The California Gold Rush

The Discovery

Two years before the gold rush began, San Francisco was a small port town called Yuerba Buena, named after the wild mint which grew in the hills. The population, including surrounding villages totaled about 800.Change came quickly when James Marshall picked up a small yellow rock while working on John Sutter's sawmill along the American River in the sparsely populated city of Coloma, California on January 24, 1848.  

He called to his co-workers, uttering the now famous line "Hey, boys, by God I believe I've found a gold mine," The other workers within the camp were a bit skeptical at first. As one of their tests, they hit one of the nuggets with a rock. The flake bent, but did not shatter. After a few additional tests most were convinced that they had indeed found gold. Within days most of the workers, including John Sutter himself, were out collecting nuggets by simply picking them up out of the river banks.

The first newspaper mention of the discovery was in the Californian on March 15, 1848 where a small article on an inside page read: "GOLD MINE FOUND. In the newly made raceway of the sawmill recently erected by Captain Sutter, on the American Fork, gold has been found considerable quantities. One person brought thirty dollars worth up to New Helvetia, gathered there in a short time. California, no doubt, is rich in mineral wealth; great chances here for scientific capitalists. Gold has been found in almost every part of the country."

The military governor of California (which was not yet a state), Colonel Richard B. Mason,  made a trip to Coloma that summer to celebrate the Fourth of July with John Sutter at Sutter's Fort. Meanwhile, rumors of the discovery reached the eastern United States in August 1848, but was not taken seriously until Colonel Mason's official report reached Washington (accompanied by a tea caddy full of gold), and subsequently mentioned in President Polk's message to Congress on December 5, 1848. The caddy of gold was coined into special 1848 "CAL" quarter eagles. Mason's report was carried in newspapers throughout the Country and in almost every edition of every newspaper there was a gold rush story.

The Rush Was On

By the end of l848 there were only about 5,000 miners working. Gold was still relatively easy to find, and new strikes were being made every day. These early days were the good times, and the quantities of gold being reported were astonishing. However living conditions were primitive and prices for supplies were high. News of these riches were filling the newspapers on the east, and gold fever hit hard. Men left homes and farms, wives and businesses to head for the mines.

Getting to California was the beginning of the adventure. A 15,000-mile ship journey around the tip of South America could take five months. More than 500 ships did it in 1849 alone. Those who traveled by boat were called "Argonauts" named after Greek mythological adventurers in search of a golden fleece. By cutting across the Isthmus of Panama the entire journey might take just three months, but many died of cholera and malaria. By land, the 2,200-mile journey from trail heads in Missouri or Iowa took about four months, but deadly obstacles included deserts and dehydration, the risk of snow, and starvation. These overland travelers were termed emigrants, as they left the settled United States behind. The trip was one for only the most brave and hearty, which is partly why there were few women and children in these early days .

Despite the hardships, the number of people making the trek to California was stagering. It is estimated that in 1849 over 32,000 people made the overland journey. That number grew to 44,000 in 1850 and peaked at 50,000 in 1851. The harbor master in San Francisco estimated that between April 1849 and March 1850 some 62,000 people arrived. These numbers were almost all men. With the world rushing in the easy pickings were mostly gone. Lawlessness, sickness, and disillusionment were growing problems. One in five miners died, many  as the result of disease, accidental deaths working claims, malnutrition, and many even committed suicide after the disappointment of reality set in. Early mining tools quickly graduated from the gold pan to the rocker, and the rocker to the long tom and the sluice box. By the time most men arrived, successful mining required highly organized industrial operations including the diversion of streams and rivers, blasting hard rock, and the hydraulic destruction of entire of hillsides.

The census of 1850 found that 73 percent of California's population was between the ages of 20 and 40, and 92 percent were males. An successful miner could be making $8 a day compared to the average $1 day for his coal-miner counterpart in the East. But prices were astronomical too. A loaf of bread that sold for 4 cents in New York sold for 75 cents in the mines. An 1849 report from Sacramento said eggs were $1 to $3 apiece; apples $1 to $5; coffee $5 a pound; a butcher knife $30, and boots $100 a pair.

The Gold Rush is California

The ingredients which fueled the gold rush, and the kind of person who was drawn to participate in this historic event have profound influences on California even today. Indeed, California is the golden state in many ways. That entrepreneurial spirit, willingness to take risk, and the desire to strike it rich quick still prevail here more than in most places. Modern day examples of the gold rush spirit exist in Silicon Valley and the technology revolution, Hollywood and the entertainment industry, and in countless individuals who immigrated from around the world to live in the state where the streets are paved in gold!  

Click here to see some of the most desired coins and ingots from the California gold rush. A must see!!        

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