New Helvetia

By 1840, the pueblo (town) and rancho settlements in Mexican Alta California were primarily located on coastal plains and the inland valleys near them.

[5] To serve as a buffer "against their invasion, and 'marauding' bands of Indians, hunters, and trappers",[6] Governor Alvarado granted eleven square leagues of land, the maximum under Mexican law, in the lower Sacramento Valley, then in the interior of the territory.

[9][10] The settlement was defended by an army of Miwok, Nisenan, and Mission Indians, all consisting of 150 infantry, 50 cavalry, and German-speaking white officers.

This group, wearing Russian uniforms purchased from Fort Ross, marched to the Pueblo of Los Angeles area and briefly defended Governor Manuel Micheltorena from the revolt of the Californios.

Sutter was forced to abandon his business ventures at the settlement after that, when the area was overrun by large numbers of gold-seekers.

With the cession of California to the United States following the Mexican–American War, the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo provided that the land grants would be honored.

[16] A claim for part of Rancho New Helvetia was filed by Charles Covillaud, J. M. Ramírez, W. H. Sampson, R. B. Buchanan, and G. N. Sweazy with the Land Commission in 1852.

[19][20] For fifteen years following the 1864 US Supreme Court rejection of the Sobrante grant, Sutter tried to obtain reimbursement from Congress for his help in colonizing California.