Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of San Francisco: Alvin Coffey, African American '49Er
Provides biography of an African American 49er with first hand accounts.
Other
Yuba City: John Augustus Sutter
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.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Entertainment
Many individuals made money during the gold rush without finding any gold. This resource dicusses how many actors and musicians made money entertaining lonely miners. There is also an audio version.
Oakland Museum of California
Giant Gold Machines Gold Dredges
This page gives a brief explanation of extracting minerals by the use of gold dredges. This was a process that sped up the process of finding gold.
Oakland Museum of California
Giant Gold Machines Hard Rock Mining
This page gives a brief explanation of extracting hard rock quartz. This was a labor intensive process that was often dangerous, but necessary to find gold.
Oakland Museum of California
Gold Rush: Miners and Sluice Boxes
This resource provides a picture and short description of the miners' use of the sluice box.
Curated OER
Chinese Laborers Build Central Pacific Railroad Trestle in the Sierra
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...