
“I have found it.”- John Wilson Marshall, the man that first found gold on the banks of the American River, next to infamous Mill that bears John Sutter’s Name. Both men would die penniless, via Wiki Commons
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.