Bijelic 1

After the American-Mexican war, Mexico made a treaty with the United State, where Mexico

surrendered the state of California to the United States. Shortly after that came the period of the

Gold Rush in California. The Gold Rush had many effects on this state, such as development of

transformational infrastructure, manufacturing and industry and increase agriculture. A huge

circulation of people, goods, and money caused California to develop rapidly.

Brief History of the Gold Rush

The Mexican–American War ended on February 3, 1848, and California was annexed as a

possession of the United States. This arrangement between two countries granted over one

million square miles of land to the United States, which included present-day Nevada, Wyoming,

and New Mexico. At the beginning California had been organized as a military government ship

to make way for it becoming territory of United States. The bloody and crazy history of

California was ready to calm down into steady buildup of agricultural territory and statehood.

One of the wealthiest people in San Francisco region was a John Sutter. Sutter was a Swiss

immigrant who came in California in 1839. He intended to build his own private agricultural

empire. In late 1847, James Marshall and about 30 men were sent by Stutter to build sawmill

near the American River. In January 1848, while building sawmill James Marshall spotted

something shiny in the American River. “I reached my hand down and picked it up; it made my

heart thump, for I was certain it was gold. . . Then I saw another."(James Marshall). One year

after James discovery, the “Gold Rush” started. The year of 1849 was a year of massive

migration to California from many parts of the country. Also, people from foreign countries
 Bijelic 2

started coming to California seeking gold or offering their services to other diggers. The

migrants, dubbed the “forty-niners” for the year of their trip, flocked to cities such as San

Francisco and present-day Sacramento, which were experiencing unprecedented development.

The population of San Francisco, for example, exploded from 500 in 1847 to more than 150,000

in 1852.

Effects of the Gold Rush

Since large number of immigrants start to circulate in the California, the state underwent a

radical transformation in a very short amount of time. It changed from a sparsely populated

region to a territory with enough people to constitute a state. In quiet a short period, immigrants

became the predominant population in California. As a result, the towns and villages quickly

filled up, resulting in the growth of already established cities, such as San Francisco, and the

creation of new hastily developed settlements. Because of the large amount of people, California

started developing in many different directions, such as transportation, services, manufacturing

technology…

transportation

At the beginning California was a far and isolated place in the United States. There was no easy

way to reach California. For example, few months were needed to travel in order to reach

California. There were three routes for forty-niners to come in California. At first, most forty-

niners were traveled by sea. From the East Coast, a sailing voyage around the tip of South

America would take four to five months and cover approximately 18,000 nautical miles. An

alternative was to sail to the Atlantic side of the Isthmus of Panama, take canoes and mules for a

week through the jungle, and then on the Pacific side, wait for a ship sailing for San Francisco.
 Bijelic 3

Finally, there was route across land, and this route was the most dangerous and difficult of

travelers because the land was unexplored and many of those routes had deadly hazards. Aside

from forty-niners and their long journey, the most serious problem was the transportation of

supplies and government messages. Thus, adequate transport had to be improvised for an influx

of gold seekers and merchants who came in California. Many of them did not plan to stay in

California, thus they are wanted a better connection with their hometowns and family. Because

of that, the flood of gold rush wealth created economic incentives for fast transportation.

Enterprising individuals quickly created transpiration system, including and infrastructure of

roads, wharves, bridges, ferries, express offices, shipyards, foundries and factories.

Manufacturing and Industry

The Gold Rush led to an explosion in manufacturing for mining machinery and equipment. In

1850, the largest companies in California started using a technology called hydraulic mining. For

instance, high pressure hoses would blast away entire mountains and hillsides, and the gold was

then extracted from the residue. Huge dredges also began to be used to scoop out entire riverbeds

and streams. Another way of mining was lode mining, where miners searched for gold in

underground veins. They also used compressed air drills to drill hole in rocks and blasted those

rocks with dynamite. The Gold Rush also led to an increase in production of lumber and the

creation of new flour mills. The need for clothing increased dramatically, and the leather industry

experienced significant growth. Wholesale and retail developed at this time and were

instrumental in helping meet the growing demands of consumers.

Development of Agriculture
 Bijelic 4

Aside of mining and transportation, one more important thing that was developed in California

during the Gold Rush was agriculture. Because competition for mining and gold seeking was

large, many of forty-niners found opportunity in agricultural. In fact, many who failed in mining

turned to California’s “green gold” taking full advantage of the state’s favorable climate to

produce massive amounts of fruits, vegetables and grains in order to feed denizens of the mining

communities. Companies from Europe also saw an opportunity to satisfy the demands for wine.

They planted the first orchards and vineyards, and soon they were not only supplying locally but

also exporting to other countries.

 Bijelic 5

The Golden Skein: California's Gold-Rush Transportation Network

A. C. W. Bethel

California History

Vol. 77, No. 4, A Golden State: Mining and Economic Development in Gold Rush California (Winter,
1998/1999), pp. 250-275

Published by: University of California Press in association with the California Historical Society

DOI: 10.2307/25462517

https://www.jstor.org/stable/25462517

Page Count: 26