Sacramento was the site of John Sutter's large agricultural colony and his fort. While the elder Sutter was away, the town of Sacramento was founded by John Augustus Sutter, Jr., at the edge of the Sacramento River and downhill from Sutter's Fort. Sutter Sr. was indignant since this new site, shaded by water-needy cottonwood trees, was often flooded during Spring high water (Indeed, every hundred years or so, the whole Great Valley from Chico to Bakersfield, was one great freshwater sea). However, lots had already been sold, and there the town of Sacramento stayed. At the end of the 19th century, the streets were raised a full story, so buildings in Old Town are now entered through what were once doors to the balconies shading the sidewalks below.