-
Gold Found in the U.S.
North Carolina native John Reed discovered gold in his home state. This sparked the first gold rush in North America. -
Period: to
Gold Rush
-
James Marshall moves to California
In July, 1845, he arrived in the Sacramento Valley and began to work for John Sutter as a carpenter. Fairing well there, he improved his economic prospects, purchasing a ranch and began to raise cattle. -
John joins the Revolt
In 1846, he joined John C. Fremont's California Battalion, and participated in the Bear Flag Revolt, a bid to seize control of California from Mexican control. -
John's new Sawmill
When he returned to his land, he found his cattle had been stolen and was forced to sell his land. He then formed a partnership with John Sutter to build a sawmill. -
Gold found in California
In January 1848, James Wilson Marshall struck gold when he was building a saw mill along the American River northeast of Sacramento. This story was published in a local newspaper, but people couldn't believe it, so they didn't. Finally, the gold rush started in May 1848 when a storekeeper had a bottle filled with gold dust around the San Francisco area. -
Period: to
California Gold Rush
-
California becomes a State
California was admitted as a state after the massive migration caused by the gold rush. -
Gold becomes Scarce
Gold became a lot more scarce. As a result, better mining techniques and machines were invented -
Population of California exceeds 300,000
-
Sacramento becomes California State Capital
-
End of Gold Rush
The discovery of silver in Nevada ended the California Gold Rush -
Alaska Gold Rush
Major gold has been found in many places in Alaska like Juneau, Nome and Fairbanks. Gold was first discovered in Southeast Alaska in the 1870s. The first discovery was made near Sitka in 1872, but the discovery of gold at Anvil Creek in 1898 brought thousands of fortune seekers, starting the last major American Gold Rush in the 19th century
