Discovery of gold in California 161 years ago

24 January 2009

Discovery of gold in California 161 years ago

Posted by Cecilia under: Economy; Life .

On January 24, 1848 gold was discovered for the first time in California.

It was James Wilson Marshall who found the first gold nuggets in a river in North Central California. Marshall had been in the process of building a new saw mill for Swiss immigrant John A. Sutter when he discovered the glimmering objects. Sutter, however, was primarily concerned with the completion of his new saw mill in order to fabricate lumber to finish his expanding flour mill.

Hutching’s California Magazine dated November 1857 contains Sutter’s own account of the discovery.

He wrote: “By this sudden discovery of the gold, all my great plans were destroyed. Had I succeeded for a few years before the gold was discovered, I would have been the richest citizen on the Pacific shore; but it had to be different. Instead of being rich, I am ruined.”

After the news of the gold discovery leaked out Sutter lost all his workers and eventually all of his money. James Marshall also died a poor man, as he never found gold again.

But Marshall’s discovery of gold in California created the famous “California Gold Rush”, attracting over 600,000 people to California in a few short years. Of the many that came and stayed only a few gold diggers became rich. The men who made their fortunes found them in the trade of supplies to the hopeful prospectors.