- Sutter's Mill
Sutter's Mill was a
sawmill owned by 19th century pioneerJohn Sutter . It was located inColoma, California , USA at the bank of theAmerican River . Sutter's Mill is most famous for its association with theCalifornia Gold Rush . It was here that an employee/partner of Sutter's, James Marshall, onJanuary 24 ,1848 , found several flakes of gold that would begin the transformation ofCalifornia from a sleepy outpost to a bustling center of activity. [ [http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=122] ] Originally, John Sutter and James Marshall tried to keep the gold secret but eventually the word got out, bringing people from many different cultures to the "Golden" state. The first to document the discovery of the gold were Henry Bigler and Azariah Smith, in their respective diaries. They and several other people working at the mill were discharged veterans of theMormon Battalion .The site of the mill is located on the South Fork of the American River.
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is registered asCalifornia Historical Landmark #530.Sutter's Mill is a copy of the original building and looks much like it. It was built with Marshall's own drawings and an early day photo as reference for the recreation of the mill.The mill was also the namesake and inspiration for a popular song by singer-songwriter
Dan Fogelberg .References
External links
* [http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist2/gold.html Discovery of Gold] , by John A. Sutter, "Hutchings’ California Magazine", November 1857. Sutter describes how he wanted a sawmill near the 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] , via Calisphere, California Digital Library.
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