OTHER TIDBITS: John Sutter’s journey to California took him to Missouri, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii before his arrival in Yerba Buena (San Francisco). A shrewd trader, he met with Juan Bautista Alvarado, who granted him land to defend against Native American attacks and incursions by the United States on the western border. Ironically, he named the river near his fort the American!

The weapons that Mr. Sutter bought to defend the fort made an even longer journey than he did! They were forged by Napoleon’s Army for their campaign against Russia. When Russia won, they took possession of the guns and brought them to their American outpost, Fort Ross! When Mr. Sutter purchased the bankrupt Fort, he acquired their Franco-Russian firearms but never had to use them.

Though Mr. Sutter created a thriving agricultural empire that became an important destination for westward-bound migrants, it was the Gold Rush that launched at his sawmill which brought about his financial ruin. His fort staff fled to the hills, squatters overran his lands and killed his livestock, and he spent his last days in financial ruin seeking compensation from the US government!

This landmark is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places!

• Pay the entrance fee to help maintain trails, signs, structures, and other visitor services!
• Volunteer at Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park!
• Become a member of Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park!
• Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!

ANNOTATIONS:
You can also call it 2701 L Street!

From Los Angeles: ~386mi (622km) — 6.5hrs
From Sacramento: ~2mi (4km) — 0.1hrs
From San Diego: ~506mi (815km) — 8.5hrs
From San Francisco: ~89mi (144km) — 1.5hrs