Editing Sutter Creek, California

{{Short description|City in California, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Sutter Creek
|native_name              = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
|other_name               = 
|settlement_type          = [[List of municipalities in California|City]]
|image_skyline            = Main Street Sutter Creek.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = A view of Main Street (Old [[California State Route 49|Highway 49]]) in Sutter Creek.
|image_seal               = 
|seal_size                = 
|image_blank_emblem       = 
|blank_emblem_size        = 
|nickname                 = Jewel of the gold country
|motto                    = 
|image_map                = File:Amador_County_California_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Sutter_Creek_Highlighted 0677392.svg
|mapsize                  = 250x200px
|map_caption              = Location in Amador County
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
| pushpin_map = California#USA
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in California
|coordinates              = {{coord|38|23|35|N|120|48|09|W|region:US-CA|display=inline,title}}
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = {{USA}}
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in California|County]]
|subdivision_name1        = {{flag|California}}
|subdivision_name2        = [[Amador County, California|Amador]]
|established_title        = Settled
|established_date         = 1848
|established_title2       = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
|established_date2        = February 11, 1913<ref>{{Cite web
 |url         = http://www.calafco.org/docs/Cities_by_incorp_date.doc
 |title       = California Cities by Incorporation Date
 |format      = Word
 |publisher   = California Association of [[Local Agency Formation Commission]]s
 |access-date  = March 27, 2013
|url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130221091414/http://www.calafco.org/docs/Cities_by_incorp_date.doc
 |archive-date = February 21, 2013
}}</ref>
<!-- Area------------------>
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = [[Mayor]]
|leader_name              = Claire Gunselman<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cityofsuttercreek.org/city-council/|title=City Council|access-date=January 10, 2023}}</ref>
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
| unit_pref               = Imperial
| area_footnotes          = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_06.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 1, 2020}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
| area_total_km2          = 6.99
| area_total_sq_mi        = 2.70
| area_land_km2           = 6.99
| area_land_sq_mi         = 2.70
| area_water_km2          = 0.00
| area_water_sq_mi        = 0.00
| area_water_percent      = 0
| area_note               = 
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=elevation>{{Cite GNIS|277620|Sutter Creek|accessdate=May 24, 2007}}</ref>
|elevation_m              = 362
|elevation_ft             = 1188
|population_total         = 2646
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = <ref name="US Census Bureau 2020 Sutter Creek, CA Population">{{cite web |title=US Census Bureau |url=https://data.census.gov/all?q=Sutter%20Creek%20city,%20California |website=www.census.gov |access-date=13 August 2024}}</ref>
|population_density_km2   = auto
|population_density_sq_mi = auto
| population_est          = 
| pop_est_as_of           = 
|population_note          = 
|postal_code_type         = ZIP code
|postal_code              = 95685
|area_code                = [[Area code 209|209]]
|website                  = {{URL|www.cityofsuttercreek.org}}
|footnotes                = {{Designation list|embed=yes|designation1=California|designation1_number=322<ref name=CHL/>}}
|image_dot_map            = 
|dot_mapsize              = 
|dot_map_caption          = 
|dot_x                    = 
|dot_y                    = 
|leader_title2            = [[California's 8th State Senate district|State Senate]]
|leader_name2             = {{Representative|casd|8|fmt=sleader}}<ref name=SSenate>{{Cite web
 |url=http://senate.ca.gov/senators 
 |title=Senators 
 |access-date=March 18, 2013
|publisher=State of California}}</ref>
|leader_title3            = [[California's 5th State Assembly district|State&nbsp;Assembly]]
|leader_name3             = {{Representative|caad|5|fmt=sleader}}<ref name=SAssembly>{{Cite web
 |url=http://assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers
 |title=Members Assembly
 |access-date=March 18, 2013
|publisher=State of California}}</ref>
|leader_title4            = [[California's 4th congressional district|U. S. Congress]]
|leader_name4             = {{Representative|cacd|4|fmt=usleader}}<ref name=govtrack/>
|timezone                 = [[Pacific Time Zone|PST]]
|utc_offset               = -8
|timezone_DST             = PDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -7
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 06-77392
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature IDs
|blank1_info              = {{GNIS4|277620}}, {{GNIS4|2412019}}
|pop_est_footnotes        = 
}}

'''Sutter Creek''' (formerly spelled '''Sutter's Creek''' and '''Suttercreek''';<ref>{{gnis|277620}}</ref> formerly named '''Suttersville'''<ref name=CGN>{{California's Geographic Names|565}}</ref>) 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 [[California State Route 49|State Route 49]].

==History==
[[File:SutterCreek1853.jpg|frame|left|Sutter Creek in 1853]]
The community takes its name from nearby [[Sutter Creek (California)|Sutter Creek]], which in turn has the name of early California developer [[John Sutter]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cityofsuttercreek.org/historic-sutter-creek/ | title=Historic Sutter Creek | publisher=City of Sutter Creek | access-date=March 27, 2018 | url-status=bot: unknown | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826213735/https://cityofsuttercreek.org/historic-sutter-creek/ | archive-date=August 26, 2017 }}</ref>

Sutter's discovery of [[gold]] at nearby [[Coloma, California|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, California|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&nbsp;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 [[Native Hawaiians|Kanakas]] [native Hawaiians]."  Shortly thereafter Sutter moved out of Sutter Creek and back to his fort.<ref>{{Cite book
  | last =Mason 
  | first =J.D. 
  | author-link =J.D. Mason 
  | title =History of Amador County, California. 
  | publisher =Thompson & West 
  | year =1881 
  | location =Oakland, California 
  | isbn =978-0-938121-07-7 }}</ref>

Sutter Creek became a destination for fortune hunters.  A post office was established in 1852, and Sutter Creek became a town in 1854<ref name=CGN /> that incorporated in 1913.<ref name=CGN />

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 {{convert|2300|ft|m|adj=on}} 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.<ref name=CHL>{{cite ohp|322|Sutter Creek|2012-10-06}}</ref>

==Geography==

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of 2.6&nbsp;square miles (6.6&nbsp;km{{sup|2}}), all of it land.

===Climate===
According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Sutter Creek has a [[Mediterranean climate#Hot-summer Mediterranean climate|hot-summer Mediterranean climate]], abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps.<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=317840&cityname=Sutter+Creek%2C+California%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Sutter Creek, California]</ref> 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.

{{weather box|single line=yes|precipitation colour=green|width=60%|location=Sutter Hill Ranger Station
|Jan high F = 53.8|Feb high F = 56.8|Mar high F = 61.9|Apr high F = 65.7|May high F = 76.5|Jun high F = 86.2|Jul high F = 92.9|Aug high F = 91.6|Sep high F = 86.5|Oct high F = 74.7|Nov high F = 62.0|Dec high F = 54.2|year high F= 71.9
|Jan mean F = 45.9|Feb mean F = 48.4|Mar mean F = 51.8|Apr mean F = 54.6|May mean F = 63.6|Jun mean F = 71.5|Jul mean F = 78.0|Aug mean F = 76.7|Sep mean F = 72.6|Oct mean F = 63.0|Nov mean F = 53.2|Dec mean F = 46.5|year mean F= 60.5
|Jan low F = 38.0|Feb low F = 40.0|Mar low F = 41.7|Apr low F = 43.7|May low F = 50.8|Jun low F = 57.0|Jul low F = 62.8|Aug low F = 61.6|Sep low F = 58.8|Oct low F = 51.3|Nov low F = 44.4|Dec low F = 38.8|year low F= 49.1
|Jan record high F = 68|Feb record high F = 73|Mar record high F = 81|Apr record high F = 92|May record high F = 100|Jun record high F = 106|Jul record high F = 110|Aug record high F = 107|Sep record high F = 104|Oct record high F = 99|Nov record high F = 89|Dec record high F = 70|year record high F= 110
|Jan record low F = 23|Feb record low F = 26|Mar record low F = 28|Apr record low F = 29|May record low F = 31|Jun record low F = 41|Jul record low F = 42|Aug record low F = 47|Sep record low F = 44|Oct record low F = 32|Nov record low F = 28|Dec record low F = 20|year record low F= 20
|Jan precipitation inch = 5.19|Feb precipitation inch = 4.41|Mar precipitation inch = 3.84|Apr precipitation inch = 2.76|May precipitation inch = 1.07|Jun precipitation inch = 0.32|Jul precipitation inch = 0.01|Aug precipitation inch = 0.12|Sep precipitation inch = 0.29|Oct precipitation inch = 1.72|Nov precipitation inch = 3.62|Dec precipitation inch = 5.22|year precipitation inch= 28.55
|Jan snow inch = 0.4|Feb snow inch = 0.2|Mar snow inch = 0.1|Apr snow inch = 0|May snow inch = 0|Jun snow inch = 0|Jul snow inch = 0|Aug snow inch = 0|Sep snow inch = 0|Oct snow inch = 0|Nov snow inch = 0|Dec snow inch = 0.1|year snow inch= 0.9
|Jan precipitation days = 10|Feb precipitation days = 10|Mar precipitation days = 9|Apr precipitation days = 6|May precipitation days = 4|Jun precipitation days = 1|Jul precipitation days = 0|Aug precipitation days = 1|Sep precipitation days = 1|Oct precipitation days = 4|Nov precipitation days = 7|Dec precipitation days = 10|year precipitation days= 63
|source=Western Regional Climate Center{{Cite WRCC|id=ca8713|name=Sutter Hill CDF, California|access-date=May 20, 2020}}
}}

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1880= 1324
|1890= 1351
|1920= 920
|1930= 1013
|1940= 1134
|1950= 1151
|1960= 1161
|1970= 1508
|1980= 1705
|1990= 1835
|2000= 2303
|2010= 2501
|2020= 2646
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
[[File:2009-0724-CA-SutterCreek.jpg|thumb|right|Old Route 49]]

The [[2020 United States census]] reported that Sutter Creek had a population of 2,646. The population density was {{convert|980.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of Sutter Creek was 81.9% [[White Americans|White]], 0.6% [[African Americans|African American]], 2.2% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], 2.0% [[Asian Americans|Asian]], 0.0% [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]], 2.9% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 10.3% from two or more races. [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] of any race were 11.8% of the population.

There were 1,265 households, out of which 26.0% included children under the age of 18, 40.2% were married-couple households, 6.2% were [[cohabitation|cohabiting]] couple households, 34.4% had a female householder with no partner present, and 19.2% had a male householder with no partner present. 37.3% of households were one person, and 21.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.09. There were 720 [[family (U.S. Census)|families]] (56.9% of all households).

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{{nbsp}}years of age or older. The median age was 49.2{{nbsp}}years. For every 100 females, there were 87.4 males.

There were 1,428 housing units at an average density of {{convert|529.3|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units&nbsp;|units|}}, of which 1,265 (88.6%) were occupied. Of these, 55.5% were owner-occupied, and 44.5% were occupied by renters.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sutter Creek city, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=1600000US0677392 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 26, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sutter Creek city, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P16?g=1600000US0677392 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 26, 2025}}</ref>

==Politics==
[[File:2009-0724-CA-SutterCreek-CH.jpg|thumb|right|Sutter Creek Auditorium & City Hall also houses the Police Department.]]
[[File:Sutter Creek Inn.jpg|thumb|Sutter Creek Inn, Main Street, Sutter Creek]]
[[File:Sutter Creek Main Street.jpg|thumb|Sutter Creek Main Street]]
In the [[California State Legislature|state legislature]] Sutter Creek is in {{Representative|casd|8|fmt=sdistrict}},<ref name=SSenate/> and {{Representative|caad|5|fmt=adistrict}}.<ref name=SAssembly/> Federally, Sutter Creek is in {{Representative|cacd|5|fmt=district}}.<ref name=govtrack>{{Cite GovTrack|CA|5|accessdate=April 10, 2023}}</ref> The city, as well as [[Amador County]] as a whole, consistently votes Republican.

==Landmarks==
Sutter Creek has two buildings on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]
*[[Knight Foundry]]
*[[Sutter Creek Grammar School]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://files.sierranevadageotourism.org/portal/sie83UKJD73HDS0MVlJD/pdf/content/sieAC3C2E3D0FD5E6F7F.pdf|title=National Register of Historical Places Inventory|last=Perovich|first=Edyth|website=Sierra Nevada Geotourism|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104041521/https://files.sierranevadageotourism.org/portal/sie83UKJD73HDS0MVlJD/pdf/content/sieAC3C2E3D0FD5E6F7F.pdf|archive-date=November 4, 2019}}</ref>

==Notable people==
* [[F. Carlton Ball]] (1911–1992), multidisciplinary artist, author, and educator, born in Sutter Creek.<ref name="Greenbaum">{{Cite book |last=Greenbaum |first=Toni |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WFBQAAAAMAAJ |title=Messengers of Modernism: American Studio Jewelry 1940-1960 |date=1996 |publisher=Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts |others=Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts |isbn=978-2-08-013593-3 |editor-last=Eidelberg |editor-first=Martin P. |pages=112 |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Charles B. Hanford]] (1859–1926), Shakespearean actor, born in Sutter Creek.<ref>{{cite book|first=A. D.|last= Storms|title=The Players Blue Book|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924027213259|year=1901|publisher=Sutherland & Storms|location=Worcester, MA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924027213259/page/n263 258]-259}}</ref>
* [[Leland Stanford]] was one of Sutter Creek's most famous residents.
* [[John Vukovich]], [[MLB]] player for various teams, grew up in Sutter Creek and attended [[Amador High School]].

==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.

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{gnis|277620}}

==External links==
* [http://www.cityofsuttercreek.org/ Sutter Creek] Government home page
* [http://www.suttercreek.org/ Sutter Creek] Community home page

{{Cities of Amador County, California}}
{{California Gold Rush}}
{{Sierra Nevada}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Amador County, California]]
[[Category:Mining communities of the California Gold Rush]]
[[Category:California Historical Landmarks]]
[[Category:John Sutter]]
[[Category:Incorporated cities and towns in California]]
[[Category:1848 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1848]]