The fort was the first non-Indigenous community in the California Central Valley,[5] and saw grave mistreatment of Indigenous laborers in plantation or feudal style conditions.

[6] In modern times, the adobe structure has been restored to its original condition (38°34′20″N 121°28′16″W / 38.5723°N 121.4712°W / 38.5723; -121.4712) and is now administered by California Department of Parks and Recreation.

[7]: 42 To build his colony, John Sutter secured a 50,000 acre land grant in the Central Valley from the Mexican governor.

[8] The main building of the fort is a two-story adobe structure built between 1841 and 1843 using Indigenous forced labor.

This building is the only original surviving structure at the reconstructed Sutter's Fort State Historic Park.

[8] Once the fort was built, Sutter established an agricultural colony with labor structures similar to Southern plantations and European feudalism.

Sutter employed a caste system to ensure that the minority European settlers maintained control over the colony.

Repair efforts were completed in 1893 and the fort was given by the Native Sons of the Golden West to the State of California.

Most of the original neighborhood structures were initially built in the late 1930s as residences, many of which have been converted to commercial uses such as private medical practices.

Sutter's Fort is located on level ground at an elevation of approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) above mean sea datum.