California has Fort Sutter, Sutter’s Island, Sutter County, Sutter Buttes and Sutter Street but no longer Sutter Place in Davis, California. It is now Shasta Way. The Davis City Council voted to change the name so as not to offend modern sensibilities. Reportedly this was because Sutter was an, "immoral man, a sexual predator, a rapist and an enslaver of Native Californians" but Sutter also was in at the birth of California.
Sutter was an immoral man. He was a liar, lying about his service in the Swiss Army, claiming to have been an officer when he was in the ranks of a city guard. He was a confidence man, talking people into "investing" in his plans as he traveled from the East Coast to the midwest, Santa Fe, the Rockies, to Oregon, to Hawaii (then Independent), to Alaska (at that time, Russian), and to California (then Mexican). In California, Sutter borrowed money to get a land grant, became a Mexican Citizen and a Catholic, then selected the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers for his land. This was located beyond the defense of Mexico which was limited to South of Vallejo’s Sonoma.
Sutter was a sexual predator. He arrived from Hawaii with a several Hawaiian men and women. Sutter used the women as servants and concubines. Sutter was an adulterer having left a Wife and children behind in Switzerland.
Was Sutter a rapist? Maybe by today’s standards and maybe not by the standards at the time. Sutter was accepted as a Mexican Citizen and member of the Catholic Church based upon representations of his moral character. This was required for the land grant.
Was Sutter an enslaver of Native Californians? (I presume this means Indians.) Did Sutter treat Indians differently than Vallejo who was exiled to Sonoma to defend the Northern Frontier of California from the Indians. Indians in the central valley enjoyed little bother by Californians who stayed near the coast. When Jedediah Smith arrived in 1828 the Monterey Government sent a Mission Indian instead of soldiers to invite Smith to San Jose because soldiers may have been attacked by the Indians or by Smith. Indians stayed at Fort Sutter for reasons other than only fear. They had many places to go. While they were at Sutter's Fort it was the Indians who were armed and trained by Sutter as a Guard to defend the Fort. Does that sound like slavery?
Sutter was guilty of at least some of the charges leveled against him. Shasta Way will be less embarrassing than Sutter Place for the City of Davis. One can assume Davis will never have a Clinton Street.
By the way, who was Davis named for? Was it Jefferson Davis, defender of slavery?
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