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Category Archives: Gold discoveries
The tragic case of Michael Brennan
But not all miners had the perseverance of Alvinza Hayward. Take the tragic case of Michael Brennan and his mine near Grass Valley. Brennan came to America from Ireland and landed a job with the New York Herald. When news … Continue reading
Gold Bluff
In the spring of 1851 stories began to circulate among the gold miners, no doubt greatly helped along by those with an interest in the likely outcome, that the beaches for miles south of where the Klamath River runs into … Continue reading
Posted in Gold discoveries, Gold rush places
Tagged California gold rush, Gold Bluff, gold rush, Klamath River
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Tales of gold finds that didn’t pan out
The great wealth pulled from the earliest of mining sites had all been along rivers or in gravel deposits thought to be the remains of ancient rivers and gave rise to the common idea that there were enormous hordes of … Continue reading
Posted in Gold discoveries, Gold rush places
Tagged California gold rush, Downieville, gold rush, Truckee
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Gold under massive ancient lava flows
Of all the ancient gravel channels in the gold country that proved so productive two, one in the north and the other in the south, could well have been the richest and the most difficult to mine of any because … Continue reading
Posted in Gold discoveries, Gold rush places
Tagged California gold rush, Feather River, gold rush, Oroville, Sonora, Tuolumne
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The Mother Lode and the Great Blue Lead
Across the gold country of California it became clear to early miners that the gold still locked into the quartz rock was in the natural state that it first was deposited. Thus the more angular the placer gold was then … Continue reading
Posted in Gold discoveries, Gold rush places
Tagged California gold rush, gold rush, mother lode
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More nuggets from the gold rush
In 1858 a nugget over 50 pounds and worth $8500 was discovered sitting beside a well-used trail about a half-mile outside of Columbia where it had been passed often by many travelers. In Sonora in 1851 a man tripped over … Continue reading
Big nuggets from the California gold rush
The first piece of gold found by James Marshall in the mill race of the sawmill he was building along the American River at Coloma was worth only 50 cents and the second one about five dollars. No one knows … Continue reading
Posted in Gold discoveries
Tagged Calaveras, California gold rush, gold rush, Sutter's mill, Tuolumne
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The quality of California’s gold
The quality of the gold varied greatly across the gold country just as did the quantity. The gold from the Kern River area was so mixed with silver that it was nearly white and worth only about half that of … Continue reading
Posted in Gold discoveries, Gold rush places
Tagged California gold rush, Gold quality, gold rush
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The distribution of California’s gold
The majority of the gold found in California in the 1840s and 50s was spread across a broad belt on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Mount Shasta in the north to Mount Whitney in the south, … Continue reading
Posted in Gold discoveries
Tagged California gold rush, gold rush, Mount Shasta, Mount Whitney, Sierra Nevada
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