1849 California Gold Rush

By: Anamta Magsi

How it started off...

● In January 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered gold while constructing a saw mill along the American river northeast of present day Sacramento. The discovery was reported in the San Francisco newspapers in March but caused a little stir as most did not believe the account.

The start of the California Gold Rush...

● Though Marshall and Sutter tried to keep news of the discovery under wraps, word got out, and by mid-March at least one newspaper was reporting that large quantities of gold were being turned up at Sutter’s Mill. Though the initial reaction in San Francisco was disbelief, storekeeper Sam Brannan set off a frenzy when he paraded through town displaying a vial of gold obtained from Sutter’s Creek. By mid-June, some three-quarters of the male population of San Francisco had left town for the gold mines, and the number of miners in the area reached 4,000 by August.

Before

Now

How people reacted to the Gold Rush...

● ● ● Though Marshall and Sutter tried to keep news of the discovery under wraps, word got out, and by mid-March at least one newspaper was reporting that large quantities of gold were being turned up at Sutter’s Mill. Though the initial reaction in San Francisco was disbelief.

People would quit their jobs just to go gold mining. Businesses would have to close down because it would be too crowded in the town.