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| Landmark #530 | El Dorado County | Visited: April 5, 2015 | Plaque? YES! 🙂 |
| What is it? | The site of gold discovery and a refurbished Sutter’s Mill still stand to commemorate this historic site! |
| What makes it historical? | THE GUIDE SAYS: This monument marks the site of John A. Sutter’s sawmill. In its tail-race, on January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall discovered gold and started great rush of Argonauts to California. The Society of California Pioneers definitely located and marked the site in 1924—additional timbers and relics, including the original tailrace unearthed in 1947, were discovered after the property became a state park. The State erected the Marshall Monument overlooking this spot in 1890 through efforts begun in 1886 by the Native Sons of the Golden West.
OTHER TIDBITS: One of the most important landmarks in California history, the discovery of gold here ignited one of the largest human migrations in history and completely transformed the western United States! At the time, James Marshall had teamed up with John Sutter to build a lumber mill on the American River near Coloma. Mr. Sutter was going to fund it, and Mr. Marshall was going to oversee it. While inspecting the tailrace, which had been to shallow for the mill wheel to turn, Mr. Marshall discovered flakes of what he was sure to be gold, but it had to be confirmed! He bent it, pounded it, and boiled it in lye, confirming for all that it was, in fact, GOLD! Within 5 months, there were 4,000 prospectors living in Coloma! Over the next four years, over 200,000 people flocked to California from across the globe! Over the next 50 years, miners harvested 7,812,500 pounds of gold from the hillsand streams of California! Without that single event, California may still have been part of Mexico, the Transcontinental Railroad would never have existed, and Americans would never have known such things as Disneyland, the Golden Gate Bridge, or Yosemite National Park! This landmark is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? | HERE’S HOW:
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| Where is this place? | LISTED DIRECTIONS: Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park Follow trail from Gold Discovery parking lot to American River State Hwy 49 (P.M. 23.3) Coloma, CA 95613 ANNOTATIONS: Parking at the visitor center, you’ll follow the Gold Discovery Trail past the Sutter’s Mill replica down toward the river, where you’ll see a large monument to the mill and a sign for the actual site a little further downstream! From Los Angeles: ~428mi (689km) — 7.2hrs |
| When should I go? | In summer, you can visit the day use areas between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM, and the museum from 10:00 AM until 5:00 PM! In fall and winter, the grounds close at 5:00 PM, and the museum closes at 4:00 PM! |
