The American River
was named by John Sutter in 1839
when he selected the point at which it flows into the Sacramento River
as the site for his headquarters, Fort Sutter, at the center of the
vast landholdings he called Nueva Helvetica, after his homeland. In
1848, gold was discovered
on the South Fork of the American River at Sutter's Mill, near Coloma,
bringing a rush of fortune seekers from around the world, who would
destroy Sutter's estate and drive him to ruin.
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