023|website=Reinterpreting Sutter's Fort}}</ref>{{rp|42}}

==History==
[[File:Sutter's Fort ruins painting by Calthea Vivian.jpg|thumb|Painting of Sutter's Fort ruins, {{circa}} 1900|alt=Painting of crumbling adobe structure with an overcast sky]]

To build his colony, John Sutter secured a 50,000-acre land grant in the Central Valley from the [[Alta California|Mexican governor]].<ref name="Palo Alto">{{cite book |last=Harris |first=Malcolm |author-link=Malcolm Harris |title=Palo Alto: A History of California, Capitalism, and the World |date=February 14, 2023 |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |pages=14–15 |isbn=978-0-316-59203-1}}</ref> The main building of the fort, a two-story [[adobe]] structure built between 1841 and 1843, was constructed using [[European enslavement of Indigenous Americans|Indigenous forced labor]]. It is the only original surviving structure at the reconstructed Sutter's Fort State Historic Park. On January 28, 1848, [[James W. Marshall|James Marshall]] met privately with John Sutter inside this building to show him the [[gold]] found during the construction of [[Sutter's Mill]] along the [[American River]] four days earlier. Sutter built the original fort with walls {{convert|2.5|ft|m}} thick and between 15 and {{convert|18|ft|m}} high.<ref name="parks.history" /> Pioneers began settling at Sutter's Fort around 1841. Following the start of the [[California Gold Rush]], the fort was largely deserted by the 1850s and fell into disrepair.

===Construction===
The party led by John Sutter landed on the bank of the American River in August 1839. The group included three Europeans and a Native American boy, probably to serve as interpreter. Some of the first people brought to the colony were [[Native Hawaiians|Native Hawaiian]] workers, called [[Kanaka (Pacific Island worker)|Kanakas]]. Sutter had entered a contract with the [[Governors of Hawaii (island)|governor of Hawaii]] to import and use the labor of these eight men and two women for three years. Once the first camp was set up, Sutter used local [[Miwok]], [[Nisenan]], and [[Mission Indians|"missionized" Native Californians]] to build the first building, a three-room adobe.<ref name="Palo Alto" />

===Agricultural colony===
Once the fort was built, Sutter established an agricultural colony with labor structures similar to [[Plantation complexes in the Southern United States|Southern plantations]] and [[Feudalism|European feudalism]].<ref name="Palo Alto" /> The colony relied on [[ranch]]ing and growing [[wheat]] crops. European colonists oversaw Native Californian and Native Hawaiian workers, who were often gravely mistreated. Sutter employed a [[caste system]] to ensure that the minority European settlers maintained control over the colony. Although some of the laborers worked voluntarily, many were subjected to brutal conditions that resembled [[European enslavement of Indigenous Americans|enslavement]] or [[serfdom]].<ref name="jstor.org">{{cite journal|last=Hurtado|first=Albert|title=California Indians and the Workaday West: Labor, Assimilation, and Survival|journal=California History|date=Spring 1990|volume=69|issue=1|page=5|doi=10.2307/25177303|jstor=25177303}}</ref>

===Decline===
After gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill (also owned by John Sutter) in [[Coloma, California|Coloma]] on January 24, 1848, the fort was abandoned.<ref name="nhlsum" /><ref name="parks.history" />

===Preservation===
[[File:SuttersDesk.jpg|thumb|[[John Sutter]]'s desk, photographed at Sutter's Fort State Historic Park]]

In 1891, the [[Native Sons of the Golden West]], who sought to safeguard many of the landmarks of California's pioneer days, purchased and rehabilitated Sutter's Fort when the City of Sacramento sought to demolish it. Repair efforts were completed in 1893 and the fort was given by the Native Sons of the Golden West to the State of California. In 1947, the fort was transferred to the authority of [[California State Parks]] as '''Sutter's Fort State Historic Park'''.

[[File:Making nails at Sutter's Fort, Sacramento.jpg|thumb|Making nails at Sutter's Fort, Sacramento]]

Most of the original neighborhood structures were initially built in the late 1930s as residences, many of which have been converted to commercial uses such as private medical practices. The history of the neighborhood is largely residential.

==Geography and hydrology==
[[File:ISH WC SuttersFort3.jpg|thumb|John Sutter plaque at Sutter's Fort]]

Sutter's Fort is located on level ground at an elevation of approximately {{convert|20|ft|m}} above mean sea datum.<ref>[[U.S. Geological Survey]], ''Sacramento East Quadrangle, 1967, photorevised 1980''</ref> The slope elevation decreases northward toward the American River and westward toward the [[Sacramento River]]. Slope elevation gradually increases to the south and east, away from the rivers. All surface drainage flows toward the Sacramento River. Groundwater in the vicinity flows south-southwest toward the [[Sacramento Delta]]. However, after peak rainfall, the Sacramento River swells and the [[groundwater flow]] can actually reverse away from the river.<ref>''[[Phase I Environmental Site Assessment]], 2617 K Street, Sacramento, California'', Earth Metrics Inc. Report # 10185, October 3, 1989</ref>

===Sutter's Landing===
Sutter's Landing is the spot the Captain John A. Sutter landed in August 1839 at the [[American River]] after coming up the Sacramento River from [[Yerba Buena, California|Yerba Buena]] at {{coord|38.5816|-121.4660|display=inline}}.  After landing, Sutter built a base camp, then Sutter's Fort. The site of the landing is California Historical Landmark #591 that was listed on May 22, 1957.<ref>{{cite ohp |591 |Sutter's Landing #591|2012-10-07}}</ref>

===Coloma Road===
The old Coloma Road opened in 1847, it ran from Sutter's Fort to the city of [[Coloma, California|Coloma]]. Marshall traveled the road to tell of his gold find to Captain John A. Sutter. During the 49ers gold rush thousands of miners traveled the road heading out to look for gold and claims. Coloma Road at Sutter's Fort is a California Historical Landmark No. 745.<ref>{{cite ohp |745|Coloma Road -Sutter's Fort #745 |2012-10-07}}</ref> There are two other Coloma Road California Historical Landmarks: [[Coloma Road, Rescue]] California Historical Landmark, No. 748, in Coloma and California Historical Landmark No. 747 at [[Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park]].<ref>{{cite ohp |747 |Coloma Road #748|2012-10-07}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sierranevadageotourism.org/entries/coloma-road-coloma-no-748-california-historical-landmark/e9f0ad3f-d46e-44e0-af0b-567866a5714d|title=Coloma Road - Coloma (No. 748 California Historical Landmark) &#124; Sierra Nevada Geotourism|website=sierranevadageotourism.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com/landmarks/chl-748|title=CHL # 748 Coloma Road-Coloma El Dorado|website=www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com}}</ref> California's first stage line, [[California Stage Company]], traveled the road starting in 1849, the line was founded by [[James E. Birch (entrepreneur)|James E. Birch]].<ref name=Bancroft>[https://books.google.com/books?id=_ecNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA151 Hubert Howe Bancroft, ''History of California''] Volume 24, The History Company, 1890. pp. 151–152 and notes 46, 47, 48]</ref>

==See also==
* [[New Helvetia Cemetery]] (formerly, "Sutter Fort Burying Ground")
* [[California State Indian Museum]]
* [[Old Sacramento State Historic Park]]
* [[History of Sacramento, California]]
* [[List of California State Historic Parks]]
* [[California Historical Landmarks in Sacramento County, California]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Sacramento County, California]]
* [[John Sutter#Relationship with Native_Americans|John Sutter's relationship with Native Americans]]
* [[Ranchos of California]]

==Further reading==
* {{cite thesis |last=Gwinn |first=Herbert D. |title=The History of Sutter's Fort, 1839–1931 |type=Master's thesis |location=Stockton, California |date=1931 |oclc=34259670 |institution=College of the Pacific |url=https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/911 }}

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://oac.cdlib.org/search?style=oac4;Institution=California%20State%20Library::California%20History%20Room;idT=ACT-6832 John Bidwell (Sutter's Fort Pioneer Collection), 1841–1902. Collection guide, California State Library, California History Room.]
* [http://www.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=485 Sutter's Fort State Historic Park official site]
* [http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/suttersfort/ Virtual Sutter's Fort Virtual Web Site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228084002/http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/suttersfort/ |date=2007-12-28 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20010210213609/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views1h90.htm A History of American Indians in California: Sutter's Fort]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/hh:@field(NUMBER+@band(CA0546)) Library of Congress, Americas Memory]

{{Protected areas of California|SP}}
{{NRHP in Sacramento County, California}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1839]]
[[Category:California Gold Rush]]
[[Category:John Sutter|Fort]]
[[Category:California State Historic Parks]]
[[Category:Museums in Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:History museums in California]]
[[Category:Forts in California]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in California]]
[[Category:Parks in Sacramento County, California]]
[[Category:History of Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:Adobe buildings and structures in California]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:California Historical Landmarks]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in California]]
[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in California]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:1839 establishments in Alta California]]
[[Category:Donner Party]]
[[Category:Landmarks in Sacramento, California]]
[[Category:Houses in Sacramento County, California]]