History Part 2: General John Augustus Sutter
John Augustus Sutter was born on February 15 of 1803 in Kandern, Baden, a few miles from the Swiss border. He came to America in search of fortune leaving his wife, four children and creditors behind. Upon arriving in New York, John Sutter headed west to Missouri where he worked as a merchant, trader and innkeeper for several years. All the while dreaming of establishing his own empire in the West.
In April of 1838 he joined a trapping party on their way to the Pacific Coast. Unhappy with the progress the party was making, John Sutter set off for California before winter. When this goal could not be reached, John Sutter set off on the Hudson Bay Company ship Columbia heading for Honolulu. After wintering in Hawaii, Sutter set sails on the Clementine heading to a Russian colony, in present day Sitka, Alaska. The Clementine would then travel to Yerba Buena where on July 1, 1839 Sutter would finally reach California.
In August of 1839 Sutter chartered four boats and made his way up the Sacramento River to the point where it is joined by the American River. It is here, with Hawaiian and Indian labor, he established some grass huts. Later a more substantial adobe building was erected and soon Sutter's Fort began to emerge from the primitive land.
In order to qualify for a land grant Sutter, on August 29th 1840, became a naturalized Mexican citizen. The following year, Governor Alvarado of Monterey granted him eleven leagues of land or some 48,000 acres. He named the grant New Helvetia or New Switzerland. Sutter was industrious; he began to farm, trap, raise livestock, fish and manufacture goods. In order to better supply his outpost he also established Hock Farm on the West bank of the Feather City. Hock Farm would later become Sutter's refuge.
By 1844 his fort was well established and he characteristically welcomed all who came through his fort which by now had become a trading post and point of entry for all those arriving from the East via the Sierras. Simultaneously however, bad luck, poor business dealings, and Mexican-American politics began to take its toll on Sutter and his resources. He once again found himself in a mire of debt which had gnawed at his whole career.
In early January 1848, James Wilson Marshall, working at Sutter's saw mill at Coloma discovered some tiny nuggets of gold in the tailrace beyond the mill. As the news of the discovery spread, the '49's as they would later be called, eventually overran Sutter's holdings, trampled his crops, stole his horses and equipment and slaughtered his livestock for food. Sutter was helpless to turn back this tide of reckless immigration spurred by gold fever. In 1849 Sutter, recognized as the founding pioneer of California, was asked to help frame the California State Constitution as a member of the Monterey Convention.
In 1850 John Sutter's family came to join him in America. Life however had become intolerable at the Fort and they retired to Hock Farm. On February 16th 1853 Sutter was again recognized by his fellow citizens as he was granted, by concurrent resolution the title of Major General commanding the California Militia.
The final blow to Sutter's California career came on June 21, 1865 when a vagrant, ex-soldier who had been staying on at Hock Farm, burned it to the ground. Following the fire at Hock Farm, Sutter went to Washington, D.C. where he repeatedly petitioned Congress for restitution for the loss of his lands and for the thousands of dollars which he had expended on arriving immigrants.
John Augustus Sutter chose Lititz, Pennsylvania to build his home. The proximity to Washington, D.C. along with the reputed healing qualities of Lititz Springs appealed to the aging Sutter. He also wanted his three grandchildren to have the benefits of the fine private and Moravian Schools. Sutter built his home across from the Lititz Springs Hotel; the present day General Sutter Inn.
For more than fifteen years, John Sutter, the undisputed founder of California, petitioned Congress for restitution but little was done. On June 16 of 1880, Congress adjourned, once again, without action on a bill which would have given Sutter $50,000. Two days later John Augustus Sutter died in a Washington D.C. hotel. He was returned to Lititz and is buried in the Moravian Cemetery. Mrs. Sutter died the following January and is buried with him.
Sutter's signature
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