Sutter, John Augustus (1803-1880), was a Swiss-German pioneer in California . Sutter is known for building Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento . The fort complex was a regular stop for people entering California in the mid-1800’s. It housed a variety of people, including merchants, traders, and miners. In the same area, at the site of Sutter’s Mill, gold was discovered. The discovery led to the greatest gold rush in United States history.
Johann August Sutter was born on Feb. 15, 1803, in Kandern, in southwest Germany . He was born to Swiss parents. His father managed a paper mill in Kandern. In 1834, Sutter left for the United States in hopes of building a great fortune. He visited such places as Missouri, Hawaii, and Alaska. He arrived in California in 1839. That same year, the governor of Monterey granted Sutter permission to establish a settlement along the Sacramento River . There, he built Sutter’s Fort. Construction of the fort began in 1842 and was finished in 1844. The fort was a huge structure with tall, thick walls. Sutter had acres of grain and thousands of cattle. The fort became a regular stop for people traveling to California.
In 1848, a carpenter named James Marshall was building a sawmill for Sutter some 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the northeast when he discovered gold . Word of the discovery led Sutter’s workers to abandon the fort in search of their own fortunes. By 1849, a large-scale gold rush was underway. San Francisco , the nearest port, grew from a small town to a city of about 25,000 in a year’s time, as people arrived from all over the world. By 1850, the central building was all that remained of Sutter’s Fort. By 1852, Sutter was bankrupt. He spent the rest of his life seeking payment for his losses. Sutter died on June 18, 1880, in Washington, D.C.
