Events and Exhibits

  
May 18, 2013 (10:00 – 5:00) -- Hands on History: Sutter’s Fort in 1846: A Community of Many Faces

$7 per adult (18 and older), $5.00 per youth (ages 6-17), free for children 5 years and under

The Gold Rush of 1849 brought tens of thousands of people to California from all over the world.  But even before the first gold seekers arrived, Sutter’s Fort was already a melting pot of ethnic, social and cultural diversity.  On May 18th, the volunteers of Sutter’s Fort and invited guests will honor and celebrate the diversity of the Fort before the Gold Rush.  For more information, please call (916) 445-4422.

June 15, 2013 (10:00 – 5:00) -- Hands on History:  War in California!

$7 per adult (18 and older), $5.00 per youth (ages 6-17), free for children 5 years and under

In 1846, Mexican California was in a continuous state of political unrest and threats from foreign powers were a constant menace. The English Navy was anxious to have a good seaport on the Pacific Coast and kept warships in the area; French emissaries had approached John Sutter for an alliance; United State President James Polk was espousing the concept of “Manifest destiny” and the dream that the U.S. would extend from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans.  The turmoil reached an apex in June of 1846, when as many as five flags may have had a turn flying over Sutter’s Fort.  Join us for an exciting day of scavenger hunts for history and demonstrations of black powder weapons.  Hear debates about which alliance Sutter and the Fort should take in the conflict; find out which five flags may have flown over the Fort.  For more information, please call (916) 445-4422.

July 20, 2013 (10:00 – 5:00) -- Hands on History:  Mining the Miners: Sutter’s Fort and the Gold Rush

$7 per adult (18 and older), $5.00 per youth (ages 6-17), free for children 5 years and under

“There’s gold in them thar hills!” was the cry echoed around the world in 1849 and precipitated the largest, unforced migration in the history of humanity.  People from everywhere descended on the lightly populated and ungoverned land of California and their primary destination was Sutter’s Fort, before they started their quest for the treasured and ephemeral gold.  The most profitable game in town, however, became “mining the miners.” As for John Sutter, he was not able to profit from the Gold Rush; it instead destroyed his empire.  Learn who did get rich off the Gold Rush and learn how and why some folks were able to succeed when others failed.  For more information, please call (916) 445-4422.

August 17, 2013 (10:00 – 5:00) -- Hands on History:  Tools, Talent and Technology: Jobs at Sutter’s Fort

$7 per adult (18 and older), $5.00 per youth (ages 6-17), free for children 5 years and under

When John Sutter elected to build his agricultural empire in 1839 in the Sacramento Valley, people at the time suggested that he would never succeed.  He located his establishment in a region densely populated with Native Indians who, it was believed, would surely chase him off the land, or kill him.  Through chance or good judgment, Sutter was able to assemble a workforce that helped build his settlement of New Helvetia into a thriving agricultural empire that attracted attention around the world.  Come and see demonstrations of how these many skilled craftsmen piled their trades and helped John Sutter transform Sutter’s Fort and the surrounding area into a bustling hub of Western Civilization in the Pacific.  For more information, please call (916) 445-4422.

September 21, 2013 (10:00 – 5:00) -- Hands on History – Harvest: The Real Gold in California

$7 per adult (18 and older), $5.00 per youth (ages 6-17), free for children 5 years and under

When John Sutter arrived in California in 1839, his dream was to build an agricultural empire that would encompass all of the Sacramento Valley, filling it with ranchers, who owed fealty to Sutter and had to buy all their supplies from his trading post.  Unfortunately, the Gold Rush crushed Sutter’s dream by re-routing the water courses without a thought for environmental damage and mountains reduced to gravel by hydraulic mining, all of which left tons of dredge tailings on the fertile soil.  It took many years for California’s agricultural industry to recover, but we eventually achieved the agricultural prominence about which Sutter had dreamed.  Join us and be part of life during harvest time at the Fort.  If you were injured during the harvest, how were you treated?  For more information, please call (916) 445-4422.