The Sutter Buttes: (Images of America)

A small, mysterious, and isolated mountain range juts up in the center of the flat farmlands of California's sprawling Sacramento Valley. Fifty-thousand travelers pass through the valley every day along Interstate 5 and Highway 99 or overhead by air, noticing the unusual formation and wondering about it. It is the Sutter Buttes. To nearby native peoples it was, and still is, revered as Spirit Mountain. It provoked the curiosity of the first explorers and trappers who sought the promontory for its panoramic strategic value. Later researchers and educators were also drawn to the site to further their understanding of the natural world. Productive farmland around the scenic peaks brought many settlers to "Butte Mountain." Today those who live and work in and around the Buttes feel a deep connection to the landscape. Many of their family histories are featured here, revealing a ranching and farming heritage that has been handed down for generations over the past 150 years, preserving this landmark from development. Most of the Sutter Buttes remain a vestige of California's past.

About the Author :
Author Mike Hubbartt conducts educational programs about the Buttes and was recognized by a Spirit of Freedom award sponsored by the Marysville Appeal-Democrat for his dedication to the environment in 2004. He has collected images for this volume from the Community Memorial Museum of Sutter County, the Sutter County Historical Society, neighboring libraries, and many local families.

Review :
Title: Buttes get their due in print Author: Howard Yune Publisher: Appeal-Democrat Date: 1/17/2010 The newest book for sale in Yuba-Sutter details the history of the area's oldest landmark. Readers on Sunday bought the first copies of "The Sutter Buttes" at Amicus Books in Marysville, where author Mike Hubbartt signed copies for more than two dozen readers. The volume is the latest in the "Images of America" book series published by Arcadia Publishing, a South Carolina-based specialist in local historical works. The outpouring gratified Hubbartt, who said bringing the Sutter Buttes' natural and social history to a wider audience could be a key not only to popularizing the mountain range but also to protecting them. "Many people say the great thing about this place is that everything is two hours away," said Hubbartt, an Illinois native who has lived in Yuba-Sutter for nearly 40 years and once headed the Middle Mountain Foundation, the land trust that seeks to preserve open lands around the Buttes. "I think this area's an untapped, incredible historical resource." Pulling together dozens of drawings, maps and photographs spanning nearly two centuries, Hubbartt spent a year creating a narrative about the isolated mountains long considered the region's heart. "The Sutter Buttes" documents the varied historic threads of the mountains and nearby lands -- the Buttes' origin as the outflow of a long-extinct volcano, the cultures of the Wintun and Maidu tribes whose homelands were within its shadow, and the 19th-century settlements by John Sutter and others that gave birth to an entire state. "Writing this wasn't drudgery at all," said Hubbartt. "It was exciting, a case of discovery after discovery after discovery." As guests waited their turn for Hubbartt to sign their copies, some were glad to see a landmark close to home get its due in print. "It feels pretty good; this needed to be done years ago," said John DeRee, a Gridley resident whose ancestors once raised cattle and cultivated almonds in the north Sutter Buttes. "Luckily, all these families saved all of this stuff." "I just try to get as much information as I can for my kids and grandchildren," said Donna Borrell, whose family owns a ranch within sight of the Sutter Buttes. "They're unique, one of a kind."