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(click link to download) One-hundred-fifty-six years ago in California, the paths to the West were well marked. Forts and settlements along these routes served as supply depots and resting stations for the settlers. Many of these settlers went to Sutter's Fort, owned by John A. Sutter. The area around his fort developed, and so he decided to construct a saw mill near his fort. James W. Marshall was the man building the mill. While building it, he saw gold. Many people in the area became prospectors. After President Polk's announcement of he gold late in 1848, the Gold Rush had begun. During 1849, 80,000 people came to California on a quest for gold. Most of these people came over land, through the Rocky Mountains, but some sailed to San Francisco. These voyages took a very long time. In 1849, gold was worth $16 an ounce, and10 million ounces of gold were mined that year. When prospectors found gold, they would claim the area where the gold was found. Mining camps often formed near these gold findings. When no more gold was to be found, prospectors left the camps, and they becameghost towns. People from all over the world came to California to mine. |
