Historical Reading: The California Gold Rush
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.
Fonte:Gems & Gemology
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