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Sacramento is the capital of
California
and the seventh-largest city in the state. It covers an area of 99.24 square miles (257 square kilometers) and has a population of 407,018 (2000 census). Sacramento has a beautiful setting. It is located in the north-central part of the state, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) northeast of
San Francisco, at the point where the Sacramento River and the American River meet.
Sacramento was founded in 1839 by Captain John Augustus Sutter, who received a 50,000-acre (20,250-hectare) land grant from
Mexico. Sutter named the area New Helvetia in honor of his homeland, Switzerland. In 1844, Sutter built a fort at the site. (Sutter's Fort State Historic Park is a re-creation of the fort, ranch house, and workshop of its founder.) When Sutter's son inherited his father's land, he changed the name of the place to Sacramento, after the nearby river.
The town was laid out in 1848, the same year that gold was discovered on Sutter's property. During the gold rush, the area became so rich that Sacramento offered the state $1 million for the honor of becoming its capital. The designation became official in 1854. Sacramento was incorporated as a city in 1863. Berkeley, San Jose, and Monterey have all challenged Sacramento's capital status, but without success.
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By the end of the gold rush, Sacramento had developed a solid economic base. Dams built on the rivers produced electricity and controlled the frequent flooding. Agriculture was an important industry, then as now.
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