California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

After the discovery of gold in California by John Sutter, an influx of settlers from all over the world were attracted to the northern California region between 1848 to 1856. The result of the gold rush was wide-spead for California's infrastructure and development, which lead to the admission of California as a state in 1850.

Fast Facts:

90,000 settlers came to California between 1848 and 1849
By 1854 over 300,000 settlers had come
$465 million in gold was found between 1848 and 1865
Legal process of claiming mines are outlined in Chaffee laws of 1866
Feather River in 1848 produced a sum total of $1.5 million in gold by 2006 prices
The Panama sails from San Francisco to the east coast carrying $1,500,156 in gold dust
1852 gold exports total nearly $45,600,000
By 1860 California population was 380,000

Effects of the Gold Rush on California

During the peak of the population influx in California in the mid-1800s the state saw a growing diversity in its inhabitants. With major publications printing stories on the gold rush, people from all over the world came to northern California. Also, the build-up of infrastructure in the state was increasingly evident. New roads, railway systems, and farming developments were established. In 1850, California applied for admission to become a state.

Categories

History | U.S. History

| View Note History

The Mahalo Top 7

California Gold Rush: Gold Rush Sesquicentennial Series
Wikipedia: California Gold Rush
PBS: American Experience: The Gold Rush
California State Library: The Gold Rush
Nevada County Gold: California Gold Rush Stories: Becoming California
Oakland Museum of California: Untold Stories of the California Gold Rush
Museum of San Francisco: Eyewitness to the Discovery of Gold at Sutter's Mill (1848)

California Gold Rush Background

California Geological Survey: Gold Discovery
The Land of Glittering Dreams: Letters, Writings, and Photographs From the California Gold Rush
Historic Highway 49: California Gold Rush History
Library of Congress: The Chinese in California
National Parks Service: Seeing the Elephant: The California Gold Rush
NCGold.com: Stories of the California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush Figures

California Gold Rush Images and Media

Google Image Search: California Gold Rush
The California Gold Country: Gold Rush Images
Oakland Museum of California: Images of the California Gold Rush
Live Search Images: California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush Books and Research

Amazon.com: California Gold Rush Books and Merchandise
Barnes and Noble: California Gold Rush Books
California State University Library: The Gold Rush of California: A Bibliography of Periodical Articles
California Gold Rush: Gold Rush Resources
Harvard College: Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930: Gold Rush (1848-1858)

California Gold Rush Articles

Not Frisco: California Gold Rush Articles
San Francisco Museum: California Star: "A Rush to the Gold Washings" (1848)
Eye Witness to History: The California Gold Rush (1849)
San Francisco Museum: Discovery of Gold (1857)
San Francisco Museum: African American Rights During the Gold Rush Era (1966)
Indiana University: IUB Research Team Explores Gold Rush-era Shipwreck (2003)

California Gold Rush Timeline

1848

January 24: Gold is discovered by James Marshall in the sawmill being built for John Sutter in Coloma
February 2: Brig “Eagle” bought first shipload of Chinese workers to San Francisco
March 11: Sutter's Mill is completed and ready to begin operations
March 11: Gold is discovered by Mormons on the American River
March 15: The Californian, a San Francisco newspaper, first reports the discovery
May 12: Samuel Brannan runs up and down the streets of San Francisco shouting, "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!"
May 16: Claude Chana and a party of Indians discover gold at Auburn Ravine
August 19: An item on the discovery of gold is printed in The New York Herald
October 6: The California, the first ship of the Pacific Mail Steamship Co., sets sail from New York to California
December 5: President James Polk tells Congress about the gold in California, making gold fever stronger

1849

April 1: The Oregon arrives in San Francisco, with mail, supplies and passengers
April 1: First wagon train leaves from Missouri and Iowa, with 20,000 people, headed for California
June 23: Two nuggets, one 40 ounces and the other 25 pounds, are discovered in the American River
December 31: Population of San Francisco was estimated at 100,000 including 35,000 people who came by sea, 3000 sailors who deserted ships and 42,000 who came overland

1850

April 13: Foreign Miners' Tax is passed, costing foreign miners a monthly license fee of $20
May 1: The Panama sails for the East with $1,500,156 in gold dust

California Gold Rush Humor and Satire

California State Library: Gold Mania Satirized
Library of Congress: Pictorial Americana: The Gold Rush
Cartoon Stock: California Gold Rush Vintage Cartoon Images

Related Pages on Mahalo

Gold Fever | Eureka | Sutter's Mill | John Sutter | James Marshall | Forty-Niners

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