Sutter County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county were given to Placer County in 1851.

Sutter County was named after General John Sutter, a native of Germany, who obtained a large land grant from the Mexican government, and called his first settlement New Helvetia (now the City of Sacramento). In 1841, the general established a great stock ranch in this area to which he retired in 1850 when gold seekers deprived him of most of his holdings at Sacramento.