Posted on January 24, 2022
This is an update of my post published on January 24, 2011:
James Marshall was a pretty average guy—a carpenter and a sawmill operator. But on this date in 1848, he made a discovery that changed his life. Heck, it changed a whole lot of people's lives!
He noticed some shiny flecks in the channel bed, and he picked up one or two pieces for closer study. He knew a little bit about minerals, and when he saw that the shiny stuff was very bright, brittle, yet malleable (which means it could be beaten into different shapes, without breaking)—and, of course, that it was gold-colored!—Marshall knew that he had discovered precious, valuable gold!
According to his later recounting, he went to one of the carpenters working on the mill and said, “I have found it.” And when he explained that “it” meant gold, the other carpenter protested that it couldn't be gold. But Marshall was sure of himself. And of course, he was right!
Find out more!
For more on the discovery of gold, go to the History Net.
Take a virtual tour of the Oakland Museum's Gold Rush exhibit.
Check out the Women's Museum of California exhibit on the women of the Gold Rush.
Did you know that today is Talk Like a Grizzled Prospector Day?
Plan ahead:
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