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Sacramento's Golden Past
Sacramento: In the Beginning
Sacramento: The Origins of Its Name
John A. Sutter: Adventurer and Entrepreneur
James Marshall: Discoverer of Gold
Sacramento: A City At LastWe wish to thank Julie Elizabeth Mims and Kevin Michael Mims, authors of "Sacramento: A Pictorial History of California's Capital, published in 1981; and Thor Severson, author of Sacramento: An Illustrated History: 1839 to 1874, published in 1973, for the following excerpts. These wonderfully written and illustrated books, and many others about the history of Sacramento, may be found among the historical collection in the Sacramento Room, located at the central office of the Sacramento Public Library.
Sacramento: In the Beginning
The Sacramento Valley rests between two distinguished and regal mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevada on the east and the Pacific Coast range on the west. This beautifully diversified terrain was years in the making. During the ice age, a glacier most likely etched a huge gorge between these two (at the time unstable) mountain ranges. This 1,000-foot-deep crevasse was slowly and methodically filled with silt and sediment of the ages and in time formed the valley floor as it appears today. Earthquakes tossed and tumbled the giant region, gradually forming the unique terrain of the present.
The valley exhibits an astounding diversity. Lush green deltas abruptly give way to rolling foothills. The green grasses and colorful wildflowers disappear rapidly at the onset of summer, leaving a golden beige landscape dotted with massive oak trees. The region is well-suited for agriculture due to these geological factors and also to the atmospheric conditions. Hot summers and mild winters make this valley a veritable paradise for growing. This vast region surrounds the "City of the Plain," the soon-to-be city of Sacramento.
Sacramento is located at the confluence of two rivers, the Sacramento and the American. It is surrounded on the south by the delta, and to the east are the foothills of the Sierra. North and west are mainly farming regions that make the outlying areas profitable to agriculture, one of the largest enterprises in the state.
Yet before Anglo invasion of this area, other people lived and toiled in the valley. They were the Maidu Indians, a branch of the Valley Nisenan group. The Maidu Indian's domain covered over 10,000 square miles, which included the Sacramento area. Their language or dialect was separated into three parts, as were their ecological provinces; these separations were labeled mountain, foothill, and valley. The Maidu were peaceful people with 100 to 110 inhabitants per village. Pole and brush homes were most common and many were subterranean dwellings banded with soil.
The Indians of California, due to geographical formations, were isolated from foreign contact for a much longer period than has been seen in various other groups. The mountains formed a natural barrier to distant travel and contact with outside groups.Sacramento: The Origins of Its Name
In the Spanish-Mexican period of California's development, Anglo-American infiltration became more and more of a problem for the peaceful Maidu. The first of this group were the fur trapping mountain men who were generally hostile toward the Indians of the Sacramento area. Sacramento was named in 1808 by Gabriel Moraga, a Spanish explorer who named the valley for the Holy Sacrament, a Christian religious rite. In contrast, the few settlers in this region in the 1830s and 1840s lived in basically co-existent atmosphere with their native neighbors. In the early days of settlement, Mexican authorities were well-aware of the explorations in the interior valley surrounding Sacramento, yet initially did not feel compelled to limit Anglo expansion.John A. Sutter: Adventurer and Entrepreneur
Born Johann Augustus Sutter in the Black Forest town of Kandern, Bavaria, he lived for a time in Switzerland, becoming an apprentice bookseller at the age of sixteen and a clerk for a clock merchant and grocer at 19. Sutter's inability to find a profitable way to make a living may have contributed to his fascination with the New World. In 1834, he booked passage to America, hoping for success. One of Sutter's dreams was to found a magnificent city, a New Helvetia, a haven for Europeans in the barbaric frontier. He ultimately traveled a roundabout route to California, incorporating side trips to the Sandwich Islands, Alaska, and the Willamette Valley of Oregon.
Of all the foreign and Anglo explorers, trappers, or settlers, the most important to this region was John A. Sutter. At Yerba Buena in 1839, Sutter was given a cool reception and his request for a grant of land was denied; subsequently, he was sent to Monterey to appear before the Mexican authorities to plead for land. Mexico was just beginning to resent and fear the advancement of others into California.
Mexican Governor Alvarado told John Sutter to explore the river and valley regions of the Northern California area and take command of eleven Spanish leagues, seventy-six square miles, that were to his liking. Alvarado was looking for self-gain, too. He needed an out-post in the north to keep in touch with the area and the Indians but did not wish to put his manpower in such outlying areas.
Sutter commanded a small party to San Francisco, then up the Sacramento River, which was a feat in itself. It took him eight days to find the true entrance to the river. On August 12, 1839, Sutter entered the American River and the confluence with the Sacramento. Upon his arrival, he viewed a valley generally without trees except for the groves of oak and cottonwoods gracing the riverbanks.
It was this scarcity of wood for lumber that led to one of the most important incidents in California history. In August of 1847, Sutter began construction of a sawmill forty miles east of Sacramento at Coloma on the American River. This mill would enable him to sell lumber to the steadily arriving immigrants.James Marshall: Discoverer of Gold
On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall's cursory inspection of the millrace unearthed the precious metal that would change California's destiny rapidly and drastically. News of the discovery traveled fast thanks to men like Sam Brannan, a Mormon from New York. Brannon, as well as many others, was skeptical about this great discovery. He traveled to Sacramento in April of 1848, met with Sutter, and visited the site at Coloma. This opportunist was back on the streets of San Francisco by mid-May, waving samples of the gold over his head and shouting the good news.
Within weeks began a migration from all corners of the world to partake of the wealth that was sure to be had by all. By 1849, news had traveled far and wide. The influx of miners arrived mainly by ship at the docks in San Francisco, then charted a course up the Sacramento River by steamboat, then on to the mines heavily laden with supplies.Sacramento: A City At Last
John Sutter's son, John A. Sutter, Jr., actually founded the city of Sacramento. In 1848, he hired topographical engineer William H. Warner to draft the official plat of the city. Evidently Warner was an orderly person, for he made the simplest and best plan for Sacramento City - thirty-one north and south streets to be numbered in order from the embarcadero; 26 east and west streets name for the letters of the alphabet.
The discovery of gold brought an influx of people from all corners of the world. Sacramento became a major supply and commercial center for miners, who could buy their provisions at inflated prices from merchants in the rapidly growing prospering town.
Although Sacramento was growing at a rapid rate, tragedy befell the city time and time again. Fire and flood leveled the majority of the buildings many times in the first few years. Wooden buildings as well as a general lack of caution concerning torches and oil lamps contributed to the fire hazards.
Flooding was a geographical problem which could not be changed. As the rivers rose, the city streets became muddy rivers while small boats maneuvered to rescue stranded inhabitants in second-story windows. Yet, miraculously, the city continued to be built and rebuilt with never-wavering confidence. Sacramento would survive despite the wrath of the rivers.
All this preoccupation with gold and newfound wealth overshadowed a boom of another kind. Sacramento, the fledging city, was teeming with merchants getting exorbitant prices for goods. Sacramento of the 1850s was a city trying its wings in a frontier region. It boasted one of the first real hotels in California, and also the Eagle Theatre, which was the first building erected in California for use solely as an entertainment center.Welcome | Photography | Special Events | Spirit Collection | History | Links | Home Page
updated 1/19/00
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