Rancho San Pedro

The California Gold Rush rewrote the history of the American West, but especially that of San Francisco. After analyzing images of the city and primary sources, such as a diary entry, scholars discuss these changes. Scaffolded questions...

There is a lot to learn from art. This teacher's guide provides you with extensive background information, activities, and a scripted commentary to accompany a slide show on French artists in California during the Gold Rush Period. The...

There's gold in them thar hills! A short cartoon introduces middle schoolers to the California Gold Rush of 1849. The video encourages viewers to dig deeper and mine for a lode of information about gold mining, the 49ers, and the...

Young scholars compare contemporary cultural differences with historical differences based on population percentage. In this cross-curriculum Gold Rush/math activity, students analyze aspects of California's Gold Rush population and...

Article by Henry Sage explaining the history of California, how it became a state, and how President Polks desire to acquire California contributed to the Mexican-American War.

The California State Parks presents a brief unit on the California Gold Rush including three lessons which begin with the westward movement to California for gold, the actual process of mining for gold, then the effects of the rush on...

Upon hearing of the gold discovery at Sutter's Mill in California in the 1840s, a flood of migrants went West in search of wealth and fame. Others, such as Chinese workers, came from farther away. Using video clips from historians and...

Original photographs depicting scenes from California during the Gold Rush. Illustrations of mines, miners at work, and the tools they used as well as the effect of the mining industry on California's landscape.

A collection of primary source photos from 19th-century California which portray what everyday life was like during the California Gold Rush.

Primary source images depicting the rapid growth of small settlements into big cities as people continued to come to California from all over the world during the Gold Rush.