Sutter's Mill

History

On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall, a carpenter originally from New Jersey, found flakes of gold in the American River at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Coloma, California. At the time, Marshall was working to build a water-powered sawmill owned by John Sutter. On February 2, 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in Mexico City which transferred the American Southwest to the United States. When the news got out about the gold, people from all over the world headed for California, speeding statehood and permanently transforming the territory. 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 like food, clothing, burros, lumber, picks, and shovels to the prospectors.

Henry Bigler and Azariah Smith, like other workers at the mill, were veterans of the Mormon Battalion, and wrote about their experience in journals. Bigler recorded the actual date when gold was discovered, January 24, 1848, in his diary. This gold find started the California Gold Rush the next year.

Location

The site of the mill is located on the South Fork American River. Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is registered as California Historical Landmark #530. The current Sutter's Mill is a replica of the original building. It was built based on Marshall's own drawings and an early day photo of the mill.

In popular culture

The mill was the namesake and inspiration for a song by singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg. The mill was also the namesake for a song by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and for Herb Sutter's blog.

Smithsonian

The original flake of gold discovered at the mill is currently at the Smithsonian Institution.