“Gold Boys Gold”

On January 24, 1848, James Marshall went out early and alone to inspect progress on deepening the ditch that carried water from the sawmill back to the river, where he noticed a few particles gleaming in the icy water. He picked them up and called to the mill hands that he believed he had found a gold mine. The men rushed to him, and after one bit a flake and found that the metal did not break, he shouted, “Gold, boys, gold!” Further tests, including boiling the metal in lye and beating it thin, convinced the men that Marshall had found gold. Four days later, on January 28, John Sutter wrote in his diary, “Mr. Marshall arrived from the mountains on very important business.”

Coloma, California · United States