California Gold Rush Pages

W HEN AND WHERE WAS GOLD DISCOVERED IN C ALIFORNIA ? John Sutter was a pioneer who settled in California in 1839 He was given land by the Mexican government (where Sacramento is today) Originally hired James Marshall to build a sawmill to turn the timber on his land into lumber and sell it In January 1848 Marshall was working and saw sparkling yellow pebbles in the water, which turned out to be gold Soon people swarmed John Sutter’s land and he couldn’t stop them President Polk announced that gold had been found in California In 1849 thousands of gold hunters packed their bags and headed for California

H OW DID THE FORTY - NINERS GET TO C ALIFORNIA ? 1. By ship around the tip of South America into the Pacific Ocean. Then sail north to California. This long, expensive trip took at least three months. 2. Take a ship from Mexico or Panama. From there hike overland to the Pacific coast. Then board another ship and sail to California. This route was also expensive, and a person could not take much baggage. 3. Go to California by land across western trails in covered wagons.

T RAVELING TO C ALIFORNIA Many Died of Weather Issues Who would they encounter along the way? How did they react? The miners were very hard on any land they encountered Muddied streams and ruined fishing Chopped down trees for cabins, dams, and mine shafts Salt Lake City became a popular stopping place Mormons in this community were kind to travelers and provided one of the only stopping points along the trails

H OW DID THE G OLD R USH CHANGE C ALIFORNIA ? People came from all over the world for the gold Direct sailings from European ports Chinese South America Mexico When gold was discovered 6,000 people lived in California, by the end of 1849 there were 65,000 people, in 1852 there were 250,000 people. In 1852 $81 million was mined from California

L IFE AS A MINER Life was very rough, they spent every possible moment looking for gold Cooked over open fires and ate on the run Few hotels, and often not enough room Dirty work and few washing facilities Few actually found gold Usually only the first ones there If they did find some it was often stolen by thieves Other Services Needed Often the ones who gained the most did not get it from gold Service providers Farmers Doctors Lawyers Bankers Storekeepers Sawmills Saloons Hotels