1840s life comes alive at Sutter's Fort & Old Town Sacramento [View all]

Our recent road trip took us to Sacramento. There we explored the rich history of the town before it became the state capital of California. Sutter's Fort is a special place for me because of fond childhood memories. Remember going on field trips back in grade school? Of all my field trip memories, my favorite is the trip I took in 4th grade to Sacramento. We got to see the capitol building, had what I considered a real treat at the time eating dinner at McDonalds and stayed overnight in a hotel! But the highlight in my mind was visiting Sutter’s Fort.

There are so many other parts of Sacramento's history to explore in the Old Sacramento Historic District which is a U.S. National Historic Landmark District. The city of Sacramento was developed in the mid-nineteenth century as an extension of Sutter’s Fort as the Sacramento River was the main waterway to the west coast. John Sutter was the owner of the fort and Sutter’s Mill where gold was found setting off the California Gold Rush.