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 restitutuion 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
Click on
the following thumbnails for full images of Sutter's Fort in Sacramento, California, a bronze plaque,
which was placed at Sutter's Fort August 12, 1939, during commemorative exercises, and the plaque
which is located at The General Sutter Inn in Lititz, PA.
Below are
several portraits of General Sutter. It's
interesting
to see the different ways that his
image
has been portrayed.
From left
to right:
General
Sutter painting which is displayed in The General Sutter Inn Parlor
A picture
of Captain Sutter in middle age
Portrait
of a distinguished General John A. Sutter
General
in the California Militia
A portrait
of Sutter in his later years
Back
to:
The General Sutter Inn
14 East Main Street,
Lititz, PA 17543
PH 717-626-2115
E-mail for the Inn is generalsutter@dejazzd.com
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