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MiningJanuary 24,
1848 - James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget at
Sutter's Mill on banks of Sutter's Creek in northern California
(South Fork of American River in Sacramento Valley east of
San Francisco), sparked gold rush of '49; 1839 -
John Augustus Sutter came to Mexican California, won grant of
nearly 50,000 acres in lush Sacramento Valley (hoped
to create thriving colony); January 1848 -Sutter
hired millwright James Marshall to build sawmill along South Fork of American River; supervised excavation of
shallow millrace, Marshall found that much of millrace was
speckled with what appeared to small flakes of gold; gold rush
was disaster for Sutter - brought thousands of men to California
who overran his property, slaughtered his herds for food, trampled
his fields; 1852 - Sutter was nearly wiped out.
James W. Marshall
- discovered gold in California on Jan. 24, 1848 (http://www.gold-gallery.com/Gold-Gallery/Europa/Westeuropa/
James-Marshall-1884.jpg)
John Augustus Sutter
- gold discovered on his land on Jan. 24, 1848 (http://www.pbs.org/weta/
thewest/people/images/ sutter.jpg)
August 19, 1848 - News of gold
discovered in California in January of 1848 made it to the East
Coast; New York Herald published news of discovery; confirmed
officially by President James Polk.
February 28, 1849 - The ship California arrived at
San Francisco, carrying the first of the gold-seekers.
June 12, 1859 - Two miners, Pat McLaughlin and Peter
O'Reilly, discovered silver at the head of Six-Mile Canyon south of Reno, NV
(eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, 40 miles from the
Truckee Meadows); fellow miner, Henry Thomas Paige Comstock,
stumbled upon their find, claimed it was on his property (sold
his mining interests for $10,000); "Comstock Lode" - richest known
U.S. silver deposit; 1859 - 1878 - yielded $400
million in silver and gold; 1877 - peak production:
over $14,000,000 of gold and $21,000,000 of silver; 1880 -
considered exhausted; 1898 - virtually
abandoned.
August 11, 1860 - Nation's first successful silver
mill, Virginia City, Nevada.
1869 - John W. Mackay,
James G. Fair, James C. Flood, and William S. O'Brien formed
partnership, Bonanza Firm; developed Comstock Lode; 1873
- struck one of the richest veins in history, Big Bonanza;
produced more than $180 million in ore in just over four years.
April 9, 1876 - Fred and Moses Manuel (Quebec)
discovered Homestake Ledge (or Lead, pronounced "Leed") in
Northern Black Hills of Dakota Territory; staked 4 1/2 acre claim, built crude
mil, took out $5,000 worth of gold; June 1877
- acquired by George Hearst (father of William Randolph Hearst) for $70,000; began operations to develop Homestake mine; 1879 - went public; 8,000-foot
deep underground mine, open-pit mine, mill, gold refinery;
has produced more than 39 million ounces since 1876, company's
largest producer.
George Hearst - Homestake Mining (http://www.homestaketour.
com/images/history-hurst.jpg)
1894- Mountain Mines Ltd. of London, England acquired Iron Mountain Mine (Shasta County); changed name to Mountain Copper Co.; developed into only big copper producer on Pacific Coast.
(Comstock Lode), George D. Lyman (1934).
The Saga of the Comstock Lode; Boom Days in Virginia City.
(New York, NY: Scribner, 309 p.). Mines and mineral
resources--Nevada--History; Mineral industries--Nevada--History;
Comstock Lode (Nev.); Virginia City (Nev.).
--- (1937).
Ralston’s Ring; California Plunders the Comstock Lode.
(New York, NY: Scribner, 368 p.). Ralston, William Chapman,
1826-1875; Sutro, Adolph, 1830-1898; Comstock Lode (Nev.);
California--History.
(Comstock Lode), Grant H. Smith; with new material by Joseph V.
Tingley (1998).
The History of the Comstock Lode, 1850-1997. (Reno, NV:
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, 328 p.[rev. 1943 ed.]). Gold
mines and mining--Nevada--Virginia City Region--History; Silver
mines and mining--Nevada--Virginia City Region--History; Mineral
industries--Nevada--Virginia City Region--History; Comstock Lode
(Nev.)--History; Virginia City (Nev.)--Social life and customs.
(Empire Mine), Ferol Egan (1998). Last Bonanza Kings: The Bourns of San
Francisco. (Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press, 289 p.).
Bourn, William, b. 1813; Bourn, William, 1857-1936; Bourne family;
Pioneers--California--San Francisco--Biography; Businessmen--California--San
Francisco--Biography; San Francisco (Calif.)--Biography; San
Francisco (Calif.)--History.
(Gold), Rodman L. Paul (1947).
California Gold; The Beginning of Mining in the Far West.
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press, 380 p.). Gold mines and
mining--California; Frontier and pioneer life--California;
California--Gold discoveries.
(Gold), J.S. Holliday (1981). The World Rushed In: The
California Gold Rush Experience. (New York, NY: Simon &
Schuster, 559 p.). Swain, William, 1821-1904; California --
History -- 1846-1850; California -- Gold discoveries; Overland
journeys to the Pacific; Pioneers -- California -- Biography;
California -- Biography.
(Gold), Paula Mitchell Marks (1994).Precious Dust: The
American Gold Rush Era, 1848-1900. (New York, NY: Morrow, 448
p.). Gold mines and mining--North America--History--19th century;
North America--Gold discoveries.
(Gold), Gary F. Kurutz; introduction by J.S. Holliday (1997). The
California Gold Rush: A Descriptive Bibliography of Books and
Pamphlets Covering the Years 1848-1853. (San Francisco, CA:
Book Club of California, 771 p.). Gold mines and
mining--California--History--19th
century--Sources--Bibliography--Union lists; Catalogs,
Union--United States; California--Gold
discoveries--Sources--Bibliography--Union lists.
(Gold), Malcolm J. Rohrbough (1997).
Days of Gold: The California Gold Rush and the American Nation.
(Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 353 p.). Professor
of History (University of Iowa). California--Gold discoveries.
Most significant event
in first half of nineteenth century; produced vast movement
of people; called into question basic values of marriage, family,
work, wealth, leisure; led to so many varied consequences; left
such vivid memories among its participants; touched lives of
families, communities everywhere in United States.
(Gold), Susan Lee Johnson (2000).
Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush.
(New York, NY: Norton, 464 p.). Professor of History (University
of Colorado). Mining camps--Sierra Nevada (Calif. and
Nev.)--History--19th century; California--Gold discoveries--Social
aspects; California--Social life and customs--19th century; Sierra
Nevada (Calif. and Nev.)--Gold discoveries--Social aspects;
California--Ethnic relations. Cosmopolitan,
multicultural event - Mexicans, French, Chinese,
African-Americans, Chileans, Miwok Indians, WASPs panned for gold
in foothills of the Sierra Nevadas Mountains, around town of
Stockton; dynamic social world in which conventions of ethnic,
national, sexual identity were reshaped (all-male households of
diggings, mines where men worked, fandango houses where they
played).
(Gold), Brian Roberts (2000).
American Alchemy: The California Gold Rush and Middle-Class
Culture. (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina
Press, 328 p.). Assistant Professor of History (California State
University in Sacramento). Frontier and pioneer life--California;
Frontier and pioneer life--West (U.S.);
Pioneers--California--History--19th century;
Pioneers--Northeastern States--History--19th century; Middle
class--California--History--19th century; Middle
class--Northeastern States--History--19th century;
California--Gold discoveries--Social aspects; California--Social
conditions--19th century; Northeastern States--Social
conditions--19th century. Long-neglected truth of gold rush: many of
northeastern forty-niners who ventured westward were
middle-class in origin, status, values; did not turn their
backs on middle-class culture; overlooked chapter in history of
formation of middle class - rebellion against standards of
respectability.
(Gold), H. W. Brands (2002).The Age of Gold: The California
Gold Rush and the Birth of Modern America. (New York, NY:
Doubleday, 547 p.). California--Gold discoveries; California--Gold
discoveries--Social aspects; United
States--Civilization--1783-1865; United States--Social
conditions--To 1865.
(Gold), Albert L. Hurtado (2006).
John Sutter: A Life on the North American Frontier.
(Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 416 p.). Paul H. and
Doris Eaton Travis Chair of Modern American History (University of
Oklahoma). Sutter, John. First fully documented account of John
Sutter in broader context of America’s rush for westward
expansion.
(Pacific Coast Borax Company), George H. Hildebrand (1982). Borax Pioneer: Francis Marion Smith. (San Diego, CA:
Howell-North Books, 318 p.). Smith, Francis Marion, 1846-1931;
Pacific Coast Borax Company; Businesspeople--United
States--Biography.
(Pacific Coast Borax Company), N.J. Travis and E.J. Cocks
(1984). The Tincal Trail: A History of Borax. (London, UK:
Harrap, 311 p.). Smith, Francis Marion, 1846-1931; Pacific Coast
Borax Company; Borax mines and mining--History; Borax mines and
mining--United States--History; Businesspeople--United
States--Biography.
(Silver), Oscar Lewis; new foreword by James J. Rawls (1986).
Silver Kings: The Lives and Times of Mackay, Fair, Flood, and
O’Brien, Lords of the Nevada Comstock Lode. (Reno, NV:
University of Nevada Press, 286 p. [orig. pub. 1947]). Mackay,
John William, 1831-1902; Fair, James Graham, 1831-1894; Flood,
James Clair, 1826-1888; O’Brien, William Shoney, 1825 or 6-1878;
Pioneers--Nevada--Biography; Mines and mineral
resources--Nevada--History--19th century; Comstock Lode (Nev.);
Nevada--Biography.
Robert Wilson (2006).
The Explorer King: Adventure, Science, and the Great Diamond Hoax,
Clarence King in the Old West. (New York, NY: Scribner, 320
p.). Editor (American Scholar). King, Clarence, 1842-1901;
Geologists--United States--Biography; West (U.S.)--Intellectual life.
Collision of science and business. Portrait of Clarence King,
first director of the United States Geological Survey;
groundbreaking land survey of the American West.
Clarence King(http://www.todayinsci.com/K/ King_Clarence/
KingClarenceThm.jpg)
Business History Links
The California Gold Country: Highway 49
Revisited
http://www.malakoff.com/goldcountry/
Gold Rush
http://www.calgoldrush.com
Compilation of stories and related material to honor the
sesquicentennial of the discovery of gold in northern California
in 1848. Includes information about how gold was discovered, maps
about how miners traveled to California by land and sea, details
about life in mining camps, some types of people during the Gold
Rush era (such as Latinos, black miners, Chinese workers, and
women), the legacy of the Gold Rush, and more. From The Sacramento
Bee.
The Gold Rush
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldrush/
Companion to a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) American
Experience program that "tracks the evolution of the [California]
Gold Rush from the easy riches of the first few months to the
fierce competition for a few good claims." Features a map with
major "strikes," timeline, background about people (such as
Mexicans and Chinese immigrants) and events, a special feature on
Native Americans, and an online role playing game. Also includes a
teacher's guide.
The Gold Rush of California: A
Bibliography of Periodical Articles
http://wwwlibrary.csustan.edu/bsantos/goldrush/GoldTOC.htm
By Robert
LeRoy Santos, California State University, Stanislaus Librarian, University
Archivist. This bibliography consists primarily of articles from scholarly
journals and local history periodicals. There are no magazine articles per se,
except for those written last century and early this century which have been
included to give a sense of the historical treatment of the topic. This compiler
sifted through every issue of the listed periodicals looking for articles
"surrounding" the California Gold Rush. Included are articles directly on the
Gold Rush, and also on relevant California topics of the era, such as law, mail
service, politics, law, race relations, transportation, water, and others. The
articles cover events from January 1848 through December 1855 which is generally
acknowledged as the "Gold Rush moment." After 1855, California gold mining
changed and is outside the "rush" era.
Gold Rush Chronicles
http://comspark.com/goldminer-mall/chronicles
History of the California Gold Rush, including a chronology
beginning when Swiss-born John Sutter arrived in the California
territory and covering the 1848 discovery of gold by James
Marshall and California's admission to the United States in 1850.
Features information about towns, mines and mining camps, people,
the Pony Express, and more. From a company in the gold country
that created a website for El Dorado County, California.
The Goldrush and Mining Industry
http://www.bookmine.com/inventory/inventory.html
Gold Rush Books. Mining in the West, Prospecting, Assaying, Booms
and Busts.
The Gold Rush Trail
http://www.sfgate.com/news/special/pages/1998/08/goldtrail/arcbin/
arcdex_0731.shtml
Collection of articles about a "month-long trek [in 1998] across
the West retracing the steps of the emigrants along the Gold Rush
Trail." Features maps, photos, and stories about the overland
trail to California and the trails used by miners following the
January 1848 discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in California.
From the website for the San Francisco Chronicle.
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