Primary
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Diary of Johann August Sutter

For Students 9th - 10th
In an book by Douglas S. Watson published in 1932, you can read the introduction which tells about the life of Johann August Sutter, who emigrated to California, built a mill where gold was found, and suffered for that discovery....
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Panning for History

For Students 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about a Boy Scout trip that goes panning for rocks, minerals, and gold to learn more about history. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Curated OER

Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in California: Coloma

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Graphic
Curated OER

Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in California: Columbia Historic District

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Curated OER

Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in California: Sutter's Fort

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Graphic
Curated OER

Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in California: Old United States Mint

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Curated OER

Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in California: Bodie Historic District

For Students 9th - 10th
Establish in 1859, it became a Gold Rush boomtown in 1876. It is currently a State park preserved in arrested decay, neither restored nor destroyed. It is one of very few towns of this type to survive untouched.
Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Teachers: Journeys West

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A series of lessons utilizing primary texts, including narratives, photographs, and maps, through which learners explore the following question: "What motivated thousands of people to journey west during the 1800s?"
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Curated OER

Virtual Museum of San Francisco Ulysses S. Grant and the Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 10th
From Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs is this description of his 1852 trip to California across Panama and his stay in San Francisco.
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Curated OER

Chinese Laborers Build Central Pacific Railroad Trestle in the Sierra

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Curated OER

Black Miner

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Primary
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Miner's Song

For Students 9th - 10th
Published in "Hutching's California Magazine" in 1857 was a song expressing the hopes and dreams of those suffering from gold fever.
Handout
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: Johann Augustus Sutter

For Students 9th - 10th
This page contains a brief biography of gold rusher, John Sutter, from the book "Life in California before the Gold Discovery" by John Bidwell.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Contested Territories

For Students 9th - 10th
This site highlights the westward expansion of settlers in North America and the effects this expansion had on Native Americans between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
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Curated OER

Hydraulic Mining

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides pictures and information about hydraulic mining (using jets of water to break down gold-laden gravel banks) for gold.
Graphic
Curated OER

Hydraulic mining.jpg, 0 Bytes

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides pictures and information about hydraulic mining (using jets of water to break down gold-laden gravel banks) for gold.
Graphic
Curated OER

Hart Stereoview #61, Hydraulic Mining

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides pictures and information about hydraulic mining (using jets of water to break down gold-laden gravel banks) for gold.
Lesson Plan
Varsity Tutors

Varsity Tutors: Web English Teacher: Karen Cushman

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Have you ever read any of Karen Cushman's work? This site features links to lesson plans and other activities for her books.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Westward Expansion and Reform

For Students 3rd - 8th
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.
Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Regional Realism: Bret Harte

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a brief biography featuring American realist author Bret Harte who drew attention to the life and sentiment of those in the West through his writings. Click on "Bret Harte Activities" for more resources.
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: Chinese Immigrants and Mexican Americans

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the conflict with Mexican American and Chinese groups as white settlers pushed westward in the nineteenth century. Explains what brought so many Chinese immigrants to America and the roadblocks and discrimination that they had...
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Curated OER

Wikipedia: Natl Historic Landmarks in Ca: Old Sacramento Historic District

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
eBook
Blackdog Media

Classic Reader: "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" by Bret Harte

For Students 9th - 10th
Text of the short story "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" by Bret Harte, an American author who often wrote about the California Gold Rush. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)
Primary
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Miners' Ten Commandments

For Students 9th - 10th
Written by James Hutchings in 1853, the ten commandments of miners show the life of the miner.

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