GOLD DISCOVERY
On Jan. 24, 1848, gold was discovered on the American River. James Marshall, the first to find it, never made a fortune from it.
The Fricot Nugget, right, is one of the rare crystallized gold discoveries that was not melted down. The nugget was discovered in
1869 along the American
River and weighs 13.8 pounds. It can be seen at
The California State Mining and Mineral Museum in
Mariposa.
More thjn one boom
The first gold mines in the state were established by the
Spanish in the San Gabriel Mountains above Los Angeles, but were not very productive.
The California deserts were mined in the late 1800s for gold and silver. Near Barstow, the town of Calico, which was restored as a tourist attraction by Knott’s Berry Farm, was the site of the richest silver strike in California.
The Lost Horse Mine, in what is now Joshua Tree National Park, produced 10,000 ounces between 1894 and 1931.
San Diego County: Between 1870 and 1880 more than $5 million in gold was taken from the Julian area.
James Marshall’s discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 began the California Gold Rush. But the man who put so much into motion in California never got rich and had his share of bad luck. In 1846, Marshall already had made a bit of history before finding gold when he joined John C. Fremont’s California Battalion and participated in the Bear Flag Revolt. When Marshall returned to his land in the Sacramento Valley, he found his cattle had been stolen and he was forced to sell his land. He formed a partnership with
John Sutter to build a sawmill, where on Jan. 24, 1848, he discovered gold. The news spread quickly and soon 80,000 miners flooded the area. Marshall failed to secure his claims in the goldfields and the sawmill also failed, as every employee took off in search of gold. Marshall left Coloma, searching California for another strike. He returned in 1857 and planted a vineyard in the early 1860s. He had some success with his vines until competition put him out of business. Marshall retried prospecting but the jackpot eluded him. In 1872, Marshall had some good fortune when the state legislature awarded him a two-year pension in recognition of his part in California history. The pension was renewed twice but lapsed in 1878. Allegedly when he went to visit the Legislative assembly to get it renewed, a brandy bottle dropped from his |pocket and they decided Marshall lived in a cabin in Kelsey, making money as a carpenter, blacksmith and farmer until he died Aug. 10, 1885. He was buried in Coloma and in 1890 a bronze statue of Marshall, pointing to the spot where he changed California history was placed.
Marshall’s account of the discovery: “I went down as usual and after shutting off the water from the race, I stepped into it, near the lower end, and there, upon the rock, about 6 inches beneath the surface of the water, I discovered the gold. I then collected four or five pieces and went up to Mr. Scott and the pieces in my hand and said, ‘I have found it.’ ‘What is it?’ Inquired Scott. ‘Gold,’ I answered.”