Q.David Bowers
The California Gold Rush: Sutter's Fort
In the early 1840s California, which became a state in 50, was mainly devoted to the peaceful pursuits of farming and ranching. In the southern part of the state Los Angeles was a quiet community of Spanish-style buildings. In the early 1840s gold was discovered in a canyon several dozen miles to the north of the com-munity, but interest in it was short-lived, and by 1847 the precious metal had been all but forgotten.
The most prominent city in California was San Francisco, earlier called Yerba Buena, about 400 miles to the north. In August 1847, Lt. Edward Gilbert, acting under instructions from Col. R. B. Mason, Jr., governor of the area, took a census of San Francisco. Excluding military officers and soldiers and not including residents associated with the Mission Dolores, 459 people were counted, of whom over half were Caucasian. The remainder were mostly of Mexican and Spanish descent.
Since the beginning of 1846, 157 new houses had been built, mostly of the wooden frame type in the style of northern Europe, a sharp increase from approximately 30 residences located there earlier. Thirty-five adobe houses, mostly older, seemed more prominent due to their bright exteriors, Several vessels were to be seen in the harbor area at any given time, including one or two of ocean-going size. Bales, barrels, and boxes of merchandise were arranged in neat order awaiting shipment. Other goods, recently arrived, awaited dispersal to local merchants, shipment to other areas, and transportation to Sutter's Fort, located inland.
With its rapid growth in the late 1840s, San Francisco was challenging Monterey for leadership in the area. A major jump occurred in May 1847 when The Californian, a newspaper, moved from Monterey to San Francisco and closed its office in the former town. From that time onward San Francisco boasted two newspapers, the only ones in the district.
The area around San Francisco was covered with grass interspersed with small shrubs. Here and there a patch of dwarf oaks provided a splotch of deep green color.
George Hyde was the alcalde (mayor). Rules and regulations were provided by the city council which met at regular intervals.
Inland from San Francisco was Sutter's Fort, located on a small hill near the confluence of the American and Sacramento rivers. Founded in 1839 by John Sutter, a Swiss, the establishment consisted of an adobe parallelogram about 500 feet long by 150 feet wide, with fortifications at the angles. Within the fort, which was guarded by a dozen cannon, were dwellings, warehouses, granaries, shops, stores, and other accommodations. Sutter himself occupied a central building and served as judge, "priest," and general overseer to the residents of the fort and the surrounding area. Furnishings in his own private section were crude and mainly consisted of a set of furniture made in California earlier by the Russians.
Sutter's Fort acted as a trading center for New Helvetia (New Switzerland), at the center of a large expanse of territory used for ranching, farming, and other activities. It was originally intended that the fort would be the manor-seat or governing area of the district, and that Sutterville, a town located three miles below on the Sacramento River, would furnish the main living area. In the mid-1840s Sutter built the first house in Sutterville, followed by Hadel and Zins, the latter building the first brick structure in the district.
In December 1847 Sutter counted in the district 289 white people, 16 Hawaiians, Negroes, and half-breeds, and 479 friendly Indians. In or around the fort there were 60 houses, 6 mills, and 1 tannery. Sutter was the owner of 10,000 to 15,000 sheep, 12,000 cattle, 2,000 horses and mules, and 1,000 hogs. People in the New Helvetia district depended upon Sutter for employment. Included were many immigrants who had come into the district to settle as well as many Mormons who were on their way to Great Salt Lake. In 1846 about 200 Mormons arrived in California, followed shortly thereafter by a Mormon battalion of the United States Army comprising about 350 additional men. By early 1848 a number of Mormon travelers and soldiers were in the district, while others had continued eastward.
During the day Sutter's Fort was a beehive of activity. Wagons came and went, blacksmiths, mechanics, and traders engaged in their respective pursuits, and others attended to pears, apples, grapes, almonds, olives, and other crops in a nearby garden. At night there was often singing, merrymaking, and revelry.
In the early days trade with San Francisco, the link with the eastern United States and foreign ports, was conducted by a 20-ton sloop, the Amelia, which was owned by Sutter and manned by a crew of a dozen Indians. During busy times of the year there were two other vessels which made trips up the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. From the Sutter's Fort landing a canoe was used to shuttle goods back and forth to the Amelia which anchored in deeper waters.
Six miles up from the American River a group of Mormons were busy building a flour mill for Sutter. This was to be a large enterprise with four immense stone grinding wheels, powered by a dam which fed water into a mill race four miles long.
Lumber was in short supply at New Helvetia. Planks and boards had to be imported from San Francisco at great expense. Nowhere in the Sutter's Fort area was there the combination of suitable trees and water power to drive a sawmill. The closest possibility was in the foothills of the Sierras. Sutter envisioned that a sawmill built in the foothills would not only provide needed lumber for construction in and around New Helvetia, but it would also provide an article of commerce for shipment to San Francisco, thereby reversing the usual flow of trade. Sutter dispatched several exploration parties to find a suitable site. The upper Sacramento River was explored as was the Feather River.
Sutter's Sawmill
In the summer of 1847 the explorations were increased. Important among those seeking a sawmill location was James Wilson Marshall, 33 years old, who was born in Hope Township, New Jersey. After being an apprentice wagonmaker to his father, Marshall became a drifter. When financial necessity arose, he sought employment as a carpenter or a farmer. After attaining his majority he joined the western current of migration through Indiana, Illinois, and finally to Missouri, where he homesteaded on a claim. Following an illness, he left Missouri in 1844 for the Pacific coast, leaving in May of that year and going by way of Fort Hall to Oregon, where he spent the winter. The following summer, in 1845, he joined Sutter as a mechanic. Soon thereafter he purchased from one S. J. Hensley a small parcel of land on Butte Creek, on which he placed some livestock. He left the land for a short time, and when he returned he learned that his cattle had been stolen or had strayed.