portrait by Frank Buchser
(1806 - 1880)
Empire builder
John
Augustus Sutter, an entrepreneur's entrepreneur, created an empire
for himself in California after coming to America from Switzerland,
but he was not satisfied with his empire. (see 'Gold' in
Flashpoints) After crossing the continent with one of
Fitzpatrick's wagon trains, Sutter had acquired 50,000 acres of
land that included crop fields, pastures, orchards, and river
frontage. He built a trading post on the Sacramento River,
and now he wanted a sawmill to produce lumber that could turn more
of his dreams into real things. That scheme led to the
discovery of gold. Click here for more
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