Asked by: Mubashir Scaffidi
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What was James Marshall doing when he found gold?

11
James W. Marshall was building a sawmill for Captain John Sutter, using water from the South Fork of the American River. He noticed several flakes of metal in the tailrace water and recognized them to be gold. Though he tried to keep it a secret, the word spread quickly and triggered the California Gold Rush of 1849.


Similarly one may ask, what river did James Marshall find gold?

American River

One may also ask, who was the person who discovered gold? Many people in California figured gold was there, but it was James W. Marshall on January 24, 1848, who saw something shiny in Sutter Creek near Coloma, California. He had discovered gold unexpectedly while overseeing construction of a sawmill on the American River.

In this manner, who is James Marshall and what did he discover why was his discovery so important what did it lead to?

James Marshall is a similar character in history. In January 1848, as Marshall was building a sawmill, he discovered gold in the American River and sparked the California Gold Rush, one of the greatest mass migrations of people in American history.

Did James Marshall strike it rich?

Although he never struck it rich, James Marshall is linked forever to the story of the California gold rush as the man who set the whole world heading westward with his discovery of gold along the American River in northern California.

Related Question Answers

Eufrasia Saladrigas

Professional

Who owned the land where the flakes of gold were found?

Reference no. Sutter's Mill was a sawmill, owned by 19th-century pioneer John Sutter, where gold was found, setting off the California Gold Rush, a major event of the history of the United States.

Jinlan Sassen

Professional

How much gold did the 49ers find?

Miners extracted more than 750,000 pounds of gold during the California Gold Rush.

Konrad El Mokadem

Professional

What did James Marshall say when found gold?

It was at the sawmill that, on January 24, 1848, he discovered gold in the water flow through the mill's tailrace. He immediately advised Sutter, who swore all his employees to secrecy. Ironically, neither Sutter nor Marshall ever profited from the discovery that should have made them independently wealthy.

Davide Pezoldt

Explainer

Why is Coloma important?

Coloma is most noted for being the site where James W. Marshall found gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills, at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush. Coloma's population is 529.

Anastacio Yudhajit

Explainer

How did Marshall find gold?

James W. Marshall was building a sawmill for Captain John Sutter, using water from the South Fork of the American River. He noticed several flakes of metal in the tailrace water and recognized them to be gold. Though he tried to keep it a secret, the word spread quickly and triggered the California Gold Rush of 1849.

Apolinaria Anderheggen

Explainer

Who were the Forty Niners?

The people who left their homes in search of gold were later referred to as the "forty-niners," simply because the year was 1849. Although the exact numbers are unknown, it's believed that around 300,000 people migrated to California during the Gold Rush.

Fredy Selfa

Pundit

What happened to John Sutter after the Gold Rush?

Discovery of gold on his land brought disaster to Sutter. In the process of building a water-powered sawmill, a carpenter named James W. Marshall found flakes of gold in a streambed (January 24, 1848). Gold seekers and squatters overran Sutter's land, stealing and destroying his goods and livestock.

Roger Staroviec

Pundit

When was gold discovered Coloma?

January 24, 1848

Tareq Hfyr

Pundit

What year did James Marshall die?

August 10, 1885

Aleu Tschirch

Pundit

What was Sam Brannan's scheme?

Samuel Brannan (March 2, 1819 – May 5, 1889) was an American settler, businessman, journalist, and prominent Mormon who founded the California Star, the first newspaper in San Francisco, California. He is considered the first to publicize the California Gold Rush and was its first millionaire.

Rueben Thorwesten

Pundit

How old is James Marshall TikTok?

James Marshall (TikTok Star) (born March 22, 2002) is a TikTok star.

Dasha Mar

Teacher

Was gold found in San Francisco?

Gold was also discovered in Southern California but on a much smaller scale. The first discovery of gold, at Rancho San Francisco in the mountains north of present-day Los Angeles, had been in 1842, six years before Marshall's discovery, while California was still part of Mexico.

Misho Viladoms

Teacher

Why was Brannan important?

Brannan as an Entrepreneur
Brannan eventually returned to San Francisco where he expanded both his business and civic reach. He invested widely in general stores, banks, railroads, telegraphs, and land. In 1850, he helped organize the Society of California Pioneers to promote the study of California history.

Eidan Orbaiz

Teacher

What year did James Marshall die and where is he buried?

1885

Liga El Hassnaoui

Teacher

How many siblings did James Marshall have?

James Wilson Marshall
Birthdate: October 08, 1810
Immediate Family: Son of Philip Marshall and Sarah Marshall Brother of Abigail Stone
Occupation: carpenter, farmer
Managed by: Private User

Abdelah Armental

Reviewer

Why did John Sutter want to keep the discovery of gold a secret?

John Sutter had a few reaasons to keep the news of gold quiet. One reason was that John feared that if the news got out, that his mill would never be finshed. The other reasons were that he thought with all the people, cattle would stampede and crops would be trampled.

Benemerito Gapko

Reviewer

What did John Sutter do for a living?

Businessperson
Army officer

Naema Valdizan

Reviewer

Where is gold commonly found in nature?

Gold is primarily found as the pure, native metal. Sylvanite and calaverite are gold-bearing minerals. Gold is usually found embedded in quartz veins, or placer stream gravel. It is mined in South Africa, the USA (Nevada, Alaska), Russia, Australia and Canada.

Abdeljabbar Colsa

Reviewer

What is the history of gold?

Gold was first discovered as shining, yellow nuggets. “Gold is where you find it,” so the saying goes, and gold was first discovered in its natural state, in streams all over the world. No doubt it was the first metal known to early hominids. Gold became a part of every human culture.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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29th January, 2020

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