Mormon Cabin

Members of the Mormon Battalion, returning from the war with Mexico, were enlisted by Sutter and Marshall to help construct Sutter’s Mill. During the winter of 1847, Mormon members of the sawmill crew built a cabin near the mill after first sharing a cabin with the Wimmer family and becoming discontented with Mrs. Wimmer, the camp cook. They decided to build their own cabin and cook for themselves, and Henry Bigler, Azariah Smith, William Johnstun, Alexander Stephens, William Barger, and James S. Brown moved into the new cabin on Sunday, January 23, 1848. The next day, Bigler’s diary recorded, “This day some kind of mettle was found in the tailrace that looks like goald.”

Coloma, California · United States