ROSS SIMPSON

James Wilson Marshall
(October 8, 1810 – August 10, 1885)

The caption with this photo at the Library of Congress
claims that this was Marshall in front of the mill in 1850.

On January 24, 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill on
the American River in Northern California. After James W.
Marshall, who’d been overseeing the sawmill’s construction,
found the gold nuggets he and his boss, John Sutter,
attempted to keep

the discovery a secret. However, word soon spread and by
1849 thousands of prospectors, who became known as 49ers,
were flocking to Coloma, California, site of Sutter’s Mill, and
the surrounding region, hoping to strike it rich.

   
James Marshall’s cabin.

   

    
    
    
   
John Augustus Sutter
(February 23, 1803 – June 18, 1880)

The spot where Marshall first discovered the gold that
started the California Gold Rush.