BlockBefore

Sutter County, California

158 topographic sheets cover 60 settlements here, and 3 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

3 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

California within the United States
Sutter County within California

What the record shows

  • 1,343 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 3 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 2 buildings and 1 district.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 60 populated places in this county; 60 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

3

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
Live Oak Historic Commercial Districtdistrict199897001657
Vernon Schoolbuilding2020100005737
West Butte Schoolhousebuilding201616000167

Bird's-eye views and land ownership maps

1

Drawn when these were printed as single large sheets: the town seen from the air, and the county divided into its farms with every owner named. Each opens the original at the Library of Congress.

Land ownership map, 1873 - Official map of Sutter County, California
Land ownership map (1873) - Official map of Sutter County, California. Library of Congress.

The county from the air

48 shown

Flown by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1937 and 1989, the Aerial Photo Single Frames collection is the definitive mid-century view of the land: fields, roads and rivers as the camera saw them. The Survey holds 2,898 frames inside the rectangle that bounds this county; the 48 frames below were taken over the county itself, chosen across the decades of flights (at most four a year from that rectangle), so one flight cannot crowd out the rest. The full set is free to browse and download at EarthExplorer under the dataset Aerial Photo Single Frames.

U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-09-18, scale 1:12441
1952-09-18, scale 1:12441. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-09-18, scale 1:12441
1952-09-18, scale 1:12441. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-09-18, scale 1:12441
1952-09-18, scale 1:12441. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1952-09-18, scale 1:12452
1952-09-18, scale 1:12452. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1968-05-02, scale 1:30000
1968-05-02, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1968-05-02, scale 1:30000
1968-05-02, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-04-24, scale 1:80000
1970-04-24, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-04-24, scale 1:80000
1970-04-24, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-10-07, scale 1:194000
1971-10-07, scale 1:194000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1974-01-21, scale 1:30000
1974-01-21, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1974-01-21, scale 1:30000
1974-01-21, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1947-08-05, scale 1:23600
1947-08-05, scale 1:23600. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1947-08-05, scale 1:23600
1947-08-05, scale 1:23600. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1947-08-05, scale 1:23600
1947-08-05, scale 1:23600. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1947-08-05, scale 1:23600
1947-08-05, scale 1:23600. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-07-22, scale 1:63000
1954-07-22, scale 1:63000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-07-22, scale 1:63000
1954-07-22, scale 1:63000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-07-22, scale 1:63000
1954-07-22, scale 1:63000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1954-08-03, scale 1:63000
1954-08-03, scale 1:63000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1956-06-27, scale 1:34000
1956-06-27, scale 1:34000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1956-06-27, scale 1:34000
1956-06-27, scale 1:34000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1956-06-27, scale 1:34000
1956-06-27, scale 1:34000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1966-06-28, scale 1:21670
1966-06-28, scale 1:21670. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1966-06-28, scale 1:21670
1966-06-28, scale 1:21670. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1966-06-28, scale 1:21670
1966-06-28, scale 1:21670. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1966-06-28, scale 1:21670
1966-06-28, scale 1:21670. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1968-07-01, scale 1:122000
1968-07-01, scale 1:122000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1968-07-01, scale 1:125000
1968-07-01, scale 1:125000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-04-30, scale 1:80000
1970-04-30, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1970-04-30, scale 1:80000
1970-04-30, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-10-22, scale 1:186000
1971-10-22, scale 1:186000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-10-22, scale 1:182000
1971-10-22, scale 1:182000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1971-10-22, scale 1:195000
1971-10-22, scale 1:195000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-04-07, scale 1:130006
1972-04-07, scale 1:130006. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-04-07, scale 1:130006
1972-04-07, scale 1:130006. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-04-07, scale 1:130006
1972-04-07, scale 1:130006. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1972-04-07, scale 1:130006
1972-04-07, scale 1:130006. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1973-03-12, scale 1:32000
1973-03-12, scale 1:32000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1973-03-12, scale 1:33000
1973-03-12, scale 1:33000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1973-03-12, scale 1:33000
1973-03-12, scale 1:33000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1973-03-12, scale 1:33000
1973-03-12, scale 1:33000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1974-01-21, scale 1:30000
1974-01-21, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1974-01-21, scale 1:30000
1974-01-21, scale 1:30000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1975-08-25, scale 1:80000
1975-08-25, scale 1:80000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-01-28, scale 1:33000
1976-01-28, scale 1:33000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-01-28, scale 1:33000
1976-01-28, scale 1:33000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-01-28, scale 1:33000
1976-01-28, scale 1:33000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.
U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph, 1976-01-28, scale 1:32000
1976-01-28, scale 1:32000. U.S. Geological Survey aerial photograph.

Weather records

3 stations, 10 gages

The thermometers that kept this county's weather, and the gages that measured the flow of its streams, as the federal records hold them.

The 1950 census, district by district

28 districts

Who lived here in 1950, one enumeration district at a time, as the Census Bureau described each district. Each row opens its official National Archives result, with Population Schedules and ED Maps available there.

  • 51-1Butte Judicial Township: Live Oak city: Live Oak city - That part east of Southern Pacific Railroad
  • 51-2Live Oak city - That part west of Southern Pacific Railroad
  • 51-3Butte Judicial Township - That part east of Larkin Rd., outside Live Oak city
  • 51-4BButte Judicial Township - That part west of Larkin Rd. and Snake River, outside Live Oak city
  • 51-4AButte Judicial Township - That part west of Larkin Rd., east of Snake River, outside Live Oak city
  • 51-5Nicolaus Judicial Township: Nicolaus Judicial Township - That part east of Western Pacific Railroad
  • 51-6Nicolaus Judicial Township - That part west of Western Pacific Railroad
  • 51-7Sutter Judicial Township: Sutter, unincorporated Bounded by Butte House Rd.; Oak, Sutter Ave.; Unnamed street; South Butte Rd., Acacia, Unnamed street; 3rd Ave., South Butte Rd., Perry, Griffith Lane, Acacia
  • 51-8Sutter Judicial Township - That part north and east of west boundary of Sutter By-Pass, outside Sutter, unincorporated See separate map for boundaries of Sutter)
  • 51-9Sutter Judicial Township - That part south and west of west boundary of Sutter By - Pass
  • 51-10Vernon Judicial Township: Vernon Judicial Township - That part east of State Hwy. 87 and west boundary of Sutter By - Pass
  • 51-11Vernon Judicial Township - That part west of State Hwy. 87, and east of west boundary of Sutter By - Pass
  • 51-12Vernon Judicial Township - That part west and south of the west boundary of Sutter By - Pass
  • 51-13Yuba Judicial Township: Yuba City town: Yuba City town - That part Bounded by Town limits; Town limits; Sumner, Shasta, Teegarden Ave.; Plumas
  • 51-14Yuba City town - That part Bounded by Town limits; Plumas; Church, Olive, Forbes Ave.; Cooper Ave., Colusa Ave., Town limits
  • 51-15Yuba City town - That part Bounded by Colusa Ave.; Cooper Ave.; W. Forbes Ave.; Town limits
  • 51-16Yuba City town - That part Bounded by W. Forbes Ave.; Cooper Ave., B, Clark Ave.; Town limits; Town limits
  • 51-17Yuba City town - That part Bounded by Forbes Ave., Olive, Church; Plumas; Bridge; Cooper Ave.
  • 51-18Yuba City town - That part Bounded by Sumner; Town limits; Bridge extended, Bridge; Plumas, Teegarden Ave., Shasta
  • 51-19Yuba City town - That part Bounded by Bridge, Bridge extended; Town limits; B extended, B; Cooper Ave.
  • 51-20Yuba City town - That part Bounded by B; Percy Ave.; Franklin Ave., Park Ave., Jewell Ave.; Town limits, Clark Ave.
  • 51-21CYuba City town - That part Bounded by Old town limits; Percy Ave.; Town limits; Town limits, Old town limits
  • 51-21BYuba City town - That part Bounded by Old town limits; Town limits; Percy Ave.
  • 51-21AYuba City town - That part Bounded by B, B extended; Town limits; Tovm limits, Old town limits, Town limits; Town limits, Jewell Ave., Park Ave., Franklin Ave., Percy Ave
  • 51-22Yuba Judicial Township - That part north of State Hwy. 15, outside Yuba City town
  • 51-23Yuba Judicial Township - That part south of State Hwy. 15 and west of Clark Ave. and Gilsizer Slough, outside Yuba City town
  • 51-24BYuba Judicial Township - That part east of Clark Ave. and Gilsizer Slough, outside Yuba City town Bounded by Yuba City town limits; Garden Hwy.; Judicial Township line; Gilsizer Slough
  • 51-24AYuba Judicial Township - That part east of Clark Ave. and Gilsizer Slough, outside Yuba City town Bounded by Yuba City town limits; County line; Judicial Township line; Garden twy.

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

633 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 633 of them, burning about 2,573 acres. 1 started naturally and 15 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined463
Equipment and vehicle use54
Debris and open burning43
Misuse of fire by a minor29
Smoking16
Arson/incendiarism15
Power generation/transmission/distribution6
Recreation and ceremony6
Natural1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. None of them was recorded as arson.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
31 July 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1,200 acresNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitBUTTE FIRE
14 May 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined210 acresNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitWEST BUTTE
27 July 2011Equipment and vehicle use112 acresNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitSOUTHRIDGE
13 June 2016Equipment and vehicle use85 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
6 June 2018Power generation/transmission/distribution77 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
25 August 1992Equipment and vehicle use70 acresSutter National Wildlife RefugeOTTER 1
30 June 1992Debris and open burning50 acresNevada-Yuba-Placer UnitPHEASANT
31 March 2009Missing data/not specified/undetermined50 acresCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1998 to 2025

33 of 33 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 33 reports for this county, causing 1 death, no injuries and about $990,000 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Flood14
Tornado6
Heavy Rain4
Funnel Cloud4
Hail4
Thunderstorm Wind1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
November 2025FloodPleasant Grove1 killedCalifornia Highway Patrol reported that a 71 year old man drowned after his car was swept into a creek crossing as a bridge flooded on Fifield Road in Pleasant Grove in Sutter County due to heavy rain.
January 2006FloodCountywide$900,000no account filed
May 2005Tornado (F0)Yuba City$85,000no account filed
February 2019Tornado (EF0)Yuba City South$5,000National Weather Service meteorologists confirmed an EF0 tornado touched down at approximately 5:50 pm pst on Saturday, February 2nd, just south of Yuba City, CA. This tornado touch down was very brief as it tracked to the north northwest. Radar data and the damage pattern were used to confirm the touchdown. Several trees were knocked down and there was minor roof damage to a home. Leaves and branches were completely stripped off one side of a tree.
February 2025FloodTarke-California Highway Patrol reported the closure of Franklin Road between Levee Road and Acacia Avenue across the Sutter Bypass due to heavy rain.
February 2025FloodMeridian-Loveys Landing RV Park flooded within the levee by the Sacramento River due to heavy rain and river flooding.
December 2025FloodNicolaus-California Highway Patrol reported the canal flooded the bridge on Kirksville Road, making it impassable. One person drove their car into the high waters and became stranded, requiring a water rescue.
February 2024FloodTisdale-Sutter County OES reported the closure of Highway 99 to Highway 113 due to flooding from heavy rain. At least 5 other roads were closed within the county.
November 2024FloodFour Corners-California Highway Patrol reported a vehicle accident due to standing water in the roadway at Pleasant Grove Road and Kempton Road.
November 2024FloodSutter-California Highway Patrol reported water running down the road and into standing water with all lanes affected at Franklin Road and Acacia Avenue due to heavy rain.
January 2023FloodEncinal-California Highway Patrol reported multiple roads closed across Sutter County due to roadway flooding.
March 2023FloodPleasant Grove-Broadcast media reported roadway flooding between Fifield Road and Pleasant Grove Road.
March 2023FloodMeridian-Broadcast media reported mandatory evacuation orders for the commercial trailer park called Loveys Landing due to flooding near the Sacramento River.
December 2021FloodEast Nicolaus-California highway patrol reported roadway flooding at the intersection of highway 70 E. Reported storm total rainfall amounts in the area were in excess of 3 inches.
December 2021FloodBerg-Flooded lanes at Tierra Buena Rd. Reported storm total rainfall amounts in the area were in excess of 2.5 inches.
February 2019Thunderstorm WindYuba City South-Wind caused tree and fence damage near Carlson Road and Hutchinson Road in Yuba City.
February 2019FloodTierra Buena-Roadway flooding reported by CHP at 1619 Poole Blvd, Yuba City.
January 2017HailYuba City South-Accumulating hail covered the ground, with hailstones up to an inch in diameter.
February 2017Funnel CloudNicolaus-A funnel cloud was sited near Nicolaus. No touch down was observed, or damage reported.
May 2016HailYuba City-There was abundant hail, up to 1 inch in diameter by a member of the public.
May 2016HailYuba City-There was large amounts of hail, as large as 1 inch hail reported by the public.
May 2016HailYuba City-There was hail as large as 1.25 inches reported by the public.
March 2014Tornado (EF0)Pleasant Grove-An EF0 tornado touched down in a field just south of Nicolaus at approximately 5:17pm and lasted a duration of a couple minutes. No damage was reported from the tornado besides swirl marks on the ground.
October 2012Tornado (EF1)Yuba City South-The Yuba City Tornado: Supercells developed behind the cold front along a north-south boundary in the middle of the Central Valley, where both instability and shear were large. The Sutter County Sheriff and Fire Department reported a tornado at approximately 2pm (PST), which was the first reported tornado of the day. The NWS storm survey team determined a touchdown at Mallard Lake Golf Center along Highway 99 just south of Yuba City. The tornado traveled northeast toward Oswald and Barry Roads and north along Railroad Ave. Estimated wind speeds were up to 100mph. The tornado snapped several trees at the golf course, damaged 30-40 small walnut and peach trees in a nearby orchard, lifted shingles on multiple homes, damaged a car port, blew down several fences, damaged several businesses, and lifted an outbuilding off its foundation and turned it upside down.
June 2011Tornado (EF0)Berg-At approximately 5:30 pm an EF0 tornado touched down north of Yuba City and moved northeast, crossing from Sutter County into Yuba County and thereby north of Marysville. There was little damage in the area that appeared to be caused by the tornado. The determining factor was the credible description and sequence of events by witnesses who saw the tornado develop and move through peach and walnut groves. There were no injuries nor fatalities.
March 2009Heavy RainNicolaus-Minor flooding of rural county roads.
December 2005Heavy RainCountywide-no account filed
May 2005Funnel CloudYuba City-no account filed
March 2005Tornado (F0)Yuba City-no account filed
May 2005Funnel CloudYuba City-no account filed
April 2005Funnel CloudYuba City-no account filed
January 1998Heavy RainCountywide-no account filed
January 1998Heavy RainCountywide-no account filed

Mines and quarries

9 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 9 workings inside this county. 7 still produce and 2 are closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Sand and Gravel, Construction5
Stone, Crushed/Broken2
Stone1
Gold1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
John Nugent PlacerGoldUnknown
QuarryStoneUnknown
Butte Rock North PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Myers QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Butte Ranch Borrow SiteSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Meyer PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Morehead Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Pennington QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Sutter Buttes QuarrySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every populated place in the county

60

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

The vanished settlements of Sutter County: the places named above that are no longer on the map.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.