It wasn't gold that brought James Marshall to Coloma-- it was lumber. John Sutter's mill, needed for the expansion of his "empire," New Helvetia, and propitiously located to take advantage of the bounty of nearby timber, was built in partnership with Marshall and under his direction. The original mill has long since returned to earth, save for a few of the timbers excavated in a 1947 archaeological expedition and now displayed at the museum in the State Park, but in the reproduction is captured the sense of vitality and raw excitement of those rough-hewn days when Marshall, his crew, and John Sutter all unknowingly stood at the brink of an event of monumental magnitude.