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Social Studies project for 5th Grade
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THE
CALIFORNIA
GOLD RUSHBy Alex Hermann
5A
Saint Ann School
The California Gold Rush
went from 1849 until 1855
Gold Coin that was made for the 100 Year Anniversary of the Gold Rush
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.
• 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
• 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.
• 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
• 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
• 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
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
• Panning for gold was very hard and a slow process.
• Most men went home with nothing to show for all their hard work.
• 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
The gold rush was the most significant event in the early history of California and
the impact has lasted even until today.