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Website
Oakland Museum of California

California's Untold Stories: Gold Fever

For Students 9th - 10th
A comprehensive site that offers a look at the "Gold Fever" of the California Gold Rush, with photos.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Postal Museum: As Precious as Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
"As Precious as Gold," is an online exhibit from the National Postal Museum which explores the rich history of the Alaskan/Klondike gold rushes. Find stories on extraordinary women, the trails, the Palm Sunday avalanche, the U.S. Postal...
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Activity
University of Washington

Klondike Gold Rush: The Perilous Journey North

For Students 9th - 10th
An easy-to-understand exhibit highlights the stampeders' journey north to the Klondike gold fields.
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Primary
Duke University

California Gold: The Diary and Letters of James M. Burr

For Students 9th - 10th
Wonderful primary resource on the California Gold Rush. Read actual letters and a diary--with explanatory annotations--by a prospector from 1850-1853.
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Handout
Other

California Gold Country: No Place for a Woman?

For Students 9th - 10th
Information about women in the California gold camps.
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Website
Oakland Museum of California

Gold Rush: Gold Fever! Prospecting

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource presents information about prospecting. You will learn about the history and see pictures on how it was done.
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Website
Huntington Library

Huntington Library: Land of Golden Dreams: California in the Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 10th
A rich site on the California gold rush, 1848-1858. An online exhibit traces the gold rush using primary sources, a teacher page gives lesson plans from 4-12 and a kid's page offers further online adventures. Takes a long time to load.
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Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: On Your Mark, Get Set, Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
This CalGoldRush.com site is an article that discusses where people came from, as well as the number of people involved in the California gold rush. The article focuses on the massive migration to California.
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Primary
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Gold Discovery

For Students 9th - 10th
This site contains information on the dramatic impact of the California Gold Rush. From "The History of California," published in 1897.
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Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Some Found Riches, Many Found Themselves

For Students 9th - 10th
This site discusses how many miners never made it rich, but had an adventure of a lifetime during the California gold rush.
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Unit Plan
Oakland Museum of California

Gold Rush: Stories of the Lure and Legacy

For Students 9th - 10th
Experience the Gold Rush through this multimedia presentation. See the art that reflects the environment, characters, and the role of women in the gold rush. Listen to an overview of the gold rush and its impact.
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Handout
Other

The Gold Rush: Fever

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource provides information about the Gold Rush, and fever that took place during westward expansion.
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Handout
State Library of North Carolina

N Cpedia: Gold Mining in the Uwharries

For Students 9th - 10th
In the early decades of the 1800s, the southern Piedmont's gold mines attracted prospectors, investors, and miners. Tar Heel gold had first been found in 1799 on John Reed's farm in Cabarrus County, several miles west of the Uwharrie...
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Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Indians' Misfortune Was Stamped in Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
This CalGoldRush site discussses the triumphs and hardships of Indians during the California gold rush. Some became rich, but many were sold into slavery.
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Handout
Other

The Gold Rush: Gold Country

For Students 9th - 10th
A great look at the people who made money providing services for the miners in the California Gold Rush.
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Handout
Other

The Gold Rush: Despair

For Students 9th - 10th
This page discusses what happened to many of the gold miners when the gold ran out in California.
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Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Prospectors Still Prowl the Hills for Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses how the California gold rush still inspires many individuals who continue searching for gold hoping to someday strike it rich.
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Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Rivals in the Newspaper Field

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

Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: A Gold Rush Poem

For Students 9th - 10th
A poem written in England but certainly expressing the hopes and dreams of those seeking gold in California. Included in the San Francisco Business Directory of 1864-65.
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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.
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Activity
Other

New York Public Library: Heading West: Mining the West

For Students 3rd - 8th
A short page on the discovery of gold at Sutter's Fort as well as the impact of mining in the west on relations with Native Americans.
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eBook
Blackdog Media

Classic Reader: Cabin Fever by b.m. Bower

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the full text of the western "Cabin Fever" by B.M. Bower about a young couple who has a bout of cabin fever and decide to split up. This book follows the adventures of the husband after he meets a prospector and learns about gold...
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Website
Oakland Museum of California

Gold Rush: Indian Gold Washing

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource contains information and a picture about Indian prospectors. It also contains an audio clip.
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Handout
Other

The Gold Rush: The Journey

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the routes followed by those seeking the riches of California. Find out the advantages and hazards of each route.