The California Gold Rush

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The California Gold Rush lasted between 1848 and 1855. At this point in time, gold was obtained in California. Over 300,000 people fled to California from all sorts of direction in the US, to obtain gold and become rich. Gold was found in California by James Marshall at Sutter's Mill in the city of Coloma. James was in the process of building a sawmill for John Sutter when he observed shiny flakes of gold flowing in the river. He told John Sutter about what he observed and they wanted to keep it confidential. However, the news started to spread and miners were fleeing to California to find gold. Before the gold rush, there were only a couple thousand people living in California, in 2 years, and it changed drastically. Approximately 100,000 …show more content…
After, the miner can obtain the gold and collect it with the rest. When gold was found in a new area, miners would move and make stationary camps to sleep in, and the camps would eventually grow into towns called boomtowns. The cities of San Francisco and Columbia are two examples of boomtowns during the gold rush. Most of the boomtowns eventually turned into ghost towns. When the gold ran out in an area, the miners would leave to find the next gold strike. The businesses would leave too and soon the town would be empty and abandoned. Most camps and mining towns were canvas tents or wooden buildings. Fires were very common, some several times, so many camps and towns were completely destroyed by fire. Most miners came by themselves, leaving their families at home. Many young miners suffered from homesickness from being alone. By 1869 railroads were built across the country from California to the eastern part of the United States. At its peak, technological advances reached a point where significant financing was required, increasing the amount of gold companies ask out of every miner, so it led to some wealth for a