Sutter Creek (formerly spelled Sutter's Creek and Suttercreek; formerly named Suttersville) is a city in Amador County, California, United States. The population was 2,501 at the 2010 census, up from 2,303 at the 2000 census. It is accessible via State Route 49.
History
The community takes its name from nearby Sutter Creek, which in turn has the name of early California developer John Sutter.
Sutter's discovery of gold at nearby 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 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 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 Kanakas [native Hawaiians]." Shortly thereafter Sutter moved out of Sutter Creek and back to his fort.
Sutter Creek became a destination for fortune hunters. A post office was established in 1852, and Sutter Creek became a town in 1854 that incorporated in 1913.
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 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.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.6 km), all of it land.
Climate
According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Sutter Creek has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csa" on climate maps. 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.
Demographics
2010
The 2010 United States Census reported that Sutter Creek had a population of 2,501. The population density was . The racial makeup of Sutter Creek was 2,272 (90.8%) White, 10 (0.4%) African American, 34 (1.4%) Native American, 65 (2.6%) Asian, 5 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 40 (1.6%) from other races, and 75 (3.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 219 persons (8.8%).
The Census reported that 2,500 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 1 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.
There were 1,168 households, out of which 258 (22.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 500 (42.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 109 (9.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 51 (4.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 65 (5.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 15 (1.3%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 418 households (35.8%) were made up of individuals, and 239 (20.5%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14. There were 660 families (56.5% of all households); the average family size was 2.77.
The population was spread out, with 466 people (18.6%) under the age of 18, 191 people (7.6%) aged 18 to 24, 426 people (17.0%) aged 25 to 44, 768 people (30.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 650 people (26.0%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49.4 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.2 males.
There were 1,367 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,168 were occupied, of which 626 (53.6%) were owner-occupied, and 542 (46.4%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.6%; the rental vacancy rate was 14.6%. 1,355 people (54.2% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,145 people (45.8%) lived in rental housing units.