On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold on the property of Johann A. Sutter near Coloma, California. Marshall was overseeing construction of a sawmill on the American River.
(I have a personal affection...and connection...to the California Gold Rush. In 1849, my great-great-grandfather, Samuel Gilmore, boarded a clipper ship in Baltimore and embarked on the journey to California. He never made it to the gold fields...he became a band director in San Francisco.)
It took nearly one year before the rest of the country got wind of the strike. Previous claims of gold had proven disappointing, and Marshall's find was met with skepticism at first. Then, in December of 1848, President James Polk validated the discovery with this announcement:
"The accounts of the abundance of gold in that territory are of such extraordinary character as would scarcely command belief were they not corroborated by authentic reports of officers in the public service."
Polk's words were a confirmation...and a call to action...that created the first gold rush in modern times. Farmers left plows standing in their fields, merchants left their shops, and soldiers left their posts. (Note: the image of The Prospecting Professor is from a 1849 cartoon that depicted the unprepared, greenhorn-state, of those who rushed west to stake their claim.)
Nearly 100,000 people arrived in the Golden State in 1849. By 1865, $750 million in gold had been clawed from the hills and stream beds of California...equivalent to more than $16 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars.
A fervor gripped the nation. Discussions of gold could be heard at nearly every kitchen table in the country. The nation's collective greed built to a fever pitch...leading to some incredible get-rich claims. In some of the eastern papers, ads were run promoting a special salve. All one did was rub the salve over one's body...climb to the top of a mountain...and roll down while all the gold stuck to you. The ad made the further claim of guaranteeing that, by the time you got to the bottom of the hill, you'd have enough gold to live happily ever after. Two types of salve were available: one for gold, and one for silver.
Of course, few of the adventurers and risk-takers realized their dreams of Croesus-like wealth. James Marshall, who started it all, was never lucky enough to strike it rich. A very stubborn man, he continued to look for gold...and slowly his mind gave away, until he came to believe that he was the rightful owner of all of the gold in California. Marshall died in complete poverty in 1885, in a small cabin not far from the site of his original discovery.
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