Gold Rush History Links

“A Frenzy seized my soul: unbidden my legs performed some entirely new movements of polka steps, I took several....Piles of gold rose before me at every step; castles of marble, dazzling the eye with their rich appliances; thousands of slaves bowing to my beck and call; myriads of fair virgins contending with each other for my love, were among the fancies of my fevered imaginations. The Rothschilds, Girards and Astors appeared to me but poor people; in short, I had a very violent attack of the Gold Fever.”  ....James H. Carson, Recollections of the California Mines.

 
The Discovery of Gold - I Believe I've Found a Gold Mine
 
The Way West - Pioneer Routes to California
 
The Gold Rush - General and Comprehensive Information
 
Locales in the Gold Fields - Specific Towns or Places
 
Gold Rush Players - Biographies of Notable Folk
 
Miners' Correspondence - Letters and Diaries
 
Gold Rush Fiction - Tales/Anecdotes From or About the Gold Rush
 
Historical Societies - Digging into California's Past
 
Gold Rush Genealogy - A Miner in your Family Tree?
 
E Clampus Vitus - Credo Quia Absurdum
 
The Donner Party - Tragedy in the High Sierra
 
Miscellaneous - A Gold Rush Catch-All
 


 
The Discovery of Gold
      California Gold - An Authentic History of the First Find
      General William T. Sherman's Memoirs - Gold Fields, Mormons and the News
      The Dramatic Impact of the Gold Discovery - History of California, 1897
      The Discovery of Gold in California - by James W. Marshall
      The Discovery of Gold in California - by Capt. John Sutter
      The Discovery of Gold In California - as Viewed by New York and London
      The First Official Report of the Discovery of Gold in California - Colonel Mason
      Thomas Larkin's Letters - Of the Gold Discovery
 
The Way West
   General
      California Gold - Routes to California
   By Land
      California National Historic Trail Brochure - Ho for California!
      California National Historical Trail Wagon Train - Run for the Gold
      Census of Overland Emigrant Documents - Overland Trail Emigrant Information
      Children's Chores Along the Trail - And Kids Complain Today?
      Fun With Buffalo Dung - The Title Says it All
      Oregon-California Trails Association - Cal/Nev Chapter
      Overland to California - Joint Stock Companies
      The California National History Trail - A National Park Service Site
      The California Trail - A Virtual Tour
      The Road to California, 1849 - The Origins of the Trail
      The Westward Migration - Establishment of the California Trail
      Wagons West - With a Pioneer Shopping List
      Wagons West in '46 - Overland to California, a Madera Method Project
      Where the Heck IS California, Anyway? - Where are the Warrior Women?
   By Sea
      California - Steamers Via Panama or Nicaragua
      Gold Rush Shipwrecks - The Winfield Scott & the Yankee Blade
      History of the Panama Railroad - Sea/Land/Sea
      The Journey by Sea - 9 of 10 Captains were Incompetent
      The Maritime Heritage Project - Focusing on Steamships to California
      The S.S. Central America - America's Lost Treasure
      Sea Routes to California - A Map
 
The Gold Rush
      A Brief History of California's Gold - by Timothy McNulty
      A Rush to the Gold Washings - From The California Star, 1848
      All About the Gold Rush - PBS online
      And the Rush Was On - 150 Years after the Gold Rush
      California as I Saw It - First-Person Narratives of California 1849-1900
      California Gold Rush Chronology - San Francisco Museum Site
      Early California History - An Overview
      Gold Rush - The Sacramento Bee Series
      The Gold Rush Chronicles - Historical Information on the Gold Rush Era
      Gold Rush History Alliance - Bringing Gold Rush History to Life
      Gold Fever - The Oakland Museum of California's Gold Rush site
      Mormons in the Mines - California's Gold Rush Saints
      Rambles in California - Excerpt from New Families Magazine, 1859
      The California Gold Rush - California's Natural Resources
      The California Gold Rush - Houston Chronicle Site
      The Land of Glittering Dreams - Fine Art Photographs & Historical Nuggets
      Welcome to the West - The PBS Site
 
Locales in the Gold Fields
      Historic Mining Ditches Near Foresthill
      History of Dutch Flat - A Sketch by Russell Towle
      San Francisco During the Gold Rush - San Francisco Museum Site
      Sierra History - Central Sierra Miwok, Gold, & Angels Camp
      The Californian Gold District - Kanaha Bar
      The Gold Rush Trail - An Outdoor Museum of San Francisco's Heritage
 
Gold Rush Players
      Black Bart - The Gold Rush PO8
      Samuel Brannan - PBS Welcome to the West
      Samuel Brannan - Yuba City's Founding Father
      Lotta Crabtree - Charlotte Mignon “Lotta” Crabtree
      John Charles Fremont - The Pathfinder
      Domenico Ghirardelli - The Chocolate Guy
      James Marshall - California's Gold Discoverer
      James Wilson Marshall - The Man who Started the Gold Rush
      Lola Montez - Femme Fatale, etc.
      Emperor Norton - Emperor of the United States
      Leland Stanford, Sr. - One of the "Big Four"
      Levi Strauss - Inventor of the Blue Jean
      John Studebaker - From Conestoga Wagon, to Wheelbarrow, to Studebaker
      Johann Augustus Sutter - Johann Augustus Sutter
 
Miners' Correspondence
   Letters
      Benjamin S. Lippincott - Pioneer Letters 1846-1850
      Christmas, 1851 - California Gold Rush letter
      William Swain Letter - Written from "The Diggings"
   Diaries/Journals
      A Journal of our Travels across the Mountains to California
      Across the Plains in the Donner Party - Virginia Reed Murphy
      As It Was in '49 - An Account of an Overland Journey
      California as I Saw It - First Person Narratives, 1849-1900
      David Campbell's Account of Travels West in 1846
      The Diary and Letters of James M. Burr, 1850-1853
      Diary of Azariah Smith - Present on the day of the Gold Discovery at Sutters Mill
      Diary of Patrick Breen - Donner Party Member
      Diary of H.W. Bigler - Mormon Battalion Member at Sutters Mill
      Diary of Hiram Miller and James F. Reed - of the Donner Party
      Donner Relief Party Diary - The Rescuer's Story
      The Gold Rush Diary of George Bonniwell
      Grant Palmer's Boyhood in the California Gold Rush Country 1860's - 1870's
      Incidents of Travel and Adventure in the Far West - by S.N. Carvalho
      Iowa to the Land of Gold - Eliza Ann McAuley
      Kane County, Ill to Diamond Springs, Cal. by Wagon - Harriet Booth Griswald
      Log of trip around the Horn in 1849 to S.F. - Alfred L. Stiles
      Memoirs of Travel - Missouri to California Overland
      Over the Old Back Trails - by Sadie Culbert Tibbitts
      The Gold Rush Diary of William P. Huff - 1849 & 1850
      The Hard Life of a 49'er Miner - A Fictional Diary by Hillary, Dylan and Shiloh
      The James Reed Diary - of the Donner Party
      What I Saw in California - Diary of Edwin Bryant in 1846 overland journey
 
Gold Rush Fiction
      Commandments to California Wives - Shalts & Shalt Nots
      Men to Match My Mountains - by Irving Stone
      Riding the Overland Stage - Mark Twain "Roughing It" excerpt
      Stories of Virginia City, Nevada - Excerpts from the Big Bonanza
      The Californian's Tale - A Look at Gold Mining by Mark Twain
      The Days of ‘49: A Popular Song of Pioneer Times in California
      The Gold Hunter's Farewell to his Wife - A Goodbye Song
      The Honest Miner's Songs - Oh California! That's the Land for Me
      The Miners' Ten Commandments - Shalts & Shalt Nots
      The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County - Mark Twain's Famous Story
 
Historical Societies
      Amador County Historical Agencies
      Calaveras County Historical Agencies
      El Dorado County Historical Agencies
      Mariposa County Historical Agencies
      Nevada County Historical Society, Inc.
      Placer County Historical Agencies
      Sierra County Historical Society
      Stanislaus County Historical Agencies
      Tuolumne County Historical Agencies
      Yuba County Historical Agencies
      California Historical Society
 
Gold Rush Genealogy
      Amador County GenWeb Project Pages
      Calaveras County Genealogy
      California Gold Rush Genealogy Mailing List
      El Dorado County Genealogy
      Mariposa County Genealogy
      Nevada County Genealogy Home Pages
      California via Central America, Steamer Passenger Lists
      Placer County Genealogy Home Page
      Sierra County Genealogy Home Page
      Stanislaus County Genealogy Page
      Tuolumne County Genealogy Home Page
      Yuba County Genealogy & History
      California Genealogy
 
E Clampus Vitus
      A Short History of E Clampus Vitus
      Bodie Chapter "64"
      Clampers on the Net
      Cyber Clampout
      ECV — E Clampus Vitus
      ECV Chapter 1.5
      Estanislao #58
      Lost Dutchman Chapter 5917 Arizona
      Quivira Chapter #4
      The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus
      The Lost Clamper
 
The Donner Party
      Donner Online - A Web-based Learning Guide
      Donner Party Story - Photo and Background
      The Donner Party - A Brief Summary
      The Donner Party - A Daily Log of the Donner Party's Journey
      The Donner Party - The Ill-fated Group
      The Donner Party - by Shauna Bogetz
 
Miscellaneous
      African American Rights During the Gold Rush
      The Bear Flag Republic - We are Republicans
      The Bear Flag Revolt - California History
      The Bear Flag Revolt - The California Republic
      The Bear Flag Revolt - by Nathan Rayman
      California History - Achieving Statehood
      California History - The Bear Flag Revolt
      The Double Eagle - From the Gold Fields of California
      Eureka - What's it mean?
      FOUND! The Wreck of the Frolic - A Gold Rush Cargo for San Francisco
      Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold! - by Thomas Hood
      Gold Rush Stories from Pioneer Women - San Francisco Museum Site
      Mariposa Battalion and the Discovery of Yosemite
      No Place for a Woman? - by Patricia Cronin Marcello
      Raising of the Bear Flag - The Official Bear Flag Page
      Raising of the Bear Flag - Why a Grizzly?
      Shipwrecks in California - Sunken Treasure
      Steamer Day in the 1850's - Mail Call!
      The California - First American Steamer to reach California after the Discovery of Gold
      The Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California - by Lansford W. Hastings
      The Gold Rush of California: A Bibliography of Periodical Articles
      The Chinese in the Gold Rush - Patient & Industrious
      Ulysses S. Grant and the California Gold Rush - 1852
      Wagons West in '46 - Overland to California, a Madera Method Project
      Women in the Gold Rush - Women who "Saw the Elephant"

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