Even in 1849, Sutter’s Mill had become a beacon drawing people to Coloma, and visitors continue to come to experience a sense of discovery and connection to the Gold Rush. Curious tourists flocked to Coloma as early as 1849, eager to see the famed sawmill, while artists recorded the discovery spot in watercolors and pencil sketches and others scavenged wood from the mill as souvenirs. One enterprising merchant whittled canoes from the mill’s wood and sold them in San Francisco as Gold Rush mementos. As tourists arrived, Coloma residents advocated preserving the gold discovery site, and one local reporter urged preserving some vestige of the past, calling Sutter’s Mill a fitting emblem of early history. Those efforts eventually led to the creation of Marshall Monument, the state’s first historic landmark. Thanks to early preservation efforts and California State Parks, the place where James Marshall found gold can still be seen.