1. 1850

2.  Before California’s Gold Rush in 1849, San Francisco was a tiny settlement.  In fact, the population from 1849 to 1850 increased by approximately 24,000.

3.  In this gold madness, thousands abandoned their careers in pursuit of finding gold.  Sailors’ ships that were abandoned were later burned to create use of the land for building.

4.  The newcomers also drove Native Americans out of their land. They had already been driven to the West, and now they’re left with no place left to go.  In turn, the Natives decided to fight for their land which resulted in Americans counter- attacking and the population of Indians decreased.

5.  In the beginning of 1849, there were 90,000 people from all over in California. By 1955, there were about 300,000 people.  The main group of the Gold Rush was Americans though.  Also, women were participants in the Gold Rush.

6.  At first, the gold that was found was free for the taking.  However, later, a claim on the gold had to be staked by a prospector.  You could claim-jump if a miner began working on a previous site or if they had abandoned their claim.  Issues were handled personally and violently.  Arbitrators handled issues too, but that often heightened the tensions.

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