Who were the 49ers?
49ers
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James Marshall found gold while working for John Sutter at his ranch in northern California on January 24, 1848. He had been hired to build a mill for Sutter. This place would enter American lore as 'Sutter's Mill'. Word quickly spread through California, the rest of America and eventually the world and people flocked to California to make their fortune. In fact, according to some estimates, the population increased by 86,000 people in two years. Most of these treasure seekers left for California in 1849, hence our name for them: 49ers. Many of the 49ers themselves picked an appropriate name from Greek mythology: Argonauts. These Argonauts were in search of their own form of a golden fleece - wealth free for the taking.
The Gold Rush
The discovery of gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 sparked the Gold Rush, arguably one of the most significant events to shape American history during the first half of the 19th century. As news spread of the discovery, thousands of prospective gold miners traveled by sea or over land to San Francisco and the surrounding area; by the end of 1849, the non-native population of the California territory was some 100,000 (compared with the pre-1848 figure of less than 1,000). A total of $2 billion worth of precious metal was extracted from the area during the Gold Rush, which peaked in 1852.