The discovery of a gold nugget at Sutter’s Mill in January 1848 set off a chain of events that would transform California.

DATES BACK TO 178 YEARS THIS WEEK, WHEN JAMES MARSHALL FOUND FLECKS OF GOLD ALONG THE SOUTH FORK OF THE AMERICAN RIVER. JANUARY 24TH, 1848. HE'S STANDING DOWN THERE, LOOKS DOWN AT HIS FEET, AND ...

Gold nugget. 1848. Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. This small piece of yellow metal is believed to be the first piece of gold discovered in 1848 at Sutter's Mill in California, ...

On the morning of Jan. 24, 1848, James Marshall made a discovery that would forever change the trajectory of California. In a creek near the town of Coloma, a remote community wedged in the foothills ...

An archaeological dig has discovered the participants during the time of California’s Gold Rush dined on salted Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). The finding, which comes from University of Kansas ...

In an age that delights in ripping apart hackneyed origin stories, there remains the fact that the promise of gold really did launch an exodus from all over the world to a place the Spanish named ...

White American perceptions of California Indians -- Native American reaction to the invasion -- Other Native resistance -- The Gold Rush and Native Americans of Southern California -- Anglo ...