| 1848/01/24 |
Carpenter James W Marshall discovers flakes of gold in the tailrace of a sawmill on the American River he is erecting for James Marshall. |
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, Coloma
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| 1848/01/28 |
James Marshall shares his gold discovery with John Sutter. After testing the gold, Sutter will inform Marshall that it is "of the finest quality, of at least 23 karat (96 percent pure)". |
Sutter's Fort, Sacramento
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| 1848/01/29 |
John Sutter travels to the mill site and asks all the workers to keep the discovery of gold a secret. |
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, Coloma
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| 1848/02/00 |
John Sutter swears Charles Bennett to secrecy and sends him to Monterey to meet with Colonel Mason to obtain mineral rights at the mill site. At Benicia, San Francisco and Monterey, Bennett talks about the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill. |
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| 1848/02/00 |
Employees of John Sutter pay for merchandise in Sam Brannan's store with gold they picked up at Sutter's Mill. |
Sutter's Fort, Sacramento
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| 1848/03/00 |
Samuel Brannon buys up all the picks, shovels and pans he can find and opens a store in San Francisco whish he publicizes it by parading through town holding a vial of gold, shouting "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" |
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| 1848/06/00 |
Prospectors led by James Woods discover the greatest gold-bearing vein in the world in a California creek. James Savage, J H Rider and Charles Bassett are members of the party. A marker is located directly on the Mother Lode, Hwy 108 at Bell Monney Rd. |
Jamestown, California
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| 1848/08/00 |
In Washington DC, President James K Polk receives the first gold flake found by Marshall. It is now on display in the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution. |
National Museum of American History, Washington, DC
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| 1848/08/19 |
The gold mine discovered in December last, on the south branch of the American fork, in a range of low hills forming the base of the Sierra Nevada, distant thirty miles from New Helvetia, is only three feet below the surface, in a strata of soft rock. NYH |
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| 1848/12/05 |
In his State of the Union, President Polk confirms the discovery of Gold in California, saying "the supply is very large and that gold is found at various places in an extensive district of country." |
United States Capitol, Washington, DC
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| 1848/12/09 |
News of gold in California is reported in Nantucket's weekly Mirror. By the end of 1849 more than 500 Nantucketers will sail for the Pacific Coast. |
Nantucket, Massachusetts
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| 1849/03/00 |
The CRESCENT CITY sails from New York to Panama with goods for C P Huntington. With his cargo delayed in Panama for three months awaiting a ship bound for San Francisco, he engages in trading, realizing profits of over $3,000 during the wait. |
Panama Canal, Panama
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| 1850/00/00 |
By 1850, Sacramento emerges as the great transportation center for the Northern Mines in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Steamboats land tons of freight from San Francisco at the Sacramento docks, and from here it is carried by pack mule, trains and wagons. |
Old Sacramento, Sacramento
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| 1852/04/18 |
the mines, they do not meet my expectation, though some are very fortunate. Yet most of the miners work hard and get no pay. Don't think by that, that I am sorry that I came to Cal for the chances to make money are far superior to those in the states - CJ |
Weaverville Historic District, Weaverville
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