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Discovery of Gold
The Discovery of gold was uncovered at Sutter's Mill. The discovery of gold is also known to have triggered the largest migration in the U.S history. -
Who were the 49ers?
Many unmarried men had gone to California to mine, also many african americans, slaves, chinese immigrants, and Indian men also had gone to California. -
First to Arrive at the Gold Rush
The first people to rush to the goldfields, beginning in the spring time of 1848, were residents of CA. Americans and Europeans living in the northern CA along with Native Americans and some Californios. -
End of Hydraulic Mining
Hydraulic Mining had been a very successful way to extract gold, they had extracted exactly $170 million in gold between 1860 and 1880. Although, in the process they had ruined the landscape and choked the rives with sediment. The sediment washed downstream and flooded farmlands and devasted crops. A court ruling had finally brought an end to this technique and agriculture took over as the principal force behind the California economy. -
Rush of Gold Seekers
The population of California had grown to almost 100,000 people. Nearly two-thirds were americans, Upon arrival in California immigrants had the hardest work. They moved rock, dug dirt and waded into freezing streams. They lost fingernails, got sick and suffered malnutrition. Many died of disease or by accident. -
Growth of Population
It is Estimated that 300,000 gold seekers, merchants and immigrants had arrived in California from around the world. The largest group was americans, but there were tens of thousands each of mexicans, chinese, french, and latin americans, together with many smaller groups of miners such as filipinos and basques. -
Boomtowns
Boomtowns were especially popular in the 1880s, The 49ers would build these towns wherever a gold strike would pop up. Boomtowns were often described as dirty and loud, they were often made out of tents in the beginning. As soon as more people began to gather and the population would go up, a general store and few other shops would be established. Boomtows were also very short lived, hence "ghost towns" that they would become after a new gold stike would spark up.
