Essay On The California Gold Rush

Words: 534
Pages: 3

The California gold rush occurred during the mid 1800’s, lots of people came to get gold. John Sutter hired James Marshall and his crew to construct John Sutter's mill. The first time that gold was discovered was when “Marshall’s workers dug a long trench to divert water from the river to the mill. On Jan. 24, 1848, Marshall walked along the trench and found specks of gold there. Rumors about the gold discovery spread over the next several weeks. After Marshall’s men completed the sawmill on March 11, they began to prospect (explore the region) for gold full-time.” (California Gold Rush). The reason that the California gold rush occurred is because when gold was first discovered, word got around pretty quick and lots of people came to California to prospect for gold. Large quantities of gold weren't only found in California gold was also found in Nevada “After the discovery at Sutter’s Mill, prospectors struck gold at several sites in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Important sites included the Murphy’s Camp and Mariposa claims to the south and Bidwell’s Bar and Rich Bar to the north.” (California …show more content…
It gave reason to move west and build up the population. Because of the gold rush california's population grew rapidly and california became a state. The prospectors arrived by covered wagons and ships. “The first Forty-Niners reached San Francisco, the nearest port, on the steamer California on Feb. 28, 1849. Other ships soon followed. Prospectors also arrived in covered wagons by way of the Oregon Trail and the California Trail. Others came from Europe, Latin America, and China.” (California Gold Rush). Once the gold rush had come to an end a good majority of the prospectors had made a very good fortune of gold, the others that went as lucky with the gold became farmers and