Sutter's Fort

Sutter's Fort
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
California Historic Landmark
The grounds of Sutter's Fort
Location	Sacramento, California
Coordinates
Area	5.80 acres (2.35 ha)
Built	1839
Architect	John Sutter
NRHP Reference #	66000221
CHL #	525
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	January 20, 1961

Sutter's Fort is a restored fort in Sacramento, California, United States, that was established by John Sutter, whose employee James W. Marshall discovered gold to begin the California Gold Rush. It was the center of the Sacramento community until the gold discovery, after which the fort was abandoned. In the late 19th century, it was restored to its original condition and has since been designated a National Historic Landmark.

Location

The compound was built near the junction of the American and Sacramento Rivers and is located at what is now the intersection of 27th and L Streets in the Midtown neighborhood of the city of Sacramento, California.

History

Main article: New Helvetia

Sutter's Fort was built in 1839 and originally called "New Helvetia" (New Switzerland) by its builder, John Sutter. The fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican Alta California Province. The fort was the first non-Indigenous community in the California Central Valley. The fort is famous for its association with the Donner Party, the California Gold Rush and the formation of Sacramento. It is notable for its proximity to the end of the California Trail and Siskiyou Trails for which it served as a waystation.

After gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill (also owned by Sutter) in Coloma, the fort was abandoned. The adobe structure has been restored to its original condition and is now administered by California Department of Parks and Recreation, although threatened with closure. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961.

Description

File:Sutter's Fort from Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion.jpg

Contemporaneous illustration of Sutter's Fort

Painting of Sutter's Fort ruins, ca. 1900

The Main Building of the fort is a two story adobe structure built between 1841 and 1843. This building is the only original surviving structure at the reconstructed Sutter's Fort State Historic Park. It was in here on January 28, 1848 that James Marshall met privately with Sutter in order to show Sutter the gold that Marshall had found during the construction of Sutter's sawmill along the American River only four days earlier. Sutter built the original fort with walls 2.5 feet (0.76 m) thick and 15 to 18 feet (5.5 m) high.

Following word of the Gold Rush, the fort was largely deserted by the 1850s and fell into disrepair.

File:SuttersDesk.jpg

John Sutter's personal desk

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.

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. Pioneers took residence at Sutter's Fort around 1841.

Geography and geology

John Sutter plaque at Sutter's Fort

Sutter's Fort is located on level ground at an elevation of approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) above mean sea datum. 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, because of the swollen Sacramento River, the groundwater flow can actually reverse and flow away from the river.

See also

• 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

External links

• Sutter's Fort State Historic Park official site
• Virtual Sutter's Fort Virtual Web Site
• A History of American Indians in California: Sutter's Fort
• Library of Congress, Americas Memory