
Jan 24, 1848: James Marshall finds gold in the American River kicking off the California Gold Rush
On January 24, 1848: “I have found it!” John Wilson Marshall, a carpenter, called out after finding flakes of gold at a small lumber mill he was helping to build on the banks of the American River in what was still considered a back water outpost in the mountains of Mexican Alta California. It was call heard across the world and started one of the greatest migration of people in history, founded a state, and started a war.