In a private room he showed me the first specimens of gold, that is he was not certain if it was gold or not, but he thought it might be; immediately I made the proof and found that it was gold.

The elder Sutter deeply resented this; he had wanted the town named Sutterville (for them) and for it to be built near New Helvetia. Beginnings of Sutter's Fort

At the time of Sutter's arrival in California the territory had a population of only 1000 Europeans in contrast with 30000 Native Americans. The Clementine arrived in Yerba Buena on July 1 1839.

Although famous throughout California for his association with the Gold Rush Sutter saw his business ventures fail while those of his elder son John Augustus Sutter Jr. Johann August Sutter (February 15 1803 – June 18 1880) was a Swiss pioneer of California known for his association with the California Gold Rush by the discovery of gold by James W.