Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: The Gold Rush
The 1848 discovery of gold in the territory of California prompted 300,000 hopeful prospectors to flood into the region, altering it forever.
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: California Gold Rush
The sources in this primary set document the broad "forty-niner" experience. Includes teaching guide.
California Digital Library
Calisphere: Sutter's Mill
A broad selection of images featuring the Sutter's Mill can be found on this site by Calisphere. By clicking on individual images you'll find high quality photographs and image information.
Digital History
Digital History: The Gold Rush
See how the discovery of gold changed California and introduced lawlessness, violence, and vigilantism.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Sacramento Was Gateway to Gold
Read about the growth and importance of Sacramento as a mining town in the California Gold Rush. From a larger site from the Sacramento Bee.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Justice Wasn't Pretty but It Was Quick
This CalGoldRush.com site contains information on justice and law in California during the gold rush. Many felons lost their lives at the end of a rope.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Culture Took Hold Despite Tough Crowds
This resource contains information on the development of culture in California during the gold rush. Culture developed in spite of the harsh conditions and tough people.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Religion Reclaimed Souls
This article, entitled "Religion Reclaimed Souls as Mining Expanded," contains information on the developement of religion in California during the gold rush.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Boring Diet Gave Miners Appetite for Dining
This site discusses the eating habits of many of the miners during the California gold rush.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Rivals in the Newspaper Field
This article from the Sacramento Bee discusses the rise of journalism during the California gold rush. Many journalists left their jobs and headed west to cover this great event.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: 'Real Women' Who Defied Stereotype
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses the role of the women during the gold rush in California. They served in a variety of roles and many made more than miners. This page tells their stories.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: His Path Back to Japan Was Paved With Gold
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses the life of Manjiro Nakahama, a Japanese immigrant who made enough money during the gold rush in California that he was able to return home to Japan.
Sacramento Bee
Sacramento Bee: Gold Rush Cost in Environmental Damage
This site discusses how the California gold rush left lasting damage of the California environment. Read how the state's environment has been forever changed.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Some Found Riches, Many Found Themselves
This site discusses how many miners never made it rich, but had an adventure of a lifetime during the California gold rush.
Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee: Timeline of John Sutter
John Sutter was the unwitting lynchpin in the California Gold Rush. Read the time line of events that show how he suffered for that discovery.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Law, Order and Justice for Some Discrimination
This resource presents information about the culturally diverse mining towns in California during the time of the gold rush and the treatment of minorities.
Oakland Museum of California
Oakland Museum of California: Gold Rush and Hydraulic Mining
This page gives a brief explanation of extracting minerals by means of hydraulic mining. This was a labor intensive process that was often dangerous but necessary to find gold.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Silver and Gold: Chinese Man
This resource presents information about the Chinese miners who came to California during the gold rush period of American history and faced discrimination and hostility.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Prospecting: Chinese Placer Mining
This resource presents information about Chinese miners in California and the prejudice they suffered.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Prospecting Coyote Hole
This resource presents information on African American miners during the California Gold Rush.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Indian Gold Washing
This resource contains information and a picture about Indian prospectors. It also contains an audio clip.
Oakland Museum of California
California's Untold Stories: Art of the Gold Rush
The Oakland Museum presents an exhibit of art that show the miners, mining towns, new cities, and people of the Gold Rush. Be sure to read the overview of the exhibit to get the historical background.
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.
PBS
New Perspectives on the West: John Augustus Sutter (1803 1880)
Biography of John Sutter, a Swiss settler who helped to develop Californian and saw his fortunes dwindle after the California Gold Rush.