James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848, sparking the California Gold Rush that lasted from 1848 to 1855. Word of the discovery spread quickly despite efforts to keep it quiet, with thousands of prospectors flocking to California in search of wealth. The population of California ballooned from 15,000 to over 150,000 as people abandoned their homes for the gold fields, transforming California from a territory into a state. While most prospectors found little gold and wealth, the Gold Rush had a profound and lasting impact on California's development.

1. THE
CALIFORNIA
GOLD RUSH
By Alex Hermann
5A
Saint Ann School

2. The California Gold Rush
went from
1849 until 1855
Gold Coin that was made for the
100 Year Anniversary of the Gold Rush

3. The Gold Rush began officially on January
24, 1848, when some rocks thought to be gold
were found by James W. Marshall at Sutter’s
Mill in
Coloma, California.

4. • Marshall worked for
John Sutter so he
gave him the rocks.
• Testing confirmed it
was gold.
• Sutter wanted to keep
the news quiet
because he was
scared of what would
happen to his plans
for a farm and lumber
business if a big
search for gold
happened near his
land. John Sutter

5. • Even though they
tried to keep news
of the gold
discovery a secret,
word still got out
• Newspapers
started reporting
that large
quantities of gold
were in the
American River by
Sutter’s Mill.

6. • 75% of all the
men in
California left
their homes to
head to the
gold fields to
try to become
rich
• Within weeks
over 4,000 men
were in the
river looking
for gold
Once the word got out, Gold Fever hit all of California

7. • Word of the gold rush spread across the USA
and even overseas
• Thousands of people, mostly men, gave up
everything they had to go to California

8. • The populaTion of California inCreased
10x over during The gold rush
• aT The sTarT There were 15,000 people
and by The end over 150,000!!
The Gold Fields got very crowded

9. California was a territory at the start of the
gold rush with very few people
By the end it had become the USA’s 31st
state with many new towns and
lots more people

10. • Panning for gold was very hard
and a slow process.
• Most men went home with
nothing to show for all their
hard work.

11. • The Gold
Rush hit its
peak in 1852
• By 1853 it was
becoming
harder to find
surface gold
• Lots of people
still came
until 1855, but
by then most
of the gold
was gone
A Gold Rush Town

12. The gold rush was the most significant event in the
early history of California and the impact has
lasted even until today.