A squatter meeting was held at the Herkimer House on 4th Street on the evening of July 1st with the object of raising funds to make a combined resistance to all lawsuits brought to enforce the title of John Sutter to the land around Sacramento. Dr. Charles Robinson was chairman and he was particularly bitter against the city council, called the common council then, which he accused of legislating in favor of Sutter’s claim to the land which Robinson thought they clearly had no right to do. … [Read more...]
Archives for October 2013
A squatter open to reason
October 19, 2013 By 2 Comments
Occasionally a squatter could be found who was open to reason as to who the land he had taken over really belonged. Much of the ground squatted on had been cultivated by John Sutter until his workmen left him in 1848 to mine for gold. A few days after the excitement engendered by the recent destruction of squatters’ shanties in Sacramento one man, working ground that had once been farmed by Sutter, was asked by what authority he expected to hold the land he was on. “By preoccupation and … [Read more...]
Squatter meetings continue
October 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
From that December 4th 1849 meeting until well near the end of summer in 1850 squatter meetings continued to be held in Sacramento and the squatters themselves grew more violent and angry. At first these meetings were considered as mere boasting but in time they began to have an effect. Sam Brannan owned a store on John Sutter’s land and as one of the most active and influential men of the day, along with many other capitalists and politicians, he was on the side of Sutter’s grant. Because of … [Read more...]
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