Sutter's Mill facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sutter's Mill |
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2014 replica of Sutter's Mill
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Location of Sutter's Mill
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| Location | Coloma, California |
| Area | Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park |
| Governing body | California Department of Parks and Recreation |
| Official name: Gold discovery site | |
| Designated | March 7, 1955 |
| Reference no. | 530 |
Sutter's Mill was a sawmill that used water power. It was built on the South Fork American River in California. The mill was named after its owner, John Sutter. In 1848, a worker named James W. Marshall found gold there. This discovery started the famous California Gold Rush (1848–1855). The Gold Rush was a huge event in the history of the United States.
Today, a new version of the mill stands in the same spot. It is part of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma, California. In 2012, a meteorite fall happened near the mill. The pieces of the space rock were named the Sutter's Mill meteorite.
Contents
What Happened at Sutter's Mill?
Before 1848, the area we now call California was part of Mexico. In 1839, a German-Swiss settler named John Sutter came to this region. He started a colony called New Helvetia, which is now part of Sacramento.
The United States took over California during the Mexican–American War (1846–1848). Even before the war officially ended, Sutter decided to build a sawmill. He wanted to cut wood for building. He hired James W. Marshall, a carpenter, to lead the building project. The mill was about 30 miles northeast of Sutter's colony.
The Big Gold Discovery
On January 24, 1848, James Marshall was working on the mill. He was checking the water flow in the South Fork American River. Suddenly, he saw shiny flakes in the water. It was gold!
Just a few days later, on February 2, 1848, a peace treaty was signed. This treaty officially made California part of the United States. Two workers at the mill, Henry Bigler and Azariah Smith, wrote about the gold discovery in their journals. Henry Bigler even wrote down the exact date: January 24, 1848.
News of the gold spread quickly. The first piece of gold Marshall found was sent to President James K. Polk in Washington D.C. It arrived in August 1848. You can still see it today at the National Museum of American History.
The California Gold Rush Begins
As more people heard about the gold, they rushed to California. The number of non-native people in California grew from 14,000 to about 85,000 in just one year! Many new towns appeared, like Coloma, California, near Sutter's Mill.
Over the next seven years, about 300,000 people came to California. They came by land and by sea. They hoped to find gold or sell supplies to the gold seekers. This period is known as the California Gold Rush. It changed California forever. The population grew a lot, and the economy boomed. California became a US State in 1850.
What Does Sutter's Mill Look Like Today?
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The place where Sutter's Mill once stood is now part of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. It is a special historical site in California.
In 1965, people started building a new version of the original mill. They used Marshall's own drawings and an old photo to make it look just right. This new mill was finished in 1968. In 2014, that replica was replaced with an even newer one. This latest replica is built very close to where the first mill stood.
A Space Rock Lands Near Sutter's Mill
On April 22, 2012, a meteor flew into Earth's atmosphere. It exploded and sent pieces of rock falling over parts of California and Nevada. The first pieces of this space rock were found near Sutter's Mill. Because of this, the meteorite was named the Sutter's Mill meteorite.
Scientists found many pieces, weighing about a kilogram in total. This meteorite is very special. It is called a carbonaceous chondrite. It contains some of the oldest material ever found in our Solar System!
See Also
