California Gold Rush

Many people were broke at this time and dreamed of moving to Cali, making a fortune, and starting their lives over.

Mostly for the same reasons a person in today's time would go.

The first group was called "The '49ers" because the news of the gold strikes arrived in the east in 1848 and they set out as soon as possible in the spring of 1849. However some instead of taking the direct overland route and arriving in the fall of 1849 they went by ship around the southern tip of South America not arriving until 1850 or 1851. Many were also attracted from overseas (the most well known group of these were Chinese men, who sent all of their profits directly back to their families in China).

Most people did go for the gold, thinking they would get rich quick. However others went instead to sell supplies to the miners (they were the ones that usually became the richest, while doing the least work).

They washed themselves in the creek.

sluice box, long tom, pan, rocker, panning, digging, mining, hydraulic mining

The gold rush towns still exist and are located above Sacramento. There was Hangtown, Columbia, Sonora, Murphy's, Jamestown, Angles Camp.

Gold Rush

feet

the forty niners

Rio de Janiero, Brazil

No, they were associated with the California gold rush

The fact that the easy-to-find surface gold, found by primitive means was drying up so to speak. At that point the big mining companies took over, evicting the people who they saw as squatters illegally living on the gold fields. Moreover, California had by then been made a State of the USA at the urging of those mining companies which made prospecting, staking claims for land and any use of "State"-owned land the subject of all kinds of rules, payments and regulations. Only professional miners could comply with all the rules and put down the money required.

it takes 3,295 miles

he was a big help with the gold rush

James W. Marshall

John Sutter , a German born Swiss pioneer, got a Mexican land grant in 1839 for the area that is Sacramento today. To get the land grant he had to become a Mexican citizen and began his empire of 48,827 acres that he was given. In 1840 he started building his fort and employed 350 Native Americans to guard the fort. He also hired John Bidwell to help with management. There were large herds of cattle and horses in the fields around the fort. Hunters were sent to hunt for fur pelts and Elk hides. A distillery, flour mill, and bakery were built as well as a blacksmith shop and carpenter shop. A boat carried passengers and freight between the fort and San Francisco Bay. In 1841 Sutter bought Russian settlements of Ross and Bodega for 32,000 secured by a mortgage on the fort. He established Hock Farm on the Feather River a few miles from the modern Yuba City. The farm supplied food for the fort and he recruited immigrants from the United States, Switzerland, and Germany. By 1844 the fort was pretty much done and it grew in importance as more people arrived from the difficult trip west. The fort also sat on one of the most strategic locations in Northern California and became a goal for parties crossing the Sierras. In 1847 John Marshall was hired to build a sawmill on the American River about 50 miles from the fort. The sawmill was almost done when Marshall discovered gold. The end result was the discovery of gold hurt Sutter and workmen quit working to look for gold, thousands arrived to dig up his land, crops, and take his livestock. To keep from loosing everything he deeded his property to his son who designed the present day Sacramento.

The California Gold Rush of between 1848 - 1849 was 12 years before the start of the US Civil War.

In 1848 California wasn't even a state and there were no laws. Anyone who found gold had problems with other miners. The first laws were claim laws. In some camps it was 10 feet and each were allowed one claim. Camps set up claims officers to patrol mines and settle disputes. Punishment for crimes was fast and quick. Small crimes were punished by flogging and more serious crimes like murder was hanging. Lynchings were common and people were hung without a trial.

Obviously, because there was gold there and they wanted some of it. This was augmented by the fad like nature of the Gold Rush. Many people were attracted by the "everyone is doing it" aspect.

While a few people got rich by finding gold, but more people got rich by selling supplies to the ones looking for it.

The thought of getting rich did attract many, but another big reason was the chance for freedom. California wasn't yet a state and laws weren't particularly enforced. There was no established society except for those of the Native Americans, so people could basically create their own.

Stealing a claim refers to the act of unlawfully taking ownership of someone else's property or rights, particularly in the context of mining or land use. It often involves filing a claim on land that another individual or entity has already staked or developed. This unethical practice can lead to legal disputes and conflicts, as the rightful owner may seek to enforce their claim through legal channels.

PAINT YOUR WAGON ( also co starring Lee Marvin--who also sang???!!!! songs

James Wilson Marshall.

Pio

The gold rush began at Sutter's Mill in Colima, CA. John Marshall discovered gold in the traces of the mill in 1848. Once the gold was discovered the rush was on. A newspaper headline stated "Eureka, Gold Found". The average pay was about 10.00 a month, but a man could make 50.00 a day if he found gold. Within months over 10,000 a day were coming into the area any way they could. Sutter lost in the gold rush. He lost his fortune , mill, and ended up a broke unhappy man. By 1850 CA became a state on Sept. 9, 1850.

by running inn's where the miners could stay and eat and other stuff like that almost like todays inn's.