Editing Sutter's Mill

{{Short description|Location of gold discovery that started the California Gold Rush in 1848}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Sutter's Mill
| native_name =
| native_language =
| image = Sutter's Mill (2).JPG
| caption = 2014 replica of Sutter's Mill
| image_map= Americanrivermap.png
| image_map_caption= Location of Sutter's Mill
| location = [[Coloma, California]]
| area = [[Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park]]
| coordinates = {{Coord|38|48|12.5|N|120|53|32.5|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=title,inline}}
| built =
| architect =
| architecture =
| governing_body = [[California Department of Parks and Recreation]]
| owner =
| designation1 = California
| designation1_offname = Gold discovery site
| designation1_date = March 7, 1955<ref>{{cite web | url = https://ohp.parks.ca.gov/ListedResources/Detail/530 | access-date = 2025-05-04 | title = Gold discovery site | publisher = California State Parks Office of Historic Preservation}}</ref>
| designation1_number = 530
}}

'''Sutter's Mill''' was a [[water mill|water-powered]] [[sawmill]] on the bank of the [[South Fork American River]] in the foothills of the [[Sierra Nevada]] in California. It was named after its owner [[John Sutter]]. A worker constructing the mill, [[James W. Marshall]], found gold there in 1848. This discovery set off the [[California gold rush]] (1848–1855), a major event in the [[history of the United States]].

The mill was later reconstructed in the original design and today forms part of [[Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park]] in [[Coloma, California]]. A [[meteorite fall]] in 2012 landed close to the mill; the recovered fragments were named the [[Sutter's Mill meteorite]].

==History==
{{Main|California Gold Rush}}
[[File:Sutters Mill.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph of the original Sutter's Mill, taken c. 1850]]

The territory of [[Alta California]], which includes modern-day California, was settled by the [[Viceroyalty of New Spain]] from 1683 onwards. It became part of an independent [[Mexico]] in 1821. John Sutter, a German-Swiss settler, arrived in the region in 1839. He established a colony at [[New Helvetia]] (now part of [[Sacramento]]), in the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]]. The United States [[Conquest of California|conquered the region]] during the [[Mexican–American War]] (1846–1848): California was overrun by US forces in 1846 and [[Treaty of Cahuenga|a ceasefire in the region]] was agreed in January 1847. A peace treaty for the wider war had not yet been completed when Sutter decided to begin construction of a sawmill in the forest about 30 miles northeast of his existing colony. Sutter employed [[James W. Marshall|James Wilson Marshall]], a carpenter originally from New Jersey, to supervise construction of the new building.<ref name=gold_nugget />

On January 24, 1848, while working on construction of the mill, Marshall found flakes of gold in the [[South Fork American River]].<ref name=gold_nugget>{{cite web |title=Gold Nugget |url=https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_741894 |website=National Museum of American History |access-date=22 January 2021 |language=en|quote=This small piece of yellow metal is believed to be the first piece of gold discovered in 1848 at Sutter's Mill in California, launching the gold rush. James Marshall was superintending the construction of a sawmill for Col. John Sutter on the morning of January 24, 1848, on the South Fork of the American River at Coloma, California, when he saw something glittering in the water of the mill's tailrace. According to Sutter's diary, Marshall stooped down to pick it up and 'found that it was a thin scale of what appeared to be pure gold.' Marshall bit the metal as a test for gold.}}</ref> On February 2, 1848, before news of the discovery had arrived, the [[Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo]] was signed in Mexico City. This peace treaty formally transferred sovereignty over the region to the United States. Two workers at the mill, Henry Bigler<ref name=sfmuseum>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist6/grush.html |title=California Gold An Authentic History of the First Find With the Names of Those Interested in the Discovery |access-date=2010-04-17 |publisher=www.sfmuseum.org}}</ref> and Azariah Smith,<ref name=byustudies>{{cite web|url=http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=6092|title=The Gold Discovery Journal of Azariah Smith|access-date=2010-04-17|publisher=[[Brigham Young University]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609212857/http://byustudies.byu.edu/showTitle.aspx?title=6092|archive-date=2011-06-09}}</ref> were veterans of the [[Mormon Battalion]] and recorded their experience in journals.<ref name=ldschurch1>{{cite journal |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1997/09/on-the-trail-in-september?lang=eng |title=On the Trail in September |author=William G. Hartley |date=September 1997 |journal=[[Ensign (LDS magazine)|Ensign]] |publisher=[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] |pages=40–41 |access-date=2010-05-13}}</ref> Bigler recorded the date when gold was discovered, January 24, 1848, in his diary.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist2/gold.html |title=The Discovery of Gold in California |first1=John |last1=Sutter |author-link=John Sutter |work=[[James Mason Hutchings|Hutchings' California Magazine]] |date=November 1857 |quote=The Mormons did not like to leave my mill unfinished, but they got the gold fever like everybody else. After they had made their piles they left for the [[Great Salt Lake]]. So long as these people have been employed by me they hav [sic] behaved very well, and were industrious and faithful laborers, and when settling their accounts there was not one of them who was not contented and satisfied.}}</ref> Sutter's claim to the US government for [[mineral rights]] was investigated by [[Joseph Libbey Folsom]], who issued confirmation of the gold discovery in June. The first flake found by Marshall was shipped to President [[James K. Polk]] in Washington D.C., arriving in August 1848.<ref name=gold_nugget/> It is now on display in the [[National Museum of American History]], part of the [[Smithsonian Institution]].<ref name=gold_nugget/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_741894 |title=First gold found at Sutter's Mill, California, 1848 |website=smithsonianlegacies.si.edu |access-date=October 23, 2018}}</ref>

As news of the gold spread, settlers flocked to the new [[US territory]] of [[California]]. The population expanded from 14,000 non-natives in 1848 to 224,000 in 1852.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=California Gold Rush|last=García|first=Justine|publisher=Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia.|year=2014|pages=415–418}}</ref> There were over 80,000 newcomers in 1849 and another 91,000 in 1850.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=History of World Trade since 1450|last=Clay|first=Karen|publisher=Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA|year=2008|pages=328–339}}</ref> Many settled at the new town of [[Coloma, California]], which sprung up close to Sutter's Mill. Numerous further discoveries of [[gold in California]] were made. During the next seven years, approximately 300,000 people came to California (half by land and half by sea) to seek their fortunes from either mining for gold or selling supplies to the [[Prospecting|prospectors]]. This [[California Gold Rush]] permanently changed the territory, both through mass immigration and the economic effects of the gold. California [[Admission to the Union|became a US state]] in 1850.

==Current status==
[[File:Sutter's Mill (4094149651).jpg|thumb|Replica (1968–2014)]]

The site of the mill is part of the [[Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park]], registered as [[California Historical Landmark]] number 530.<ref name=hmdb>{{cite web |url=http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=10495 |title=Sutter's Mill Site |access-date=2010-04-17 |publisher=www.hmdb.org}}</ref>

On September 8, 1965, a groundbreaking was held to begin the construction of a replica of the original structure, based on Marshall's own drawings and a photograph of the mill taken circa 1850.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=September 9, 1965 |title=Sutter Mill Rebuilding Is Started |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-sutter-mill-rebuildin/159507552/ |newspaper=[[The Sacramento Bee]] |page=D3 |location=Sacramento, California}}</ref> The replica was nearly completed by the following year, and while not built at the exact spot as the original, it was designed to be moved there if the river returned to its 1848 [[stream bed]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=May 22, 1966 |title=Coloma Replica Of Sutter's Mill Nears Finish |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-coloma-replica-of-sut/159507832/ |newspaper=[[The Sacramento Bee]] |page=B4 |location=Sacramento, California}}</ref> The newly completed replica was officially dedicated on January 21, 1968.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=January 19, 1968 |title=Coloma Dedication of Sutter's Mill Will Highlight Gold Discovery Days Fete |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-coloma-dedication-of/159507981/ |newspaper=[[The Sacramento Bee]]/Superior California News |page=B1 |location=Sacramento, California}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=January 22, 1968 |title=Gold Discovery Event Attracts 20,000 Persons |newspaper=[[The Sacramento Bee]]/Superior California News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-gold-discovery-event/159508248/ |page=B1 |location=Sacramento, California}}</ref> In 2014, the 1960s structure was replaced with a new replica, built closer to the original site.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lakey |first=Pat |date=December 15, 2014  |title=New mill ready to inspire new memories |url=http://www.villagelife.com/news/new-mill-ready-to-inspire-new-memories/ |url-status=unfit |work=Village Life |location=El Dorado Hills, California |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909173257/http://www.villagelife.com/news/new-mill-ready-to-inspire-new-memories/ |archive-date=September 9, 2015 |access-date=November 5, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Sutter's Mill Reconstruction Project Moves Forward |url=https://www.parks.ca.gov/pages/712/files/2014Sutter's%20Mills%20Framing%20.pdf |publisher=California Department of Parks and Recreation |date=September 5, 2014 |access-date=November 5, 2023}}</ref>

==Meteorite==
{{Main|Sutter's Mill meteorite}}

On April 22, 2012 a [[meteor]] entered the Earth's atmosphere and [[bolide|exploded]], showering [[meteorite]] fragments over parts of California and Nevada. The first samples of this [[meteorite fall]] were recovered close to Sutter's Mill, so it was named the [[Sutter's Mill meteorite]]. Several dozen fragments were eventually identified, with a total weight of about a kilogram. The meteorite is classified as a [[carbonaceous chondrite]] and contains some of the oldest known material in the Solar System.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.1227163|pmid=23258889|bibcode=2012Sci...338.1583J|hdl=2060/20140017286|hdl-access=free|title=Radar-Enabled Recovery of the Sutter's Mill Meteorite, a Carbonaceous Chondrite Regolith Breccia|year=2012|last1=Jenniskens|first1=P.|last2=Fries|first2=M. D.|last3=Yin|first3=Q.-Z.|last4=Zolensky|first4=M.|last5=Krot|first5=A. N.|last6=Sandford|first6=S. A.|last7=Sears|first7=D.|last8=Beauford|first8=R.|last9=Ebel|first9=D. S.|last10=Friedrich|first10=J. M.|last11=Nagashima|first11=K.|last12=Wimpenny|first12=J.|last13=Yamakawa|first13=A.|last14=Nishiizumi|first14=K.|last15=Hamajima|first15=Y.|last16=Caffee|first16=M. W.|last17=Welten|first17=K. C.|last18=Laubenstein|first18=M.|last19=Davis|first19=A. M.|last20=Simon|first20=S. B.|last21=Heck|first21=P. R.|last22=Young|first22=E. D.|last23=Kohl|first23=I. E.|last24=Thiemens|first24=M. H.|last25=Nunn|first25=M. H.|last26=Mikouchi|first26=T.|last27=Hagiya|first27=K.|last28=Ohsumi|first28=K.|last29=Cahill|first29=T. A.|last30=Lawton|first30=J. A.|journal=Science|volume=338|issue=6114|pages=1583–1587|s2cid=206543838|display-authors=29}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The mill was the namesake and inspiration for a song by singer-songwriter [[Dan Fogelberg]].<ref name=amazon>{{cite web |url=https://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3ADan+Fogelberg+-+Sutter's+Mill&page=1 |title=Sutter's Mill by Dan Fogelberg |access-date=2010-04-17 |publisher=[[Amazon (company)|Amazon.com]]}}</ref> The mill was also the namesake for a song by the [[New Riders of the Purple Sage]], and for [[Herb Sutter]]'s blog. In [[Beverly Cleary]]'s novel ''[[Mitch and Amy]]'', the protagonists build a model of Sutter's Mill out of toothpicks. The mill is referenced heavily in an episode of the television series ''[[Little House on the Prairie (TV series)|Little House on the Prairie]]'' titled "At the End of the Rainbow," in which [[Laura Ingalls Wilder]] and a friend believe they have found gold in a stream near [[Walnut Grove, Minnesota|Walnut Grove]].

==See also==
* [[California gold coinage]]
* [[Sutter's Fort]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist2/gold.html Discovery of Gold], by John A. Sutter, ''[[James Mason Hutchings|Hutchings' California Magazine]]'', November 1857. Sutter describes how he wanted a sawmill near the [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]] and how Marshall told him of the gold.
* [http://www.calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/browse/keyword/Sutter's+Mill Early photographs, illustrations, and textual references to Sutter's Mill]; {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907190126/http://calisphere.universityofcalifornia.edu/browse/keyword/Sutter%27s%20Mill |date=2008-09-07 }}, via Calisphere, California Digital Library.
* [http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=484 Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park] (California State Parks, official site)

[[Category:Buildings and structures in El Dorado County, California]]
[[Category:California Gold Rush]]
[[Category:California Historical Landmarks]]
[[Category:Companies based in El Dorado County, California]]
[[Category:History of El Dorado County, California]]
[[Category:John Sutter|Mill]]
[[Category:Mining museums in California]]
[[Category:Museums in El Dorado County, California]]
[[Category:Sawmills in the United States]]
[[Category:Watermills in the United States]]