Sutters Mill, Coloma, California by Kathy Weiser-Alexander. This article was written by Richard H. Peterson, Ph.D. and originally appeared in the December 1997 issue of Wild West. The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. Atop the monument is a bronze statue of Marshall, pointing to the spot where he changed California history. A final irony is that Marshall was not, as is generally assumed, the original discoverer of gold in California. Shops, saloons, brothels and other businesses set up in these towns to serve the '49ers and make money of their own. Early gold discoveries such as these generally were unpublicized and were of only local interest. He worked there and lived in the Union Hotel until his death on August 10, 1885. California Indians gave gold to the mission padres in return for trading goods. After spending a long, wet winter doing carpentry in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Marshall soon wandered south to California where he worked for Sutter, making tools, furniture, spinning wheels, looms and virtually anything else that could be made from wood. Marshall was the oldest and only male of four children. He believed that the world–or at least the state–owed him something for his remarkable discovery. Margaret A. Kelly, Marshall’s friend during his embittered old age, wrote that ‘probably no man ever went to his grave so misunderstood, so misjudged, so misrepresented, so altogether slandered as James W. Marshall.’ Although possibly true, it should be noted that Marshall’s self-destructive, often bizarre behavior contributed to his misfortune. Harassed and unappreciated throughout much of his adult life, Marshall was a tragic victim of nature’s great lottery. Ironically, neither Sutter nor Marshall ever profited from the discovery that should have made them independently wealthy. Chaos and disorder were common, as were gambling, prostitution and violence. The events that set the world in motion to the new El Dorado began almost by accident–John Sutter decided to build a sawmill in partnership with his employee, James Marshall, in 1847. Ironically, he has been remembered in death as one of California’s more influential–though accidental–history-makers. Every financial setback he suffered he interpreted as a conscious effort by somebody to deprive him of what he considered to be his divine rights. Marshall’s gold discovery more than 150 years ago arguably began the modernization of California. The gold discovery site, located in the still visible tailrace of Sutter's sawmill in present day Coloma, California, is one of the most significant historic sites in the nation. August Derleth, writer (Still is the Summer Night, The Shield of the Valiant). James Marshall is a similar character in history. Marshall was forced to flee for his life and try to start over as just another prospector. The wave of gold seekers turned everyone’s attention away from … The original nugget he found, which has long belonged to the Bancroft Library at the University of California in Berkeley, is called the Wimmer Nugget after Peter L. Wimmer, Marshall’s assistant in supervising the Indians and others who dug the tailrace of Sutter’s Mill. James Marshall’s discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in California in 1848, started the California Gold Rush. Marshall and his men set out for the millsite that September. If I sought employment, I was refused on the reasoning that I had discovered the goldmines, and should be the one to employ them; they did not wish the man that made the discovery under their control….Thus I wandered for more than four years.’. Days after Marshall’s ... mill for local landowner John Sutter. John Bidwell, one of Sutter s clerks, drew up a contract for the two men on or about August 27 of 1847. Marshall and Sutter managed to keep their discovery secret for several months, but once word leaked out the California gold rush was underway. According to legend, Lopez fell asleep under an old oak tree after tending cattle on a nearby rancho. Marshall continued to live in Kelsey, in a spartan homesteader’s cabin, earning money from a small garden until his death on August 10, 1885. Our cookies are delicious. Ironically, the subsequent gold rush actually harmed the man who had begun it. Although most Californians who heard of the strike doubted its significance, by May 1848 word had reached San Francisco when a Mormon merchant, Sam Brannan, waved a quinine bottle filled with glittering dust at San Franciscans. Marshall never did marry. In the meantime, his state pension had been cut in half after 1874 and eliminated entirely in 1876. Despite the involvement of others in determining that Marshall indeed had discovered gold, one would think that the nugget should have been named in his honor–the oversight being just one more of the many ironic twists of fate that plagued Marshall’s troubled life. On January 24, 1848, during his regular morning inspection, he made the discovery that would change the course of California and even American history. His sawmill also failed, as every able-bodied man took off in search of gold. He enlisted the services of local Indians and Mormon veterans of the Mexican War to build the mill, which was nearly complete by late 1847. This was an ironic turn of events, since at one time large numbers of miners had been willing to follow him anywhere in search of gold. On January 24th, 1848 Marshall found several shiny gold colored nuggets in the American River. Sometimes, important or momentous discoveries are made by people who aren't even looking for them. In time, failed mining and other business ventures deeply embittered Marshall. This Day In History: January 24, 1848. It was at the sawmill that, on January 24, 1848, he discovered gold in the water flow through the mill’s tailrace. (Last Privacy Policy Update July 2020), Byways & Historic Trails – Great Drives in America, Soldiers and Officers in American History. © Kathy Weiser/Legends of America, updated November 2018. As word quickly spread, some 80,000 miners flooded the area, extending up and down the length of the Sacramento Valley, and overrunning Sutter’s domain. It was financed by the Native Sons of the Golden West and an appropriation by the state legislature. Soon, the area surrounding Sutter’s Mill became the first mining boomtown in California – Coloma. Though he tried to keep it a secret, the word spread quickly and triggered the California Gold Rush of … In 1872, Marshall had a turn of luck when the California State Legislature awarded him a two-year pension in recognition of his role in an important era in California history. Terms apply. His eccentric behavior alienated all but a few friends, leaving him a virtual recluse. Honus Wagner, baseball shortstop known as "The Flying Dutchman.". HistoryNet.com contains daily features, photo galleries and over 5,000 articles originally published in our various magazines. LEARN MORE Between the years 1848, when James W. Marshall discovered gold in the American River, and 1850, the population of San Francisco grew from 1,000 to … Before taking samples to Sutter, who had financed the building of the mill, Marshall conducted crude tests to better determine the authenticity of his find by comparing flakes with a $5 gold piece and pounding a nugget on an anvil. James W. Marshall was building a sawmill for Captain John Sutter, using water from the South Fork of the American River. The best-known of the latter is The Bonanza Kings: The Social Origins and Business Behavior of Western Mining Entrepreneurs, 1879-1900. During his last years, Marshall, who had become an obvious alcoholic, was forced to live by handyman jobs, handouts and the sale of his autograph on special cards for 50 cents each. Born in 1810, Marshall followed in his father’s footsteps by becoming a skilled carpenter and wheelwright. He knew that real gold was soft and malleable and would not shatter like fool’s gold–iron pyrite or mica. An Eyewitness to the Gold Discovery. He spotted a gleam in the bottom of the ditch, scooped up a handful of gravel, examined it closely and concluded that he had found what appeared to be gold. John A. Sutter and James W. Marshall’s sawmill, on American Fork River, California. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. John Stone With Gold Mining Pan… August, 1939. The California Gold Rush that his little discovery ignited cost Marshall his new business. Sutter received a land grant of fifty-thousand acres near former Colluma Valley, a constantly renamed area of land. Even before his famous discovery, he was known as a person who told tales about spiritual visions and claimed to have heard strange voices. John A. Sutter – Boom & Bust in California, Your email address will not be published. Though he tried to keep it a secret, the word spread quickly and triggered the California Gold Rush of … However, when a brandy bottle dropped from his pocket and rolled on the floor, no additional pension was awarded. According to the late California historian W. H. Hutchinson,’such minor amounts…did not stimulate any gold seeking expeditions of consequence…because the Franciscans had seen the evils wrought by mining upon the native population of Mexico and did not wish to see such havoc repeated in California.’. 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