John A. Sutter
Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
In the cemetery opposite is buried the California pioneer. Founder of Sacramento, 1839. Gold was discovered on his lands, 1848. Ruined by the gold rush, he made Lititz his home from 1871 until death, 1880.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
John Sutter was the Swiss-born frontier entrepreneur whose vast California land grant became the cradle of Sacramento in 1839. When gold was found in the tailrace of his mill in 1848, the stampede that followed overran his property, squatters seized his land, and the very discovery that made California rich left Sutter financially broken. He spent his final years far from the goldfields, making his home in the quiet Moravian town of Lititz from 1871 until his death in 1880.
Why it matters
Sutter's rise and ruin is the human paradox at the heart of the California Gold Rush — the man on whose land the West's great boom began was one of its first casualties.
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Related people
- · John A. Sutter
Related events
- · California Gold Rush
Themes & tags
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