Mining law

California Gold Rush handbill

Just after the discovery of gold at the sawmill in Coloma, both John Sutter and James Marshall attempted to control the mining territory by demanding rent from the men who wished to mine there, and for a short while they were successful. But as more men showed up to mine and gold was found in locations across the western foothills that extended for hundreds of miles both north and south from the original discovery site, it quickly became understood that all men were free and each had as much right as any other to work mining ground. So it was that one of the first things done was to formulate rules and regulations for the government of miners and the mines. At first these rules had to do mostly with the size and manner of working individual mining claims and often differed according to circumstances and location.

Sutter’s Mill, TC Russell

One of the first rules adopted was to establish the size of a claim, or the amount of ground a man could work, and next was to determine what constituted occupancy. All men were to be regarded equally and perhaps there was no more absolute equality among men than in the early days of the gold rush. A man might be superior in intellect, enterprise, courage or manners and thereby looked up to by others, but under the mining laws and in practice he was no better. Education, family connections, wealth, dress, or any of the ordinary distinctions of society disappeared and counted for nothing in the mines. All men started at the same level. Equality in ownership and in all other respects was the foundation on which mining law was based.

Panning for gold

In the very early days the size of a claim could be fixed as small as ten feet square, but this only worked in very rich areas and could rise to one hundred feet square in poorer areas or in places that had been previously worked. There were many variations to this principle with object to give every man a fair chance to accumulate wealth by granting him as much ground as he could use. But these claims could only be held while they were being reasonably worked. Usually a man had to do a certain amount of work per week or someone else could take the claim. If a man had to leave the land for some reason then he needed proof that he planned to return and continue working the claim. Leaving his mining tools onsite was usually sufficient. Each man then had the equal right to make use of the fruits of his claim by his work, but on the other hand each of his fellow miners had the same rights to those fruits if the first man failed to make use of the land.

Gold mining

There were perhaps as many variations to these rules as there were mining districts. But in almost all cases once a claim was taken up stakes were driven in the corners of the property, or written notices posted, or an entry was made in the public record, or any combination of the three were required. But in all cases the land belonged to the government and men could acquire no ownership save that used for mining and then only while that mining was being done. In many cases special provisions were made pertaining to the sale of claims and the authentication of the bill of sale, the usual method of conveying claims.