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The gold rush begins
The Califorina Gold Rush slowly began when gold was found by James W. Marshall -
James Marshall rides to Sutters Fort
James Marshall rides to Sutter's Fort to report the discovery of gold to John Sutter. After testing the gold, Marshall returns to Coloma. -
John Sutter leaves Fort Sutter.
29th - John Sutter leaves Sutter's Fort to travel to Coloma to view the discovery site. After viewing the site he asks his workers to keep the gold discovery a secret for the next six weeks. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed by Mexico
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed by Mexico, selling the Mexican Cession, including all of California to the United States for $15 million. The treaty is proclaimed by the president on June 19, but the news of treaty proclamation does not reach California until Aug. 7 -
gold rocker
First gold rocker is used. -
Gold is found by Mormons
Gold is found by Mormons on the south fork of the American River. Gold is discovered on a bar opposite a little island which becomes Mormon Island. -
Pacific mail steamship organized three builds
The Pacific Mail Steamship Co. is organized and builds three side-wheelers, the California, the Oregon, and the Panama. -
Gold announced in San Francisco
Samuel Brannan a storekeeper at Sutter's Fort, publisher of a newspaper, The California Star, and first millionaire in California, stirs up excitement about gold. He gathers a bottle full of gold dust and rides to San Francisco.
Brannan runs up and down the streets shouting, "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" And the rush is on. Two thousand copies of Samuel Brannan's special edition of his California Star reach Missouri by the end of July. -
New York Herald Reports Gold
The New York Herald becomes the first major eastern newspaper to tout the discovery gold in California. -
Another discovery of gold
Claude Chana and a party of Indians discover gold at Auburn Ravine, en route to Coloma. -
Forty-niners
Ninety thousand migrants, known later as "Forty-Niners," arrive in California during 1849. An estimated two-thirds are white Americans, but the Forty-Niners also include large numbers of Chinese, Chileans, Peruvians, Mexicans, Europeans, and Australians. 97% of the migrants are men. -
Transferring property
John Sutter transfers his property around Sutter's Fort to his son John Sutter Jr. Re -
Sacramento was surveyed
President James K. Polk verifies the news of California's gold discovery in a speech he delivers during the fourth annual message to Congress.
Sacramento is surveyed and the city streets are laid out by Capt. William H. Warner and Lt. (later Gen.) William Tecumseh Sherman. -
President James K. Polk confirms gold
President James K. Polk confirms the discovery of gold in California in an address to Congress, touching off a migration of hundreds of thousands of men hopeful of striking it rich in the goldfields. -
First bridge constructed west of the Mississippi.
In late spring a bridge is constructed across the American River in Coloma, becoming the first bridge across a river in California, or west of the Mississippi River. -
Pacific Mail establishes regular route
The Pacific Mail Steamship Co.'s California, Oregon, and Panama establish a regular round trip schedule ferrying gold seekers and mail between Panama and San Francisco -
James K. Polk
President James K. Polk dies of cholera in Nashville, Tenn. -
new draft of constitution
Delegates meet at Colton Hall in Monterrey to write a constitution. The constitutions of New York and Iowa are used as models.
13th - Fire strikes the city of Sacramento, Ca. -
California elects new governor.
Peter H. Burnett is sworn in as California's first elected governor. -
California exchange
The California Exchange opens. -
Foreign miners taxed
The California legislature passes the Foreign Miners Tax, charging foreign nationals $20 a month for the right to work their claims. The measure is aimed mainly at Chileans and Mexicans, as Anglo miners seek to reduce competition for ever-scarcer placer gold. -
California becomes a state.
In Washington, Congress agrees to the Compromise of 1850, which admits California to the Union as a free (non-slave) state. -
New flag adopted
A new star is added to the flag. -
Gold Amounts in 1852
$81 million worth of gold is extracted from California mines in 1852, an all-time high for the Gold Rush era. -
Chinese Migration to Gold Mountain
A major crop failure afflicts much of rural China, prompting a major exodus of Chinese migrants to the legendary Gam Saan—"gold mountain"—of California. During 1852, more than 20,000 Chinese arrive in San Francisco. Soon the population of the mining region will be more than one-fifth Chinese. -
Supreme court limits minority rights
The California Supreme Court ruled that the Chinese, like Indians and blacks, have no right to give evidence in state courts. The ruling means that violence against racial minorities can be committed with virtual impunity, as only the testimony of a white citizen can be used as evidence in court. White miners' attacks on Chinese miners drive many from the goldfields and marking and end to the Gold Rush.
