Sutter’s Fort or Bust

Learn Who and Why They Came

Friends of Sutter’s Fort is proud to support the Sutter’s Fort or Bust Program (SFOB) at Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park!

Please note that this program may not be available due to the ongoing pandemic. Please contact California State Parks staff at Sutter’s Fort for more information (916) 445-4422 to learn about current options, including virtual programs. 

Sutter’s Fort or Bust is an innovative and low-cost field trip option geared for elementary school students grade 3 through 5. SFOB is a fun hands-on experience that seeks to help students understand how Sutter’s Fort was a business enterprise and its importance in California’s agricultural industry, providing a glimpse at life in 1846. People came from all over the United States and around the world to California, by ship and by wagon; they joined thousands of Native Americans, Californios, and others already residing in the region. The three stations you will visit are: the Administration, the Sailor, and Agriculture. These stations will provide an understanding of Sutter’s Fort as a business enterprise and the beginnings of California’s agriculture industry.

SFOB runs approximately 50 minutes, and after the tour, students are invited to explore the Fort on their own with their chaperones where they can visit rooms and listen to the audio tour, participate in the Sutter’s Fort Scavenger Hunt and visit our Trade & Gift Store. We recommend schools and groups allow 90 to 120 minutes for this SFOB Field Trip.

The program runs regardless of weather conditions, and is primarily outdoors. During the program, Sutter’s Fort is open to the public and there will be other visitors, and potentially other schools on site.

 

Sailor Station
Branding at New Helvettia
A Community of Many Faces

Registration Process

You can reserve a spot in Sutter’s Fort or Bust, or learn more about this program, by contacting Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park directly at 916-445-3755, or submit an online Inquiry Form.

California Social-Science Standards

The Sutter’s Fort or Bust Program covers many components of 3rd-5th grade Social Science curriculum. Below are just some of the standards ESP covers:

  • 3.3 Students draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land.
  • 4.2 Students describe the social, political, cultural, and economic life and interactions among people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the Spanish mission and Mexican rancho periods.
  • 5.8 Students trace the colonization, immigration, and settlement patterns of the American people from 1789 to the mid-1800s, with emphasis on the role of economic incentives, effects of the physical and political geography, and transportation systems.

For more information on Sutter’s Fort or Bust, please submit fill out and submit this online form.