DISCOVER
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That's exactly what happened during the California Gold Rush when Sam Brannan issued his now-famous cry: "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" as he marched through the streets of 1848 San Francisco. Brannan's motivation for sharing this extraordinary news? He'd stocked his stores in San Francisco and New Helvetia (which is now historic Sutter's Fort) with all the shovels, whiskey, canvas material, food stuffs, and other mining supplies he could get his hands on! And he was buying up land in both places! |
Clearly the man knew how to take advantage of a money making potential! And, as it happened, Samuel Brannan was the first to become a millionaire as a result of the California Gold Rush, but he did it by mining the miners (selling them the tools and supplies they needed), not the gold!
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It all began on a dreary day in January, 1848 - the 24th, to be exact.
James Marshall was the foreman of John Sutter's lumber mill project along the South Fork of the American River.
While inspecting the tailrace (along with oft-forgotten Peter Wimmer), he spotted what looked like gold pieces in the water.
He collected the samples and took them to Sutter for testing - not only had Marshall discovered gold, but Mr. Sutter determined it to be gold of the highest quality ("at least 23 carats").
Word spread and before long, masses of people from all over the world were forging new routes to the California goldfields in the hopes of getting to California as quickly as they could and acquiring overnight riches.
The California Gold Rush was officially on!
Not surprisingly, neither James Marshall nor John Sutter wanted word of Marshall's find to get around, but not for the reason you might suspect.
Sutter had planned to construct an agricultural empire in California (in fact, the lumber from the mill was needed to complete his flour mill expansion).
Sutter didn't want his plans ruined by a bunch of gold-grubbing prospectors overrunning his land in their efforts to get rich quick.
But even in the scantily-populated California of 1848, it was impossible to keep such a find under wraps.
Within two weeks of the discovery, the cat was out of the bag: from the workers at the mill, word spread to the men working at Sutter's Fort and - as Sutter had feared would happen - his men began to abandon their posts in favor of the easy riches they envisioned finding at the mill.
The earliest gold-seekers were the Argonauts during the summer of 1848. They came first from Sutter's Fort, then from San Francisco (the California Star - owned by Sam Brannan, who was still spreading the word - called San Francisco a "ghost town" the day after Brannan's excursion with his vial of gold and his provocative cry).
By summer's end prospectors were arriving from outside California: Oregon, the Sandwich Islands, Mexico, South America. Everyone was finding gold, they were finding it easily, and there was lots of it!
Word continued to spread. Nearly 90,000 newcomers from all over the world had come to California - most seeking gold - when 1949 ended. These new prospectors came to be call 49ers, a term that was derived from the year 1849, and the California Gold Country was born!
Sutter's Fort was the jumping off place for getting to the goldfields. But how did they get to Sutter's Fort?
Those who arrived in San Francisco came Around the Horn
Having arrived in San Francisco, they still had to make their way to the new city of Sacramento (where Sutter's Fort was located) by way of the Sacramento River
Then there were those who came Overland by Covered Wagon - arriving more or less directly at Sutter's Fort
Once they arrived in what we now call Old Sacramento, these Argonauts, these 49ers, rushed off willy-nilly, without a clue in the world about how to find gold!
Heck, they didn't even know what it looked like!
But they learned as they followed what was to become Highway 49 (the Gold Rush Trail).
They learned what to look for and where to look for it.
They learned about gold panning and they invented new gold mining methods.
Some became rich, others were broken by the experience. But regardless of personal effect on individual people, the California Gold Rush changed the world forever!
Continue to Discover the California Gold Rush here:
The Discovery of Gold in California
Explore the site of Sutter's Mill, where gold was first discovered!
California Goldfield Routes
Want to know how the 49ers got to California?
The Gold Rush Trail
Follow in the footsteps of the gold-seekers of 1849.
Visit California Gold Rush Sites
Many of the sites that were important to the California Gold Rush have been preserved or restored. Visit them to experience the Gold Rush for yourself!
Panning for Gold
Or try your hand at panning for gold, just like the 49ers did! Every little bit helps in this recession!!
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