This resource presents information about Chinese miners in California and the prejudice they suffered.

This resource presents information about the Spanish influence in California before the Gold Rush.

Lesson on how the Chinese in California confronted anti-Chinese sentiment and discrimination in the late 1800s. Comprehensive lesson with primary source materials.

This site from the National Parks Service gives a brief history, and description of the California trail system which was used by settlers moving to California during the 1849 Gold Rush days.

This article traces the career of the Swiss American pioneer, John Sutter. The discovery of gold in 1848 at his lumber mill led to the California Gold Rush.

The California State Military Museum has captured the history of the Indian Wars. This is a synopsis of the Mariposa Indian War which occurred between 1850-1851, the best known battle during the Gold Rush years.

Read about the routes followed by those seeking the riches of California. Find out the advantages and hazards of each route.

Read about the environmental impact the changing technology of gold mining inflicted on California and the economic impact on the miners.

See how the discovery of gold changed California and introduced lawlessness, violence, and vigilantism.

This page discusses what happened to many of the gold miners when the gold ran out in California.

Chronicles the life of John Sutter who immigrated to America to find his fortune and then saw it crumble away after the discovery of gold at his mill.

This article provides a brief overview of the life of James Marshall, who discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848.

From Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs is this description of his 1852 trip to California across Panama and his stay in San Francisco.

Information about the notorious Joaquin Murieta, Mexican miner who became a legend after a book was written about him in 1854.

This resource contains information and a picture about Indian prospectors. It also contains an audio clip.

This resource presents information about prospecting. You will learn about the history and see pictures on how it was done.

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.)

Illustrated article from Harper's Weekly, October 3, 1857, page 632, focusing on Chinese workers and their life in California mining camps.

The allure of getting rich quick by finding gold or silver was just a dream for most prospectors. Read about the gold and silver rushes that usually ended up enriching the mining industry, not the miner. Find out about the make-up of the...

At this site from the Schools of California Online Resources for Education, students will travel back in time as Chinese Immigrants in this detailed WebQuest. By using the resources and links given, students will file a job profile,...

An account by William Tecumseh Sherman about the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill.

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....

This site contains a poster of a new bank started by Sam Brannen in San Francisco during the gold rush.

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...