Oakland Museum of California
California's Untold Stories: Silver and Gold
This site provides a virtual tour of the mining of silver and gold in California through excellent photos and facts.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: A Gold Rush Poem
A poem written in England but certainly expressing the hopes and dreams of those seeking gold in California. Included in the San Francisco Business Directory of 1864-65.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Entertainment
Many individuals made money during the gold rush without finding any gold. This resource dicusses how many actors and musicians made money entertaining lonely miners. There is also an audio version.
Digital History
Digital History: Western Expansion: Conclusion
A good overview of the territorial expansion and its results that occurred in the United States over the first half of the 19th century.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Gold Mining in the Uwharries
In the early decades of the 1800s, the southern Piedmont's gold mines attracted prospectors, investors, and miners. Tar Heel gold had first been found in 1799 on John Reed's farm in Cabarrus County, several miles west of the Uwharrie...
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: Journeys West
A series of lessons utilizing primary texts, including narratives, photographs, and maps, through which students explore the following question: "What motivated thousands of people to journey west during the 1800s?"
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Miner's Song
Published in "Hutching's California Magazine" in 1857 was a song expressing the hopes and dreams of those suffering from gold fever.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: Johann Augustus Sutter
This page contains a brief biography of gold rusher, John Sutter, from the book "Life in California before the Gold Discovery" by John Bidwell.
Ducksters
Ducksters: California State History for Kids
Did you know California's history included early explorers, Native Americans, the Gold Rush, and the Bear Republic? Learn about the history and timeline of the state of California on this site.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Miners' Ten Commandments
Written by James Hutchings in 1853, the ten commandments of miners show the life of the miner.
Curated OER
Black Miner
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses the triumphs African American's had during the California gold rush. Many blacks were able to purchase their freedom and the freedom of their families back home.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Miners and Sluice Boxes
This resource provides a picture and short description of the miners' use of the sluice box.
Curated OER
Object of History: Chinese Miners (Chinese Immigration During the Gold Rush)
An image is provided of "Gan Saam Meets El Dorado," which depicts the Chinese miners in California during the 1850s in search of gold.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Streams Poisoned by Mercury
This CalGoldRush site discusses the damage mercury used in gold mining has done to California's environment
Curated OER
Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in California: Coloma
Town where the California Gold Rush when James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's mill on January 24, 1848. Now a ghost town, it is a significant part of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.
Curated OER
Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in California: Sutter's Fort
A 19th century agricultural and trade colony, it was known for its connection to the Donner Party, the California Gold Rush, and the formation of Sacramento as well as its proximity to the California Trail and Siskiyou Trails. Now a...
Curated OER
Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in California: Old United States Mint
Built for the San Francisco Mint in 1874 to handle the overflow from the California Gold Rush, this building is affectionately as The Granite Lady. It is one of the few that survivors of the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake and served...
Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee: Polk Is Caught in the Rush
This site discusses James K. Polk's place in the gold rush of California in the 1840's.
Curated OER
Chinese Laborers Build Central Pacific Railroad Trestle in the Sierra
Published in 1924, the book, "The Story of California from the Earliest Days to the Present," by Henry K. Norton, relates the lives of the Chinese who immigrated to California to participate in the gold rush. He also recounts the...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Westward Expansion and Reform
Part of a longer time line describing the history of the American West, this section covers the period 1829 to 1859 with hyperlinks to stories and people of this time period.
Oakland Museum of California
Giant Gold Machines Gold Dredges
This page gives a brief explanation of extracting minerals by the use of gold dredges. This was a process that sped up the process of finding gold.
Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee: Merchant Digs More Than Gold
This short article discusses Heinrich Schliemann's gold mining experience, including the death of his brother, before discovering the lost city of Troy during his archeological period.
Curated OER
Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in California: Columbia Historic District
Within two years of discovering gold in this town, it was the 3rd largest city in California. The historic district is now an open museum and the best preserved California Gold Rush town.
Curated OER
Wikipedia: Natl Historic Landmarks in Ca: Old Sacramento Historic District
Built up after the California Gold Rush, this historic district also includes the NHL locations of the Pony Express Terminal and the Big Four House.