Every year, Sutter’s Fort attracts more than 100,000 visitors from all over the world, and occasionally the very famous come. Queen Elizabeth II scheduled Sutter’s Fort as a must-see during her 1963 tour of California.
Rise, Ruin and Restoration answers the questions visitors ask:
• Why (and how) did Swiss immigrant John Sutter build a high-walled fortress in the wilderness? Who were his employees?
• Who were the pioneers that traveled to California in covered wagons, making Sutter’s Fort their initial destination?
• What was the role Sutter’s Fort played in the rescue of the Donner Party? The Bear Flag Revolt? The American conquest of California?
• Why did the 1848 gold discovery bring ruin—and who owned Sutter’s Fort after John Sutter left? When did the structure decay and collapse?
• Why was it important to restore Sutter’s Fort in the 1890s? How much did it cost?
• What great discovery in the 20th century changed the ways in which visitors experience Sutter’s Fort today?