| Over the course of American history, there have | | | | The early part of the Gold rush mostly relied on |
| been numerous major gold discoveries. The first | | | | primitive techniques like river panning, but |
| one was in North Carolina in the early 1800's, and | | | | eventually major mines were dug in certain areas. |
| there was another major gold strike in North | | | | Prospectors became more sophisticated with their |
| Georgia in 1828. The most famous occurrence | | | | techniques, and by the early 1850's California had |
| was the California gold rush of 1849, and that's | | | | reached a production level of more than 80 million |
| the one that made the biggest mark in the | | | | dollars worth of gold every year. |
| history books. | | | | When the gold rush started, there were very |
| The man who made the initial gold discovery in | | | | few laws regarding property rights, and that was |
| California was James Marshall. He had a small work | | | | one of the main issues that had to be dealt with. |
| crew building a saw mill in Coloma, near | | | | Prospectors were allowed to claim any land on a |
| Sacramento. He found some gold pebbles one | | | | first come first serve basis, and abandoned claims |
| morning in 1848, and this tiny discovery eventually | | | | were open to takeover. Vigilantism and crime |
| led to an incredible flurry of activity | | | | eventually became a huge problem. Some areas |
| Travelers came by sea and by land, and quickly | | | | only allowed claims of 10 square feet, and the |
| increased the population of California. When the | | | | competition for land was fierce. |
| gold rush started, San Francisco was a small | | | | By 1864, most of the gold was used up, and the |
| frontier settlement, but by the time it finished, it | | | | gold rush was over. It left a permanent mark on |
| was a major boomtown. The gold rushers were | | | | the state of California and actually changed the |
| known as "49'ers" because 1849 was the year | | | | whole west. When the gold rush started, |
| when the Gold rush got into full swing. | | | | communities sprang up as a replacement for |
| Gold strikes were made in several areas of | | | | empty frontier, and some of the people that |
| California, and they would often result in the | | | | came looking for gold ended up settling in other |
| establishment of small villages. Miners needed | | | | areas, and establishing major industry. Several |
| supplies and shopkeepers would move in to take | | | | ghost towns remain that are relics of the gold |
| advantage of the market. Some of these villages | | | | rush, including Coloma, where the first gold was |
| still survive today, while others died out when the | | | | discovered. |
| gold was used up. | | | | |
