Imagine digging in the base of a river when you suddenly come across something shiny in the water. Could it be what you think it is? What if it was gold? Would you be rich; could there be more gold in that river or in the area? All of these questions sprang up when gold nuggets were discovered in the Sacramento Valley in 1848. Naturally, this discovery sparked the Gold Rush, a time period in the history of the United States that contributed significantly to the increase in California’s population leading to its statehood. The Gold Rush peaked in 1852, but there was a total of two billion dollars’ worth of gold extracted from the area during the entire period.
The first discovery of gold occurred just as was mentioned in the beginning of this feature. James Wilson Marshall was a carpenter originally from New Jersey who was building a water-powered sawmill for John Sutter, a German-born Swiss citizen and founder of the colony Nueva Helvetia, the future city of Sacramento. He was at the base of the American River by the Sierra Nevada Mountains when he spotted flakes of gold. Naturally, just days after the discovery, the news spread that there was a large quantity of gold to be found. It was during this time that the Mexican-American War ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and California officially belonged to the United States.
By the middle of June, more than three quarters of the population in the area left town and headed for the gold mines. As news continued to spread, there were migrants from other areas including Oregon, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and even China. The East Coast, though originally skeptical, started to arrive after December of 1848 after President Polk reported on the success of the abundance of gold. By 1849, many men had borrowed money, mortgaged their homes, or spent their life savings just to head out to California. There were thousands of miners who were called the ‘49ers. By this time, the original population of California was overrun by the non-native population estimated at 100,000. This was at the end of 1849. The non-native population had been 20,000 at the end of 1848 and only a small 800 back at the beginning of 1848.
With the massive amounts of people coming into the area, gold mining towns sprung up to help accommodate the influx. These towns had everything from shops to saloons and brothels all looking to make some money from those out searching for gold. These towns were also known for their gambling, prostitution, and violence despite a growing economy. This influx of people into California sped up the admission of the state into the Union at the thirty-first state in 1849. California entered as a free state. However, as most of us know, all good things come to an end. And just as easily as it had come, by 1850, all of the gold in California disappeared. Gold became more difficult to reach while the mining continued throughout the 1850’s, reaching its peak in 1852 and declining thereafter.
