Sacramento Bee
The Sacramento Bee: Timeline of John Sutter
John Sutter was the unwitting lynchpin in the California Gold Rush. Read the time line of events that show how he suffered for that discovery.
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: Journeys West
A series of lessons utilizing primary texts, including narratives, photographs, and maps, through which students explore the following question: "What motivated thousands of people to journey west during the 1800s?"
PBS
Pbs: New Perspectives on the West
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
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...
Curated OER
Wikipedia: Natl Historic Landmarks in Ca: Old Sacramento Historic District
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.
PBS
New Perspectives on the West: John Augustus Sutter (1803 1880)
Biography of John Sutter, a Swiss settler who helped to develop Californian and saw his fortunes dwindle after the California Gold Rush.
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.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: Samuel Brannan's Bank
This site contains a poster of a new bank started by Sam Brannen in San Francisco during the gold rush.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: Johann Augustus Sutter
This page contains a brief biography of gold rusher, John Sutter, from the book "Life in California before the Gold Discovery" by John Bidwell.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Mining Boom
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...
Digital History
Digital History: Western Expansion: Conclusion
A good overview of the territorial expansion and its results that occurred in the United States over the first half of the 19th century.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Diary of Johann August Sutter
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....
Read Works
Read Works: Panning for History
[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.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: Chinese Immigrants and Mexican Americans
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...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Westward Expansion and Reform
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.
Curated OER
Virtual Museum of San Francisco Ulysses S. Grant and the Gold Rush
From Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs is this description of his 1852 trip to California across Panama and his stay in San Francisco.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Miner's Song
Published in "Hutching's California Magazine" in 1857 was a song expressing the hopes and dreams of those suffering from gold fever.
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: The Miners' Ten Commandments
Written by James Hutchings in 1853, the ten commandments of miners show the life of the miner.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Treasures of Am. History: Western Expansion
Shown are images and descriptions of artifacts that express the challenges that the migrants, Mexicans, and Indians shared in their quest for westward expansion in the United States during the 1800s.
Curated OER
Hydraulic Mining
Provides pictures and information about hydraulic mining (using jets of water to break down gold-laden gravel banks) for gold.
Curated OER
Hydraulic mining.jpg, 0 Bytes
Provides pictures and information about hydraulic mining (using jets of water to break down gold-laden gravel banks) for gold.
Curated OER
Hart Stereoview #61, Hydraulic Mining
Provides pictures and information about hydraulic mining (using jets of water to break down gold-laden gravel banks) for gold.
Curated OER
Cover Art
Carol Hurst uses one of her own books, "In Plain Sight," as a basis for this lesson plan on the California gold rush. In addition to discussion questions about the book, Hurst provides ten activities designed to help students explore...
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: Von Kempelen and His Discovery
"Von Kempelen and His Discovery" by Edgar Allan Poe was written as a hoax to deter "forty-niners" from rushing to California in search of gold. Read the full text on this site.