Glossary · History & People
John Sutter
The Swiss-born founder of Sutter’s Fort (1803–1880), whose land grant started Sacramento but whose own ventures failed in the Gold Rush.
John Augustus Sutter was born Johann August Sutter in Kandern, Baden, on February 23, 1803. He came to North America in 1834, became a Mexican and later an American citizen, and founded Sutter’s Fort in the area that became Sacramento.
His employee James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill, but the rush that followed ruined Sutter’s own business ventures. His elder son, John Augustus Sutter Jr., did better: in December 1848 he began laying out the City of Sacramento with Samuel Brannan. Sutter died on June 18, 1880.
Sources
Questions people ask
Who founded Sacramento?
John Sutter founded the fort and colony the city grew from, but the city itself was laid out in 1848 by his son John Sutter Jr. and Samuel Brannan.
Did Sutter get rich from the Gold Rush?
No. The discovery of gold by his employee turned out to be a bane for him, and his own ventures failed.
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