California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush Word Puzzle
Eureka! When gold was discovered in California by James Marshall in 1848, everyone wanted a piece of the action. People came from all over the world--from the East Coast of the United States and all the way from China--to seek their fortunes. But sometimes riches could be made not in gold but in the jobs people did for the miners, such as blacksmithing or selling tools. The Gold Rush brought thousands of people to California and helped to establish the state. ... [Read More]
Gold Rush Shipwrecks
There were two ways to come to California by sea. The first was to go around thecontinent of South America. The other was to cross the isthmus of Panama from the Gulf ofMexico to the Pacific and board a vessel bound for California. Once in California, thegold fields beckoned. In fact, so many sailors jumped ship to run to the gold fields thatcrews for ships were scarce. A ghost fleet of abandoned and unmanned vessels anchored inSan Francisco Bay. To learn more about coming to California by sea during the Gold Rush,click here . ... [Read More]
California History Collection
There were other, more ominous signs of the transition from the Gold Rush boom to the problems of a permanent society. Even in the 1850s, as the limits of the gold bonanza for single, independent miners became apparent, white "American" miners were resentful of the other national groups represented in the camps. While they usually accepted non-English-speaking Europeans, they had less tolerance for Latin American miners and none at all for Chinese. In 1850, the new California legislature adopted a Foreign Miners License Law, charging all non-U.S. citizens $20 per month. This fee proved unreasonably high, and the law was repealed the next year. Before the law was repealed, however, many Chinese left the mining camps, moving to San Francisco, where they soon established themselves in the city's business community and created America's first "Chinatown." But many more came to the "Mountain of Gold." The height of Gold Rush immigration came in 1852: of the 67,000 people who came to Califor ... [Read More]
California's Natural Resources: A Brief History of the Gold Rush
The first printed notice of the discovery was in theMarch 15 issue of "The Californian" in San Francisco. Shortlyafter Marshall's discovery, General John Bidwell discovered goldin the Feather River and Major Pearson B. Reading found gold inthe Trinity River. The Gold Rush was soon in full sway. ... By 1864, California's gold rush had ended. The richsurface and river placers were largely exhausted; hydraulic mineswere the chief sources of gold for the next 20 years. ... [Read More]
California, First Person Narratives: General Collections
"California as I Saw It:" First-Person Narratives of California's Early Years, 1849-1900 consists of the full texts and illustrations of 190 works documenting the formative era of California's history through eyewitness accounts. The collection covers the dramatic decades between the Gold Rush and the turn of the twentieth century. It captures the pioneer experience; encounters between Anglo-Americans and the diverse peoples who had preceded them; the transformation of the land by mining, ranching, agriculture, and urban development; the often-turbulent growth of communities and cities; and California's emergence as both a state and a place of uniquely American dreams. The production of this collection was supported by a generous grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. ... [Read More]
Gold Rush Exhibit - Introduction
It is no accident that so much documentation exists about the run for gold. In fact, it could be argued that the California Gold Rush stands as the best documented event in our state's history. There are many reasons for this. Most importantly, though, the Gold Rush took place when people commonly kept diaries and wrote detailed letters. Fortunately for us, many Argonauts possessed exceptional powers of description, the ability to express philosophical thoughts, and the gift to record what they saw with drama, emotion, and on occasion with humor. Because the Gold Rush represented the adventure of a lifetime, participants, through letters and diaries, eagerly shared their experiences with friends and relatives and made sure that their writings would be preserved for future generations. ... [Read More]
Gold Rush Overview
The riverfront embarcadero and commercial district of the Gold Rush preserved at Old Sacramento teemed with activity as would-be miners disembarked from riverboats and regrouped before setting out for the Mother Lode. Outfitters and other merchants there thrived on the gold trade, portrayed in the re-created Huntington & Hopkins Hardware Store . The mining boom that Captain John Sutter himself set in motion nearly destroyed his Nuevo Helvetia agricultural empire headquartered at Sutter’s Fort . A portion of his Mexican land grant became the bustling Gold Rush boomtown of Sacramento. ... [Read More]
California Geological Survey - Gold
The discovery of gold on January 24, 1848 by James Marshall at Sutter's Sawmill on the South Fork of the American River started a bonanza that brought California global fame and gave it the title of the "Golden State". "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!", shouted Sam Brannan as he paraded through the streets of San Francisco waving a small bottle of gold dust he had purchased at John Sutter's Fort. That calculated and flamboyant proclamation in the spring of 1848 started the news of California's gold discovery on a race around the world. The Gold Rush of 1849 and the subsequent influx of settlers led to California becoming the 31st state of the Union in 1850. ... [Read More]
Gold Rush Exhibit - VII. THE WORLD RUSHED IN: PART I
Gold fever gripped much of Paris as documented by this colorful and satirical sheet music cover. A rather portly woman clutches bags of gold ingots to her breast while in the background a group of destitute-looking people are entering and exiting a California mine. The cover and music no doubt satirize the Parisian lotteries that awarded gold ingots in order to sell stock in French gold mining companies headed for California. ... "Work in California" is one of a series of three beautifully colored French prints in the collection concerning the Gold Rush. The caption reads: "landing on this ground, all the workers seize their tools and search the soil in all directions; here, the rocks raised by the pickaxe, yield ingots of gold." The French may have been somewhat confused by the Sierra's vegetation as demonstrated by the tropical plants and trees in the print. ... [Read More]
Gold Rush Exhibit - XI. MAKING A PILE
This cartoon-like print illustrates early mining techniques when gold hunters used such simple devices as picks, shovels, pans, and baskets to find placer (surface) gold. During the first year of the Gold Rush, many pioneers including James Marshall, John Sutter, and P. B. Reading employed California Indians in the mines as a cheap labor force. Several Indian miners are shown in this print. In 1849 and 1850, thousands of gold seekers poured in from the eastern United States and these more numerous newcomers objected to the practice of using Indian labor as unfair and as a threat to their safety. Consequently, they forced the Indians out of the mines. ... [Read More]
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