Table of Contents 

Introduction............................................................................pg.3

How Did The Gold Rush Start?..............................................pg.4-5

What Was Life Like For Miners Living in Boomtowns?.......pg.6-7

How Did Miners Find Gold?....................................................pg.8-10

Conclusion.................................................................................pg.11

Glossary.....................................................................................pg.12

Bibliography..............................................................................pg.13

   The California Gold Rush

    Imagine, you leave your home and head to California with no idea of the dangers ahead. The thought of becoming rich is the reason most left. Gold fever had spread over many people with them not knowing of the slim chance of becoming rich or finding any gold at all. The California Gold Rush was an important event in U.S. history. Let’s explore how the Gold Rush started, what life was like in “boomtowns”, and dig into the different ways prospectors dug their way to the gold.

This is where gold was found in California.

How did the Gold Rush start?

     January 24, 1848 at Sierra Nevada Foothills San Francisco California. This was a normal day. Until it wasn't. New Jersey carpenter James Marshall was building a sawmill for John Sutter at Sutter's Mill when he saw gold in the river, and on the gravel that would forever change California.

    When news got out, the gold fever spread over many people and from 1848 to 1855 the people who hoped to become rich moved west of the Mississippi River and headed to California. Because of the messenger Kit Carson giving the news about the gold finding to president James Kolk, many people became more drawn to the idea of moving to California.  

    People all around the world from America, China, Mexico, Europe, and Australia all came to find gold. Overland travelers came to California from Independence, St. Joseph, and St. Louis Missouri and crossed the Rocky Mountains and Mississippi River on the way. 

    When the 49’ers traveled, they had to go through prairies, mountains, forests, and jungles to reach California. Starvation and dehydration killed many people during the journey before reaching California. This journey took 4-5 months. I wonder if the people that went to California think that such a long journey was worth it?

    While traveling, many people took the Oregon and Mormon trail to California. Others went by sea and had to go under South America which took a very long time. Others went by sea down North America. Hiked through a jungle at the bottom between North and South America. Then went up the West side of North America to California. This was a lot of work but was faster than going around both continents on a boat.

    The effect of James Marshall finding gold was, California's population went from 14,000 to 250,000 in just four years because of the rush of people that came flooding into California. 

    In the end, more than 300,000 people came to California seeking gold. 

This is James Marshall. The person who found gold in 1848.

    What was life like for people living in “boomtowns”?

    While finding gold and becoming rich is good, miners did not have it easy living in boomtowns. Most miners stayed in small wooden huts or tents.  They woke up, ate, and mined all day. They worked 12 to 18 hours a day. People could get attacked, and robbed of the gold they found and their belongings. 

     In the beginning of the Gold Rush, gold was a lot easier to find. By the time most people got to California the gold was gone and if you found gold you were very, very lucky.

    Another reason it was bad to live in boom towns was that, shopkeepers raised the prices on simple items miners needed. These shopkeepers were very happy to be making so much money. Miners were upset that they had to pay so much for these essential items, but they didn't have a choice.

     If that was not bad enough, miners ate and drank contaminated water and bad food that was not safe for them. It often made them sick. But the miners had to eat something. Cholera was also a bad disease that went around mining camps that made others sick. At the time Cholera was a very common and deadly disease that we did not have a cure for.

This is what boomtowns looked like during the California Gold Rush.