the california gold rush a personal journal essay

The California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush was the mass migration of Americans and others to California in search of gold, which was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848. It led to California's statehood and is one of the most important events tied to America’s Manifest Destiny and how it shaped the United States.

President James K. Polk announced the discovery of gold in California in December 1848. Image Source:  National Portrait Gallery .

What was the California Gold Rush? A Summary of the Event that Transformed the Nation

The California Gold Rush, a pivotal event in American history, started on January 24, 1848, when James W. Marshall stumbled upon gold nuggets while working at Sutter’s Mill in the Sacramento Valley.

At the time the Marshall found the gold, the population of California was about 1,000 people — not including the Native American Indians. By the end of 1849, California’s population skyrocketed to an estimated 100,000 people. By 1854, roughly 300,000 people had moved to California, helping fulfill Manifest Destiny through Westward Expansion .

The discovery came just 10 days after the United States officially acquired California in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , which formally ended the Mexican-American War .

News of the discovery spread quickly, triggering a massive influx of prospectors in the summer of 1848. The first gold-seekers came from various places, including Oregon, Hawaii, Mexico, Chile, Peru, and China. From there, the news spread eastward, across the Great Plains, the Midwest, the Southeast, and the East Coast.

In December 1848, President James K. Polk officially announced gold had been discovered in California — “The Golden State.”

Soon after, Americans living on the East Coast started moving West in search of their fortunes. They loaded their wagons and crossed the Oregon Trail , California Trail , and others as they made their way to California. These people became known as “The 49ers.”

Entrepreneur Sam Brannan further fueled excitement by parading through San Francisco with a vial of gold, sparking a rush of people seeking fortune. The 49ers borrowed money, mortgaged homes, and risked their savings for the chance at prosperity.

California’s population surge led to the establishment of numerous towns in the Sierra Nevada Region, with San Francisco evolving into a bustling frontier metropolis. However, the overcrowded and lawless mining camps led to a rise in crime, gambling, alcoholism, and violence.

Mining for gold was hard work, but the promise of wealth drove the 49ers. However, as the surface gold diminished, many people were forced to go to work for mining companies that were drilling to find deeper deposits of the precious metal.

The California Gold Rush affected both society and the environment, displacing Indian Tribes and causing flooding.

Although gold mining continued throughout the 1850s, the peak years were in the early 1850s, with millions of dollars worth of gold being extracted annually. The economic boom helped bring California into the Union as the 31st state, following the Compromise of 1850 .

The California Gold Rush changed nearly everything about the region, including the landscape, economy, and people. It transformed California’s landscape and gave rise to an agricultural economy populated by a diverse, multi-ethnic society.

Today, sites like Bodie State Historic Park and Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park remain as monuments to the California Gold Rush and the ‘49ers.

California Gold Rush Facts

1. The California Gold Rush started on January 24, 1848, when gold nuggets were discovered at Sutter’s Mill in the Sacramento Valley.

2. The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill unleashed the largest migration in United States history, drawing people from various countries to California to seek their fortunes.

3. The California Gold Rush led to a significant population boom in California, with the non-native population reaching nearly 100,000 by the end of 1849, compared to just 1,000 before the discovery.

4. News of the gold discovery spread worldwide, attracting people from places accessible by boat, such as Oregon, Hawaii, Mexico, Chile, Peru, and China, even before the news reached the East Coast of the United States.

5. The prospect of wealth forever altered the life expectations of those who rushed to California, with many individuals borrowing money, mortgaging their homes, or spending their life savings to join the gold rush.

6. San Francisco experienced rapid growth during the Gold Rush and became an important port city.

7. Gold mining was time-consuming and dangerous work, and as the surface gold diminished, miners joined larger mining companies that utilized advanced techniques, such as hydraulic mining, to extract deeper gold deposits.

8. The California Gold Rush had significant social and environmental impacts, leading to the displacement and devastation of Indian Tribes and causing extensive environmental damage due to large-scale mining operations.

9. California’s admission to the Union as the 31st state was expedited by the Gold Rush, following the Compromise of 1850, which allowed California to enter as a free state.

10. The people who moved to California in 1849 are known as “49ers.” By the end of 1849, there were roughly 50,000 49ers in California.

11. The name “Death Valley” was given to the barren region southeast of San Francisco by a group of 49ers who were lost in the valley when they tried to take a shortcut through the mountains in 1849.

California Gold Rush — History, Impact, and Legacy

John sutter, his mill, and the epicenter of the gold rush.

John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, moved to California in 1839. A the time, it was known as “Alta California” and was a province of Mexico. Sutter was given permission by Mexican authorities to establish a colony in the Sacramento Valley, along with nearly 50,000 acres of land. Soon after, Sutter started building Fort Sutter at “New Helvetia.”

In the latter part of 1844, California revolted against Mexico and Sutter helped raise men to defend the Mexican government. Around the time the Mexican-American War started , hostilities in California led to the Bear Flag Revolt. Americans took control of portions of Alta California, which was followed by a takeover by the U.S. Army, led by John C. Fremont , and the U.S. Navy, led by Commodore Robert F. Stockton. On July 11, 1846, the American Flag was raised over Sutter’s Fort.

By 1847, Sutter was expecting an influx of settlers in the region and decided to build a mill and go into the lumber business. He intended to sell timber to settlers and businessmen for homes and buildings. In order to start his lumber business, he brought in James W. Mashall as a partner in the venture.

James Marshall Discovers Gold at Sutter’s Mill

Marshall had been part of Stephen Watts Kearny’s Mormon Battalion and hired a group of Mormons to help him build the mill. Originally from New Jersey, Marshall was a carpenter by trade. 

Sutter’s Mill was built during the winter of 1847–1848 at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains near present-day Coloma, California.

The initial discovery of gold that sparked the California Gold Rush took place on January 24, 1848, when Marshall saw flakes of gold in a pool of water and then found small gold nuggets. It set off a series of events leading to the massive migration of prospectors to California in search of riches.

Recalling his discovery, Marshall said, “It made my heart thump, for I was certain it was gold.”

Sam Brannan Fuels the California Gold Rush

News of the gold discovery spread rapidly through California and beyond. Initially met with disbelief in San Francisco, the discovery was confirmed when entrepreneur Sam Brannan paraded through town displaying a vial of gold obtained from Sutter’s Creek. 

This caused a frenzy, and by mid-June, most of the male population of San Francisco had left for the gold mines. The news also reached places accessible by ship, leading to thousands of immigrants from countries like the Sandwich Islands, Mexico, Chile, Peru, and China flocking to California during the summer and fall of 1848.

The California Gold Rush and Manifest Destiny

The California Gold Rush was one of the most significant events associated with Manifest Destiny — the westward expansion of the United States. 

President James K. Polk, who firmly believed it was the nation’s right to spread from sea to sea, publicly announced on December 5, 1948, that gold had been found in California. Polk waited to make his announcement until the discovery was verified by Colonel Richard Mason, the Military Governor of California. Polk delivered the announcement as part of his State of the Union Address.

It triggered the largest migration in U.S. history, with hundreds of thousands of people traveling to California seeking wealth and opportunity. Tens of thousands of people headed to California, traveling in Wagon Trains across the Overland Trails.

Economically, the California Gold Rush fueled the U.S. economy with millions of dollars worth of gold extracted from the region. It also spurred the idea of a cross-country railroad line, which would eventually link the East Coast and the West Coast.

Impact on Native American Indians

The large influx of prospectors and settlers during the California Gold Rush had a devastating impact on the Native American Tribes living in the region and across the Great Plains

The influx of prospectors and settlers disrupted their way of life and brought disease, which led leading to a dramatic decline in the population of tribes from the Great Plains to the West Coast.

In California, the effect was devastating. The Indian population had already been reduced by half since the arrival of the Spanish in 1769 and declined further because of disease, starvation, and violence. 

Some Indians were also forced to work for prospectors and mining companies, further distancing them from their way of life.

It is estimated the California Gold Rush led to the deaths of as many as 120,000 Indians.

Mining Towns Created by the Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush contributed to the rapid growth and development of San Francisco and other towns in California, often referred to as “Mining Towns.”

San Francisco experienced a population explosion. Although it is estimated that three-quarters of its male population left for the gold mines, thousands of immigrants arrived in the area seeking their fortune. This influx of people created a thriving economy in San Francisco and turned it into a bustling city on the frontier. 

Throughout California, gold mining towns sprouted up with shops, saloons, brothels, and other businesses seeking to cater to the needs of the gold seekers. Some of the towns were Bodie, Placerville, and Darwin.

California and the Compromise of 1850

The California Gold Rush influenced the political landscape of California and its admission as a state to the Union.

The massive population growth led to California applying for statehood in late 1849. However, the issue of slavery caused a crisis in Congress, with debates between proponents of slavery and anti-slavery politicians. 

California’s application for statehood was part of the larger Compromise of 1850 , which was proposed by Henry Clay, the illustrious politician from Kentucky. Clay was a veteran of crafting compromises that supported the growth and development of the nation, including the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise Tariff of 1833 .

The Compromise of 1850 allowed California to enter the Union as a Free State. However, other territories were allowed to follow the concept of “Popular Sovereignty” and decide the legal status of slavery for themselves.

Mining Techniques and Advancements

The California Gold Rush led to significant changes in mining techniques over time.

In the early days of the Gold Rush, “placer mining” was the primary technique used by prospectors. They panned for gold using simple tools like a pick, shovel, pan, and water to separate the alluvial deposits from the gold. 

As surface gold became scarce, miners turned to more advanced methods like sluice boxes, which used water to wash away lighter material, leaving the heavier gold particles behind. 

By 1853, hydraulic mining became the main method of mining, involving the use of high-pressure water streams to wash away hillsides and access deeper gold deposits. Hydraulic mining caused severe environmental damage, leading to soil erosion and flooding.

Environmental Impact

The California Gold Rush has significant environmental consequences, particularly with regard to hydraulic mining and its impact on the landscape.

Hydraulic mining required the use of high-pressure water streams to wash away hillsides and access gold deposits, leading to severe soil erosion and flooding. 

The landscape was devastated, and rivers were choked with sediment that affected farmland and natural habitats. 

In response to these environmental impacts, hydraulic mining was outlawed by court order in 1884, and agriculture became the dominant industry in California.

California Gold Rush Significance

The California Gold Rush is important to United States history because of the role it played in the westward expansion of the nation, growth of the economy, and establishment of California as a state. However, it also had long-lasting effects on the environment and devastating effects on the Native American Indian Tribes in the Trans-Mississippi Region and the West.

Common Questions About the California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush, in simple terms, was a significant event that occurred in the mid-19th century when large amounts of gold were discovered in California, leading to a massive influx of people seeking to find gold and wealth. The discovery at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 triggered a rush of prospectors from various countries, creating a diverse society in the goldfields and shaping California’s history and economy.

The California Gold Rush started when James W. Marshall found gold at Sutter’s Mill on January 24, 1848. While working on a water-powered sawmill for John Sutter, Marshall found gold nuggets in a pool of water, leading to the news of the gold discovery spreading rapidly. This event unleashed the largest migration in U.S. history, with people from various countries seeking wealth in California.

The California Gold Rush did not have a specific end date. It started in 1848 with the discovery of gold and peaked in 1852. However, gold mining continued throughout the 1850s, and by 1857, the annual gold take leveled off to around $45 million. While surface gold had largely disappeared, industrialized mining techniques persisted until 1884, when hydraulic mining was outlawed due to its environmental impact.

The California Gold Rush had a wide-ranging impact on various aspects. It led to the largest migration in U.S. history, dramatically increasing California’s population. The influx of prospectors disrupted the lives of Native American Tribes, leading to a significant decline in their population. Economically, the Gold Rush fueled the U.S. economy with billions of dollars worth of gold extracted. It also influenced California’s development, shaping towns and cities like San Francisco.

The California Gold Rush is connected to the Civil War through the Compromise of 1850. It was a series of legislative measures that aimed to address the balance between Slave States and Free States following the Mexican-American War . As a part of this compromise, California was admitted as a Free State, while the status of slavery in other territories was decided through Popular Sovereignty.

California Gold Rush APUSH Notes and Study Guide

Use the following links and videos to study Manifest Destiny, the Overland Trails, and the Mexican-American War for the AP US History Exam. Also, be sure to look at our Guide to the AP US History Exam .

California Gold Rush Definition APUSH

The California Gold Rush was a period of rapid economic growth and expansion in California that started in 1848 with the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The gold rush, which attracted thousands of people from around the world, had a significant impact on the state’s economy and led to the rapid growth of California’s population. The people involved in the gold rush are known as the ‘49ers. The California Gold Rush is an important moment in the history of the United States and is remembered as a symbol of Manifest Destiny.

California Gold Rush Video for APUSH Notes

This video from Heimler’s History discusses Manifest Destiny, including the California Gold Rush.

• Written by Randal Rust

The California Gold Rush’ History Essay

The gold rush changed the history of California. The primary purpose of the paper is to discuss the peculiarities of the gold rush and the impact it had on people’s life.

On January 24, 1848, James Marshall, built a sawmill for John Sutter on the American River in California (Friedman 34). He found the gold nugget. He told about his discovery Sutter, who tested samples and confirmed that it is almost pure gold.

John Sutter wanted to keep everything in secret; he realized that the discovery of gold would cause a stir and prevent him on his way towards developing of the agricultural settlement New Helvetia. He allowed his employees to take gold, but he asked not to inform the world regarding the discovery of precious metal. Very soon the news spread, due to a businessman and journalist Samuel Brennan.

On August 19, 1848, the newspaper The New York Herald published the first report on the discovered gold in California and the gold rush transformed to the global stage (Friedman 61). Thousands of immigrants from around the world traveled to California in search of gold. The period from 1848 till 1855 is considered to be the most famous gold rush (Maxwell-Long 81).

The majority of the residents of San Francisco gave up their jobs and moved to the American River. Thousands of people aimed to get to California; however, it was not so easy those times. There were two ways to get to California, namely by sea or be land. Those treasure seekers, who decided to come to California by sea, were called the Argonauts. They had to either go around South America (journey lasted from five to eight months) or get to the Isthmus of Panama, cross it and wait for the ship to go to the North. By land people travelled through the California trail, from Oregon or Mexico, however, it is worth noting that these roads were difficult and dangerous.

Among those who arrived in California at the end of 1848 or at the beginning of 1849, there were a couple of thousand of Americans, who came from the Northwest of the United States, many Latin Americans (including people from Mexico, Peru, and Chile), residents of Hawaii and China (Maxwell-Long 73). People from all over the world traveled to California. It is believed that by the end of 1849 in California came about ninety thousand of people, and by 1855 more than three hundred thousand.

Not so many people became rich due to the gold rush. Simple and relatively easy production of gold was possible only in the beginning of the gold rush when the precious metal could be collected with ease. Because of this fact, the revenues dropped significantly despite the discovery of additional gold fields.

Gradually, technologies of production became more sophisticated; the expensive equipment was an essential factor. By about mid-fifties of the XIX century, the prospectors who used primitive equipment realized that it is impossible to obtain the goal using old techniques. It stimulated the development of technologies that improved and advanced the production of gold. Later such technologies were used in gold rushes in Colorado, Montana, and Alaska (Maxwell-Long 101).

It is believed that many more people in California made impressive amounts of money during the gold rush, engaged in trade rather than just gold mining. Clothes, equipment, and houses were very expensive. Merchants who sold clothes were popular.

It is commonly believed that the gold rush stimulated the invention of jeans. Jeans are the part of clothes that is the most popular nowadays. It is difficult to imagine life without jeans now, and not so many people know that jeans were invented due to the gold rush. In March 1853, Levi Strauss came to California (Lusted 82). He successfully sold clothes in New York, however, was sure that California would offer new opportunities for his business.

In 1848, son of John Sutter founded Sacramento on the territory where the first Californian gold was found. Within a few years the new city became one of the economic and transportation centers in California, and in 1854, the city became the capital of the state.

Free from immigrants who aimed to become rich and were obsessed with the gold rush, the city developed rapidly. New roads, houses, churches, hotels, and shops were built with impressive speed. In the rapidly growing California legislature was convened and adopted a constitution, and on September 9, 1850, California became the thirty-first state of the USA (Lusted 25). There are still people in California who aim to find gold. However, nowadays it is related to the entertainment and hobbies.

During the period of the gold rush, more than one hundred and twenty-five million ounces of gold (nearly four thousand tons) valued at more than 50 billion of dollars was produced in California. The biggest gold nugget found in California had a weight 195 pounds (Lusted 43).

In conclusion, it should be pointed out that it was a gold rush that has transformed California from a distant and little-known region in one of the richest states in the United States, laying the foundation for its future prosperity.

Works Cited

Friedman, Mel. The California Gold Rush . New York: Children’s, 2010. Print.

Lusted, Marcia. The California Gold Rush: A History Perspectives Book . Ann Arbor: Perspectives Library, 2015. Print.

Maxwell-Long, Thomas. Daily Life during the California Gold Rush . Santa Barbara: ABC CLIO, 2014. Print.

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IvyPanda. (2020, September 25). The California Gold Rush' History. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-california-gold-rush-history/

"The California Gold Rush' History." IvyPanda , 25 Sept. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/the-california-gold-rush-history/.

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IvyPanda . 2020. "The California Gold Rush' History." September 25, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-california-gold-rush-history/.

1. IvyPanda . "The California Gold Rush' History." September 25, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-california-gold-rush-history/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The California Gold Rush' History." September 25, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-california-gold-rush-history/.

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Course: US history   >   Unit 6

The gold rush.

• The Homestead Act and the exodusters
• The reservation system
• The Dawes Act
• Chinese immigrants and Mexican Americans in the age of westward expansion
• The Indian Wars and the Battle of the Little Bighorn
• The Ghost Dance and Wounded Knee
• Westward expansion: economic development
• Westward expansion: social and cultural development
• The American West
• The 1848 discovery of gold in California set off a frenzied Gold Rush to the state the next year as hopeful prospectors, called “forty-niners,” poured into the state.
• This massive migration to California transformed the state’s landscape and population.
• The Gold Rush was characterized by violent clashes among settlers, miners, and Native Americans over access to the land and its natural resources.

The California Gold Rush

Life as a forty-niner, violence across the land, what do you think.

• For more on the Gold Rush, see H.W. Brands, The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the New American Dream (New York: Doubleday, 2002).
• For more on the history of California, see Kevin Starr, California: A History (New York: Random House, 2005).
• See Yong Chen, Chinese San Francisco, 1850-1943: A Trans-Pacific Community (California: Stanford University Press, 2002), and Gordon H. Chang, ed. Chinese American Voices: From the Gold Rush to the Present (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006).
• For more, see Robert F. Helzer, The Destruction of the California Indians (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1974).

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Newly-discovered gold rush journal, "to the land of promise," now available.

Sal Manna — Sun, 06/18/2023 - 13:29

Author Sal Manna did not expect his January presentation about the Civil War at the Calaveras County Historical Society to eventually lead to making even more history. But Mike and Patti McCombs of Mountain Ranch were there to show him a Gold Rush journal left to them many years ago by late friend and neighbor Dorothy Nelson. Now, the publication of To The Land Of Promise: The Extraordinary California Gold Rush Journal of Lewis Meyer (Calaveras History Publishing) marks one of the last, if not the last, major first-person contributions to the history of the Gold Rush.

Nelson, Meyer’s great-granddaughter, and the McCombses, had safeguarded the account of Meyer’s 1849 voyage from New York, around Cape Horn, to San Francisco, and the following months in the goldfields, in their homes. It had never been published, in part or in whole, or made available for research purposes. 

To The Land Of Promise is a rarity, one enhanced by Manna’s addition of biographies of the Panama ’s passengers and crew. Shipmates included a famous lawman who would nab stage robber Black Bart, two founders of the city of Oakland (including its first mayor), two San Francisco pioneer printers, a well-known actor who strode the same stage with the legendary Edwin Booth, the first artist to sketch the Yosemite Valley, the architect who designed the state capitol, an Italian musician who helped give singer Lotta Crabtree her start, and the brother of the man who would become one of the most heinous serial killers in American history. There were four women too, including a different sort of California “golddigger.”

To The Land Of Promise , available through online retailers or by contacting Calaveras History Publishing at [email protected] , gives readers a personal, often fascinating, and perhaps final original glimpse into the world of a ‘49er.  

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Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America: Gold Rush

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Mark A. Eifler, Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America: Gold Rush, Journal of American History , Volume 93, Issue 3, December 2006, Pages 973–974, https://doi.org/10.2307/4486583

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The California gold rush has a free-floating existence in American history. It comes unexpectedly out of nowhere in the story of American development and disappears just as suddenly in the growing crisis of the Civil War. The musical Paint Your Wagon (1969) depicts the rush as an early Animal House (1978), and it is assumed that, like the college students of that film, most miners will grow up to live more sensible lives elsewhere.

The inclusion of the California gold rush in the History Channel series Ten Days That Shaped America suggests that the gold rush may finally get the public recognition that it deserves as part of the development of the United States. Unfortunately, the film falls far short of this goal. The film can be divided into three parts: the journey to California, the experience in California, and the rise of the transcontinental railroad.

The first weakness of the film is its obsession with the Overland Trail and lack of attention to either the Cape Horn route or the Central American route. Indeed, it seems at times to be more about the California trail than about the gold rush. The central portion on the California experience is based almost exclusively on the journals of Sarah Royce and William Swain. Nonwhite experiences are only lightly treated, and contentious issues such as the 1852 foreign miner's tax or the Chinese Exclusion Acts are never mentioned at all. The film also suffers from contradictions due to the broad generalizations of its writer and interviewees. At one point we are told that the trail was a solid line of people stretching across the nation, and you could not get lost because of the crowd. In the next sentence Sarah Royce set out from Salt Lake City, Utah, and immediately got lost. In another scene California had nothing—no society, no infrastructure, no law; later California had a Mexican society with deep roots and institutions.

The final portion of the film turns to the builders of the transcontinental railroad, especially the Central Pacifc's “Big Four” land Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Charles Crocker, and Mark Hopkins). Because of the gold rush, it indicates, America had a continental transportation system and could begin to industrialize. It would indeed be significant if the gold rush gave birth to the railroad and industrialization, but both preceded the California rush.

At points in the film, old photographs have been transformed into 3-D images that make the subjects seem to float up against the background. In one scene, the oxen pulling a wagon also seem to float above the ground. In this film the gold rush itself continues to float free, still looking for a solid explanation of its significance.

(Le-Reenactor Ben Kerns and his wagon train cross the Wyoming Prairie in Gold Rush. Courtesy of the History Channel/ Cat Gwynn .

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American Social History Project  ·    Center for Media and Learning

Miners describe life and business in the california gold rush.

Unlike earlier generations of Americans, many of the ‘49ers could read and write. Not surprisingly, thousands recorded their observations and experiences in letters and journals. Miners often reflected on changes in mining that made it difficult for ordinary people to make a fortune in the California gold fields.

Joseph Warren Wood, journal entries, February—November, 1850 

To sum up the whole mater of our winter’s labor so far, we have made nothing… How green I have been. It is too bad to speak of. I wrote home great stories about money making in California. Poor Goose! How little I knew of the true state of things… 

I am lonesome this cold dark rainy night. I have wet blankets to sleep in. I would give an ounce to crawl into my old bed at home & remain there until morning. It would feel good to feel dry and safe. My feet are wet, my back is wet & I am not well. 

John Kinkade in letters to James and Hannah Kinkade, March—September, 1850  

[The risks in setting up a mining operation are great] for in order to turn a river bud men must expend a great amount of labor, the principal part of the year without any income. So all the capital they may have collected last year is exhausted by the time they are ready for digging. 

Seldon Goff in a letter to his wife, 20 December 1850  

Mining will pay here for some time to come but it will have to be conducted differently than what it now is. I think all of the old mining ground that is now called worked out will yet pay millions of dollars by working them Systematically it will be attended with much hard labor but Capitalists will take hold of it and make money out of it. 

Robert La Mott, in a letter to his father, 25 March 1851  

It would astonish you to see, in this golden country the number of poor men that there are—men who when working for wages do well both for themselves & employers, but can never make their expenses when working for themselves… There are hundreds here now, who if they could raise their passage money would put off home & give the country a bad name. 

John Kinkade in a letter to James Kinkade, 1854  

All I have managed to make is a comfortable liveing [sic.]. And that is as much as the mining population can average if not a little more. Mining is now Reduced to a system. What is commonly termed placer diggings being principly exhausted. The miners are seeking in the bowels of the mountains for primitive leads. This is the most uncertain system of mining yet followed. But the miner who is fortunate enough to strike it reeps this immense fortune. If he is not successful in finding a leed his only reward is an empty pocket and compleet disgust. Besides a very large amount of personal experience.

Historical Era

Antebellum America (1816-1860)

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History of The Gold Rush in California

• Categories: American History Californian Gold Rush Mexico

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Published: Nov 5, 2020

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History of california, heading west, life in gold rush california, works cited.

• Brands, H. W. (2011). The age of gold: The California Gold Rush and the new American dream. Knopf.
• Burns, R. W. (2004). Gold in the shadow of slavery: Ethiopia and California in the 1850s. The American Historical Review, 109(3), 692-719.
• Deverell, W. F., & Igler, D. (2014). A companion to California history. Wiley Blackwell.
• Gudde, E. G. (1998). California gold camp names: Origins of geographic names of interest to gold-seekers. University of California Press.
• Hittell, T. H. (2011). A history of the city of San Francisco and incidentally of the state of California. Applewood Books.
• Lingenfelter, R. E. (1978). The rush to California: A bibliography of the literature on the gold rush in California and the overland journey to the gold fields, 1848-1852. University of California Press.
• Rawls, J. J. (1999). California: An interpretive history. McGraw-Hill Education.
• Rohrbough, M. J. (1998). Days of gold: The California Gold Rush and the American nation. University of California Press.
• Sides, H. (2006). Blood and thunder: An epic of the American West. Anchor Books.
• Starr, K. (2005). California: A history. Modern Library.

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History: america: the gold rush.

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Historical reading list: the california gold rush.

Dr. James Shigley

May 29, 2017

Gold was discovered in California by James Marshall at Sutter’s sawmill on the South Fork of the American River near Coloma (36 miles northeast of Sacramento) on Jan. 24, 1848. The first published accounts of the find appeared in “The Californian,” a San Francisco newspapers, on March 15, 1848. The news was first met with disbelief by those who doubted this valuable metal could just be picked up off the ground.   

Subsequent confirmation of the initial reports of the extent of the gold region set off a rush. 

Adventurers from the U.S. and around the world traveled to California to seek their fortunes. Excitement at their financial prospects was compounded by a desire to get there as quickly as possible. They borrowed money, mortgaged their property, and spent their life savings to make the arduous journey. Some made their fortunes, but many did not. 

Most began their journey in the Eastern U.S. and departed via three routes: 

By ship to Central America, followed by a land crossing at the Isthmus of Panama, and then another ship to San Francisco (three to five months in 1850). 

By ship around Cape Horn in South America and on to San Francisco (five to eight months). 

By travel westward across the plains from the U.S. or via Mexico (three to four months).

This arrival of thousands of “prospectors” transformed and accelerated the development of the territory of California (including its admission as the 31st state in 1850) within a few years. Mining camps and towns sprang up throughout the interior region, with towns of Sacramento and Stockton as the gateways to the mining areas. Numerous reports on the occurrence and mining of gold along the western side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains were written, and a number of participants later published accounts of their mining exploits.

Gold seekers mined by panning in the rivers and streams, using the flowing water through an oblong box that was rocked back and forth, to carry off the lighter sediments. High-pressure hydraulic hoses were later used to wash gold from hillsides. Eventually, dredging of the larger rivers was undertaken, and underground mines were dug to reach the gold ore. Gold mining in California reached its peak production in 1852, and gradually declined thereafter.  

How to Use this Reading List

This reading list was compiled to give you an opportunity to learn more about the history of the California Gold Rush. A number of the articles were published in the 1800s and early 1900s – when many classical gem deposits of historical importance were discovered – and gemology and mineralogy became sciences. The list is presented in chronological order to emphasize the development of ideas over time. The list is not comprehensive, but a compilation of the some interesting gemological information that has often been forgotten or overlooked.

Many of the articles exist in the public domain and can be found online at digital libraries such as Hathitrust, Internet Archive, or other digital repositories. More recent publications can often be found in libraries, including the Richard T. Liddicoat Gemological Library. Abstracts of these articles can usually be found on the website of the original journal or magazine, and the article itself is often available for purchase from the publisher.

Regarding the GIA library’s holdings and on-site access, please contact the GIA library in Carlsbad.

Gold, Gold , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 4, No. 1, p. 2, (1848). An early report about six months after the event “of the discovery of an immense bed of gold one hundred miles in extent, on the American Fork and Feather rivers”.

The Golden Land , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 4, No. 13, p. 98, (1848). “A short time ago, the most flattering accounts were received in this city from California about the mountains of gold and the valleys flowing with silver. Some believed it was a joke, while others believed it to be a ‘hue and cry’ for some speculative purpose, and to the latter implication we must plead guilty. We believed that the accounts received here a short time ago about vessels being deserted by their crews and houses by their inhabitants, who had proceeded to the El Dorado valley, were all a hoax or something worse. But it seems, after all, that Madam Rumor sometimes tells true tales. The golden hills of California it seems are not imaginary elevations, but bona fide treasure houses.”

Gold and Gold Washings , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 4, No. 15, p. 114, (1848). “The gold region of California is said to extend on both sides of the Sierra Nevada as far south as the headwaters of the San Joaquin River – a distance of 400 miles in length and 100 in breadth.” A short description of how the gold is found and mined is provided.

California Gold , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 4, No. 18, p. 141, (1849). “The gold excitement is as strong in our city as ever. In one day last week ten vessels sailed from this port.” The report mentions many different types of people are traveling to the gold fields. “It is calculated that no less than 150,000 emigrants will be on their way to California from the States in two months.”

Gold-Finding in California , Author unknown, Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, Vol. 11, No. 265, pp. 61-62, (1849). This is one of the first descriptions of the California gold rush published in Europe. Following the discovery in the spring of 1848, the area east of Sacramento became “a scene of busy gold finding, for which perhaps no parallel exists in the history of any country. One is at first tempted to suppose the whole affair a popular delusion, or a deliberate exaggeration, after a well-known transatlantic manner, but such theories are no longer tenable … As soon as it was known that gold was literally to be had for the lifting of certain parts of the country, an almost universal abandonment of the common pursuits of life took place.”

“It will remain to be seen whether this extraordinary windfall will prove of any serious permanent benefit to America or any of her citizens. History has shown that gold-finding has never yet been a permanently advantageous pursuit. If America thrives by picking up this precious metal in the wilds of California, she will be an exception from a pretty well-established rule.”

America , Author unknown, Gentleman’s Magazine, Vol. 186, (February), p. 192, (1849). A brief report about the gold rush, which begins as, “The new world, and we may add the old also, has been thrown into a whirl of excitement by the abundant discovery of surface gold on the plains of Upper California.”

The Gold-Washings of California , Author unknown, New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 85, No. 338, pp. 252-254, (1849). A discussion of a report of Edwin Bryant, a resident of San Francisco, about the future settlement of California by those who were coming to prospect for gold.

Account of the Gold Region , Author unknown, Littell’s Living Age, Vol. 20, No. 248, pp. 305-308, (1849). The account of a newspaper reporter from New Orleans who visited San Francisco and then the gold diggings around Sutter’s Mill in the summer of 1848.

The Apoplexy of Gold , Author unknown, Littell’s Living Age, Vol. 20, No. 249, p. 371, (1849). A discussion of the frenzied excitement brought on by the discovery of gold.

California Fever in England , Author unknown, Littell’s Living Age, Vol. 20, No. 249, p. 371-372, (1849). A discussion of advertisements in British newspapers for the arrangements of ships to transport fortune-seekers to California.

Observations on California , C.S. Lyman, American Journal of Science and Arts, Second Series, Vol. 7, No. 20, pp. 290-292 and 305-309, (1849). Reports from a series of letters written by the author after a visit to the gold fields in the summer and fall of 1848. A similar account by the same author appeared in Philosophical Transactions, Vol. 35, No. 238, pp. 470-474, (1849).

California , Author unknown, Gentleman’s Magazine, Vol. 186, p. 529, (1849). A brief report on the gold rush, with mention of vessels arriving the preceding months in Panama carrying large amounts of gold.

Calif[ornia] Ruin , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 4, No. 41, p. 322, (1849). The difficulties and dangers of the journey to California, and of life for those in the gold-mining camps, are described.

The Gold-Finders – A Vision of California , J.E. Carpenter, New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 86, No. 343, pp. 302-303, (1849). A poem about the gold rush.

California , Author unknown, Littell’s Living Age, Vol. 23, No. 284, pp. 152-153, (1849). “Even amidst the revolutionary heavings of Europe, we have considered the grasp which has been taken of the Pacific, to be the great event of our time.”  

“Let no one think of coming to California to dig gold who is not willing to work hard, work early and work late, work in the sun and in the mud, cook his own food, wait upon himself, sleep on ‘terra firma,’ risk his health, and endure an amount of hardship…”

“Multitudes will come only to be disappointed, and will return with far fewer pence than they crossed Panama with, or doubled Cape Horn. Before young men and old men give up good situations, sell out and emigrate to California, let them count the cost, and not blindly rush into poverty when they may fancy they are rushing into a fortune.”

The California Mystery in England , Author unknown, Littell’s Living Age, Vol. 23, No. 284, pp. 153-155, (1849). “We are free to confess that our most careful researches have not, as yet, sufficed to enlighten us adequately respecting the actual conditions of that mysterious region to which the adventurous swarms of two worlds have now, for nearly a twelvemonth, been drafted. We hear of the departures of scores of vessels for San Francisco; and tide sets in the same direction, we believe, from half the harbors on the face of the globe. Yet, when we endeavor to ascertain … the prospects of this attractive province, we still find ourselves as wholly in the dark as before the first discovery of its mines.”

“It seems that the rivers and ravines do undoubtedly contain supplies of gold which may, by comparison, be described as almost inexhaustible; for the precious metal has never before, we believe, been found in such abundance, or in such purity, so near the surface of the earth.”

California News – Gold, Gold! , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 5, No. 9, p. 66, (1849). A report of the discovery of visible veins of gold in reddish quartz.

Extraordinary Discovery in California , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 5, No. 11, p. 82, (1849). A report of a discovery of underground mine workings, at a place called Murphy’s Diggings, that extend 200 feet within the mountain and were made by some ancient people.

Houses for California , Author unknown, Littell’s Living Age, Vol. 23, No. 290, pp. 450-451, (1849). “The rapid settlement of California under the influence of the gold fever has given rise to a traffic of a novel character, namely, the exportation of … buildings of every description … ready for erection upon their arrival at their destination.”

Étude Comparative des Sables Aurifères de la Californie, de la Nouvelle-Grenada et de l’Oural [Comparative Analysis of the Gold-Bearing Sands of California, New Grenada (Colombia) and the Urals (Russia)] , A. Dufrénoy, Journal et Annales des Mines, Series 4, Vol. 16, pp. 111-126, (1849). A comparative study is given of three gold deposits by a famous French mining geologist.

The Gold Seeker’s Manual , Author unknown, Punch Magazine, Vol. 16, p. 64, (1849). 

“What class ought to start for the Diggings: Persons who having nothing to lose, except their lives; and it would be as well they should start without these, if it were possible, as they are not unlikely to lose them in California.

Things you should not take with you to the Diggings: A level of comforts, a taste for civilization, an appetite, a conscience, a respect for other people’s throats, and a value for our own.

Things you will find useful at the Diggings: A revolving pistol, some knowledge of treating gun-shot wounds, a toleration of strange bed-fellows, a determination to hold your own, and grab at everyone else’s, and the power of eating, drinking, and wearing gold-dust.

The sort of society that you will meet with at the Diggings: Those for whom the United States are not big enough; those for whom England is too hot; those who come to clean out the gold, and those who come to clean out the gold-finders.

What is the best thing to do when you get to the Diggings: Go back again.

How gold may best be extracted: By supplying, at exorbitant prices, the wants of those who gather it.”

On the California Gold Region , C.S. Lyman, Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, Vol. 48, No. 95, pp. 151-157, (1850). The author describes the topography and occurrence of gold.

Gold Region of California , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 5, No. 29, p. 226, (1850). The gold region is described as covering an area of “between four and five hundred miles long, and forty to fifty miles broad, following the line of the Sierra Nevada.” The occurrence of gold is also discussed.

Crystallized Gold from California , F. Alger, American Journal of Science, Vol. 60, No. 28, pp. 101-106, (1850). The article presents a description of some remarkable gold crystals, the largest being 0.75 inches across. The exact origin of the crystals is uncertain, but they had been purchased from various individuals returning to San Francisco from the mining areas. A presentation given on Dec. 3, 1850 by the author is summarized in the Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. 2, pp. 246-250, (1852).

State and Prospects of California , Author unknown, Chambers’s Edinburgh Journal, Vol. 14, No. 340, pp. 11-15, (1850). The author describes the early years of the gold rush, including the routes to California, and the situation in the mining camps.

California – The Gold Hunters , Author unknown, Eclectic Magazine, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 289-301, (1850). This article summarizes books published by two individuals who worked in the California gold fields in 1849 and published their experiences as gold hunters.

The Age of Gold , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 6, No. 20, p. 155, (1851). The development of California as the result of the gold rush is described. The population of less than 5,000 in 1846 had risen to almost half a million, with ships coming to and going from San Francisco to all parts of the world. “The history of the world presents nothing to be compared with the rapidity of progress, and the development of the resources of the Pacific Coast.”

The Age of Gold , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 7, No. 52, p. 410, (1852). “The discovery of gold in California has exerted, and is exerting, a powerful influence on the destiny of nations.”

On the Gold Regions of California , J.S. Wilson, Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 308-321, (1854). Based a residence of nearly three years in the gold fields, the author describes the occurrence of gold at a number of locations along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

Geology – Gold , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 10, No. 7, p. 51, (1854). Some ideas on the geologic origin of gold in California are described.

California through English Eyes , Author unknown, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 11, No. 61, pp. 18-33, (1855). This is a summary of a book written by an Englishman about his experiences traveling to California and through different areas of the state.

Observations on the Extent of the Gold Region of California and Oregon , W.P. Blake, American Journal of Science and Arts, Ser. 2, Vol. 70, No. 58, pp. 72-85, (1855). The author, a geologist, provides one of the first geological descriptions on the gold region of California. The same article was published in the Mining Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 1 (July), pp. 32-45, (1855).

Mines and Mining in California , J.B. Trask, Mining Magazine, Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 193-215, (1855). This article presents a technical description of placer gold mining in the state.

Mining for Gold in California , Author unknown, Hutchings’ California Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp- 2-14, (1857). This article presents a description of the mining tools and methods used to find and recover gold. 

“What enchanting visions of the good to be accomplished – of the pleasures to be enjoyed – of the greatness to be achieved – or the triumphs to be won, influenced [the adventurer’s] decision and turned his thoughts and footsteps towards the Land of Gold. No wonder that his impressions were somewhat vague, and his knowledge limited and indefinite; as but little was then known of the country, manner of living, the labor required, or methods in use for working the mines. Even to this day, with all that has been written, and all the pictorial illustrations which have been published, those who have not actually visited the mines, have but a very incorrect conception of what they are, or how they are worked.”

The Discovery of Gold in California , Author unknown, Hutchings’ California Magazine, Vol. 2, No. 5, pp. 193-202, (1857). Personal accounts of the discovery of gold that were written by John Sutter and James Marshall.

Die Placeres und Goldführenden Gänge Californiens [The Placers and Gold-Bearing Rocks of California] , Ramdohr, (first name unknown) and C.F. Riehn, Zeitschrift für das Berg-, Hütten- und Salinenwesen in dem Preussischen Staate, Vol. 4, pp. 104-132, (1857). The authors provide a description of the gold placers and deposits.

California Gold , A.P. Molitor, Hutchings’ California Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 212-217, (1859). The author provides a description of the gold as it is typically found in California.

How We Got Gold in California, by a Miner in the Year ’49 , W.V. Wells, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 20, No. 119, pp. 598-616, (1860). A description of the methods used to recover gold in California during the decade following its discovery.

Terrains Aurifères de la Californie [Gold-Bearing Terrains of California] , P. Laur, Revue des Deux Mondes, Vol. 43, pp. 453-472, (1863). This article discusses the exploitation and recovery of gold in California. A summary in English of the article was published in the Mechanic’s Magazine, Vol. 78, (13 February), pp. 112-114 and (6 March), pp. 169-172, (1863).

California Mining in 1862 , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 8, No. 9, p. 135, (1863). Due to the changing occurrence of the deposits, several innovations for gold mining and recovery are discussed, including the use of hydraulic-pressure hoses, amalgamating with mercury and blasting.

Gold-Mining in California , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 10, No. 8, p. 118, (1864). Innovations in gold mining methods and equipment are briefly described.

“Gold Mines and Mining in California,” J.S. Hittell, G. and G.E. Desbarats, Quebec, 45 pp., (1864). This short book contains a description of the methods used to recover gold in California.

Les Placers de la Californie [The Placers of California] , L. Simonin, Revue des Cours Scientifiques de la France et de l’Étranger, Vol. 4, No. 20, pp. 311-318, (1867). A description of placer gold mines in California.

Gold Mining in California , Author unknown, Scientific American, Vol. 18, No. 13, pp. 194-195, (1868). The mining of gold along ancient buried riverbeds is discussed. Sometimes the gold-bearing sediments were so compacted that the ore had to first be crushed to recover the gold.

Gold in California , J.A. Phillips, Quarterly Journal of Science, Vol. 5, (July), pp. 314-323, (1868). A description of the occurrences of gold, which extend along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains, from the Tejon Pass in the south to the northerly end of the state, is presented.

Notes on the Chemical Geology of the Goldfields of California , J.A. Phillips, London, Edinburgh and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, Ser. 4, Vol. 36, No. 244, pp. 321-336, and No. 245, p. 422-438, (1868). A description of the gold fields, based on the author’s visits to the region.

Charakterbilder aus den kalifornischen Goldgegenden [Character Sketches of the California Gold Areas] , L. Simonin, Charakterbilder der Erd- une Völkerkunde, Vol. 1, pp. 186-192, (1868). This article presents a number of illustrations of California and life in the gold fields.

Die Goldlagerstätten Californiens [The California Gold Deposits] , D. Burkhart, Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie, und Palaeontologie, pp. 21-50 and 128-182, (1870). A geologic description of the alluvial gold deposits.

A Gold-Digger’s Story , G. Fullerton, Temple Bar, Vol. 28, (February), pp. 349-358, (1870). A poem about the gold rush.

Hydraulic Mining in California , Author unknown, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 19, No. 10, pp. 145-146, No. 11, pp. 161-163, No. 12, pp. 181-183, No. 14, pp. 221-223, No. 15, pp. 241-243, No. 16, pp. 265-266, (1875). Illustrations and descriptions of the hydraulic methods used in California for recovering gold, presented in several installments.

Hydraulic Mining in California , A.J. Bowie, Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, Vol. 6, (May), pp. 27-100, (1877). This article presents a detailed description of the hydraulic mining of gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

The Reminiscences of a Gold-Hunter , W.H. Thomes, Ballou’s Monthly Magazine, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 213-225, (1882). The experiences of a group of individuals from New England who purchased a ship to take them to the California gold fields.

Gold and California , T. Donaldson, International Review, Vol. 13, (October), pp. 309-321, (1882). The author discusses the economic and social effects of the gold rush on the development of California.

Hydraulic Mining in California , T. Evans, Century Magazine, Vol. 25, No. 3, pp. 325-338, (1883). The use of hydraulic and other mining techniques to recover gold in California is discussed by the author.

Ueber die Goldgewinnung in Californien [About the Gold Recovery in California] , E. Reyer, Zeitschrift für das Berg-, Hütten- und Salinenwesen in dem Preussischen Staate, Vol. 34, pp. 1-28, (1886). The article presents a review of gold mining in the state.

Old Times in California , W.T. Sherman, North American Review, Vol. 148, No. 388, pp. 269-279, (1889).  The author, who later became a famous general in the American Civil War, served as a military officer in California in the late 1840s and was part of the military governor’s inspection that officially confirmed that gold was discovered in 1848. In this article, he describes the early history of the state and the gold discovery.

Life in California Before the Gold Discovery , J. Bidwell, Century Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 2, pp. 163-183, (1890), and Frémont in the Conquest of California , Century Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 518-525, (1891). These two articles by the same author give a description of the history of California in the 1840s by an individual who arrived there in 1841.

The Discovery of Gold in California , J.S. Hittell, Century Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 525-536 (1891). A recounting of the history of the gold discovery at Sutter’s Mill, based on historical records of the individuals involved.

The Conquest of California , J.C. Frémont, Century Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 917-928, (1891). The famous explorer recounts the history of the state in the 1840s.

Californiana , E.C. Kemble, Century Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 4, pp. 537-539, (1891). First-hand accounts of the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill.

Geology of the Mother Lode Gold Belt , H.W. Fairbanks, American Geologist, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 209-222, (1891). A geological description of the gold fields.

Pioneer Mining in California , E.G. Waite, Century Magazine, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 127-141, (1891). A description of gold mining by an individual who participated in the gold rush.

Cape Horn and Cooperative Mining in ’49 , W.B. Farwell, Century Magazine, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 579-594, (1891). This article describes a joint stock company formed by 150 individuals in New England to purchase a ship that would take them around Cape Horn to the California gold fields.

The Old California Prospector , D. de Quille, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 52, No. 20, pp. 56-568, (1891). The recollections of gold prospectors from the 1850s and 1860s.

To California by Panama in ’49 , J.H. Pratt, Century Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 901-917, (1891). The author describes an ocean trip from New York City to Central America, an overland trek across the Isthmus of Panama, and then a voyage by ship north to San Francisco and the gold fields.

California’s Discovery of Gold in 1841 , J. Murray, Overland Monthly, Ser. 2, Vol. 19, No. 113, 524-529, (1892). The author, a bank employee in New York, describes reports of small amounts of gold being deposited that had been found in Southern California in 1841, several years before the official discovery north of Sacramento in 1848.

Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra Nevada , H.W. Turner, American Geologist, Vol. 15, No. 6, pp. 371-379, (1895). The author presents a geological description of the gold-bearing gravels along the slopes of the Sierra Nevada.

Characteristic Features of California Gold-Quartz Veins , W. Lindgren, Geological Society of America Bulletin, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 221-240, (1895). This article gives a geological description of the gold-quartz vein deposits.

The Age of the Auriferous Gravels of the Sierra Nevada , W. Lindgren, Journal of Geology, Vol. 4, No. 8, pp. 881-906, (1896). This study attempts to determine the geologic age of the gold-bearing gravels in relation to other rocks of the Sierra Nevada.

The year 1898 marked the semi-centennial of the discovery of gold by James Marshall 50 years previously. A number of articles were published that year to celebrate the historic event.

California’s Jubilee – The Semi-Centennial of Gold, S.G. Wilson, Overland Monthly, Vol. 31, No. 182, pp. 165-170, (1898). This article describes the efforts of the Society of California Pioneers to conserve information and materials related to the history of the state and the important role gold miners from 1849 played in the organization.

The Discovery of Gold in California , M. Bellamy, Overland Monthly, Vol. 31, No. 182, pp. 161-164, (1898). The author describes events associated with the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Sawmill.

Early Days on the Golden Yuba , H.L. Wells, Pacific Monthly, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 261-263, (1898). Recollections of gold mining along the Yuba River in California.

Mining for Gold in the Auriferous Gravels of California, U.S.A. , G.K. Radford, Transactions of the Institution of Mining Engineers, Vol. 17, (26 May), pp. 452-481, (1899). This article presents a detailed description of the mining methods used in California to recover gold from gravel sediments.

Origin and Age of Certain Gold “Pocket” Deposits in Northern California , O.H. Hershey, American Geologist, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 38-43, (1899). The author describes the geologic setting of gold deposits in Trinity County in northern California. A summary of this article by the same author appeared in Mining and Scientific Press, Vol. 101, No. 23, pp. 741-742, (1910).

Gold-Bearing Lodes of the Sierra Costa Mountains in California , O.H. Hershey, American Geologist, Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 76-96, (1900). A description of the mining region in the Klamath Mountains in northwestern California.

The Mother Lode Region of California , W.H. Storms, California State Mining Bureau, No. 18, 154 pp., (1900). This publication provides a detailed description of the Mother Lode gold belt along the western side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Observations on Mother Lode Gold-Deposits, California , W.A. Prichard, Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, Vol. 34, pp. 454-466, (1904). The author describes gold deposits that stretch 100 miles or more in length through Amador, Calaveras and Tuolumne counties.

The Eldorado of the Great West , A. Williams, The Romance of Mining, C.A. Pearson Ltd., London, pp.44-68, (1905). In this chapter from a book, the author presents a description of the history and development of gold mining operations in California.

Largest Hydraulic Gold Mine in the World , H.H. Livingston, Technical World Magazine, Vol. 7, No. 5, pp. 537-541, (1906). A report of a hydraulic mine in Trinity County, California.

Gold-Dredging Practice in California , R. Sibley, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 85, No. 22, pp. 1083-1088, (1908). A description of dredging for gold along the Yuba and other rivers in California.

Possibilities of the Mother Lode in Depth , W.H. Storms, Engineering and Scientific Press, Vol. 102, No. 21, pp. 646-648, (1911). Discussion of the possibility of rich primary gold deposits along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

The Tertiary Gravels of the Sierra Nevada of California , W. Lindgren, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper, No. 733, 226 pp., (1911). The geologic origin and distribution of gold along the Sierra Nevada is discussed in this professional paper. A summary of the article is presented in Science Magazine, Vol. 44, No. 1141, pp. 686-687, (1916).

Dredging for Gold in California , L.H. Eddy, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 92, No. 2, pp. 65-69, (1911). The dredging of placer deposits occurs mainly in Butte, Yuba, and Sacramento counties.

The California Gold Dredge , R.E. Cranston, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 93, No. 7, pp. 359-363, No. 8, pp. 417-420, No. 9, pp. 455-458, and No. 10, pp. 507-511, (1912). The author describes the dredging techniques used in California rivers.

Northern California Gold Dredging , L.H. Eddy, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 93, No. 12, pp. 607-610, (1912). This is a short report on gold dredging in Siskiyou County.

The Mother Lode Region, California , L.H. Eddy, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 95, No. 8, pp. 405-410, (1913). The author describes the Mother Lode region, which is about 70 miles long and three to six miles wide, and extends in a northwest direction across five counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Marshall’s Discovery of Gold , R.B. Mason, Overland Monthly, Vol. 68, No. 6, pp. 479-491, (1916). A republication of the official government report of a visit in the summer of 1848 to the gold placer mines in California.

Gold Mining in California , G.J. Young, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 109, No. 7, pp. 439-447, (1920). The author reviews the status of gold mining in the state, which was experiencing a decline in drift, placer and hydraulic mining.

Largest Capacity Gold-Mining Dredge in the World , H.G. Peake, Engineering and Mining Journal, Vol. 109, No. 20, pp.  1106-1109, (1920). A description of a large dredge operating in Trinity County.

James W. Marshall, Discoverer of Gold , P.B. Bekeart, Society of California Pioneers Quarterly, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 3-43, (1924). Publication not seen.

Discovery of Gold in California , T.A. Rickard, University of California Chronicle, Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 141-169, (1928). Publication not seen.

Gold – The Key to the West , H. Dye, Overland Monthly, Vol. 86, No. 6, pp. 176 and 190, (1928). The discovery of gold in 1847 in California was a principal event in the development of the western part of the United States.

The Mother Lode System of California , A. Knopf, US Geological Survey Professional Paper, No. 157, 88 pp., (1929).  This professional paper describes the geological setting of the Mother Lode.

The Mother Lode Country , O.P. Jenkins, (Ed.), California Division of Mines Bulletin, No. 141, 164 pp., (1948). A geologic guidebook to locations along State Highway 49, which runs along the Mother Lode gold belt.

The Discovery of Gold in California , D.C. Cutter, California Geology, Vol. 34, No. 6, pp. 125-128, (1981). This short article summarizes gold discoveries in California.

Gold Mining Activity in California , R.C. Loyd, D. Bane, California Geology, Vol. 34, No. 8, pp. 169-174, (1981). The authors provide a review of gold production from 1848 until 1980.

History of Mining and Milling Methods in California , C.A. Logan, California Geology, Vol. 34, No. 9, pp. 193-196, (1981). This article describes the mining methods used to recover gold from placers and quartz veins.

California Gold , W. Leicht, D. Leicht, Lapidary Journal, Vol. 44, No. 12, pp. 26-48, (1991). This article contains photographs of some of the most famous gold specimens found in California, and information on the mines where they were found.

A Glimpse of Life in the Gold Country , J. Doble, California Geology, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 104-115, (1994). This article presents excerpts of a journal kept by a New Yorker who traveled to California and worked in the gold field in the early 1850s.

Specimen Gold Mines of California: An Overview of Notable Localities and Specimens , W. Leicht and D. Leicht, Rocks & Minerals, Vol. 69, No. 6, pp. 371-378, (1994). This article contains photographs of a number of spectacular California gold specimens.

Mining the Malakoff: An Overview , R. Peterson, International California Mining Journal, Vol. 65, No. 9, pp. 43-48, (1996). The Malakoff Diggings, located near Nevada City, operated between 1851 and 1884, was the largest and richest hydraulic gold mine in the world.

The Ironic Tragedy of James Marshall , Author unknown, International California Mining Journal, Vol. 66, No. 5, pp. 18-23, (1997). The individual who discovered gold at Sutter’s Sawmill in 1848 never benefited from the California gold rush, and died largely forgotten and in poverty in 1885.

California’s Gold Rush , S. Clamage, International California Mining Journal, Vol. 67, No. 8, pp. 5-10, (1998). The author describes the early years of the gold rush, and the changes it brought about in California.

Mining the Mother Lode and the Northern Mines , R.H. Peterson, International California Mining Journal, Vol. 67, No. 8, pp. 40-44, (1998). While the gold rush started out “as an adventure in individual enterprise,” within a few years “it passed through a number of evolutionary states designed to maximize industrial production and profit.”  In this article, the author traces the development of gold mining methods.

Dr. James Shigley is a distinguished research fellow at the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California.

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