Sutter Creek (formerly spelled Sutter’s Creek and Suttercreek;[10] formerly named Suttersville[11]) is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 2,646 at the 2020 census, up from 2,501 at the 2010 census. It is accessible via State Route 49.
History
Sutter Creek in 1853
The community takes its name from nearby Sutter Creek, which in turn has the name of early California developer John Sutter.[12]
Sutter’s discovery of gold at nearby Coloma in January 1848 triggered the California Gold Rush. After all his workers left him to go on their own hunts for gold, Sutter moved to Mormon Island with a couple of hands. After about two weeks miners flooded the island, so Sutter and his hands left and returned to Sutter Creek. Sutter said: “I broke up the camp and started on the march further south, and located my next camp on Sutter Creek, now in Amador County, and thought that I should be there alone. The work was going on well for a while, until three or four traveling grog-shops surrounded me, at from one-half to ten miles (16 km) distance from the camp. Then, of course, the gold was taken to these places, for drinking, gambling, etc., and then the following day they were sick and unable to work, and became deeper and more indebted to me, particularly the Kanakas [native Hawaiians].” Shortly thereafter Sutter moved out of Sutter Creek and back to his fort.[13]
Sutter Creek became a destination for fortune hunters. A post office was established in 1852, and Sutter Creek became a town in 1854[11] that incorporated in 1913.[11]
Although plenty of placer gold was found there, gold-bearing quartz deposits were discovered in 1851, and mining those deposits for gold became the mainstay of the local economy for many years. With the prosperity brought by quartz mining, Sutter Creek became a boomtown. By 1932, the Central Eureka mine, begun in 1869, had reached the 2,300-foot (700 m) level. By 1939, it was the best-paying mine in Sutter Creek. The mines continued operations until 1942, when most gold mines were closed for manpower reasons during World War II.
Today, Sutter Creek is a tourist town with many shops and restaurants. The town itself is registered as California Historical Landmark #322.[6]
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.7 square miles (7.0 km2), all of it land.[3]
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Sutter Creek has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated “Csa” on climate maps.[14] Summers are long and hot, while winters are cool but relatively short. As typical of mediterranean climates, precipitation is concentrated to winter months, with summers being extremely dry.
As of the 2020 census, Sutter Creek had a population of 2,646, and a population density of 980.7 inhabitants per square mile (378.7/km2).[17][18]
The age distribution was 18.7% under the age of 18, 6.7% aged 18 to 24, 20.0% aged 25 to 44, 25.6% aged 45 to 64, and 29.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males age 18 and over.[17]
97.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 2.2% lived in rural areas.[19]
There were 1,265 households, of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.2% were married-couple households, 6.2% were cohabiting couple households, 19.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 37.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. There were 720 families (56.9% of all households), and the average household size was 2.09.[17]
There were 1,428 housing units at an average density of 529.3 units per square mile (204.4 units/km2), of which 1,265 (88.6%) were occupied and 11.4% were vacant. Of occupied units, 55.5% were owner-occupied and 44.5% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 9.3%.[17][18]
Sutter Creek Grammar School in 2009 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Joseph Eddy Fontenrose (17 June 1903 in Sutter Creek – July 1986 in Ashland, Oregon) A noted socialist and Classical scholar, he chaired the department at the University of California Berkeley.
High schools
Sutter Creek is home to Amador High School. It has fewer than 1000 students and competes athletically in the Mother Lode League of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section.
^ abcDurham, David L. (1998). California’s Geographic Names: A Gazetteer of Historic and Modern Names of the State. Clovis, California: Word Dancer Press. p. 565. ISBN 1-884995-14-4.
^“Historic Sutter Creek”. City of Sutter Creek. Archived from the original on August 26, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Mason, J.D. (1881). History of Amador County, California. Oakland, California: Thompson & West. ISBN 978-0-938121-07-7. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
