After all his workers left him to go on their own hunts for gold, Sutter moved to Mormon Island with a couple of hands.

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]."

A post office was established in 1852, and Sutter Creek became a town in 1854[12] that incorporated in 1913.

With the prosperity brought by quartz mining, Sutter Creek became a boomtown.

Today, Sutter Creek is a tourist town with many shops and restaurants.

[9] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.6 km2), all of it land.

As typical of mediterranean climates, precipitation is concentrated to winter months, with summers being extremely dry.

The 2010 United States Census[18] reported that Sutter Creek had a population of 2,501.

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.

[4] Federally, Sutter Creek is in California's 5th congressional district, represented by Republican Tom McClintock.

It has fewer than 1000 students and competes athletically in the Mother Lode League of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section.