Panning For Gold

James Marshal Gold Park Coloma California April 2009

What is the first thing you think of when someone says California? Hollywood is my first thought. So what is the second thing you think of when someone says California? Well it is the California Gold Rush.

Coloma, California is the best place to visit and learn about the Gold Rush. John Sutter and James Marshal went into partnership to build a saw mill. Captain Sutter was given a grant for 48,00 acres along the Sacramento River. This is where and how the California Gold Rush began.

The first piece of gold was noticed by James Marshall early on the morning of January 24, 1848. His own words describe the event:

"I went down as usual, and after shutting off the water from the race I stepped into it, near the lower end, and there, upon the rock, about six inches beneath the surface of the water, I discovered the gold. I then collected four or five pieces and went up to Mr. Scott (who was working at the carpenter's bench making the mill wheel) and the pieces in my hand and said, 'I have found it.' 
 
'What is it?' inquired Scott. 
 
'Gold,' I answered. 
 
'Oh! No,' returned Scott, 'that can't be!' 
 
I replied positively, 'I know it to be nothing else.'"

As for James Marshall, he never "struck it rich." In 1849 there was a dispute between the native Nisenan and some aggressive gold-miners from Oregon. The dispute turned ugly. Marshall did his best to defend his friends, the Nisenan, but the Indians were murdered and Marshall was forced to flee for his life. Years later, after things quieted down, he returned to Coloma and spent about ten years in a cabin on the hillside, raising grapes and making wine. In the late 1860s he moved to Kelsey, five miles away, where he spent his last years in poverty. There is now a monument by his grave site. And a great park to visit. This fulfilled Marshall's oft-repeated prophecy, "Some day they'll make a fuss over me." Now they have this beautiful state park about him. There is plenty room to run and play. You can also fish in the river and walk back in time through the blacksmith and gun shop. There are great places to picnic and enjoy your day.

The museum itself is worth the drive. We enjoyed the life sized dioramas. They had several depicting what the area of Coloma was like before gold fever hit. We enjoyed looking at how the art of panning for gold has changed throughout the years. If you plan to pan make sure you ask to see the movie on gold panning. This was a huge help to us.

We thought that we would just walk out in the river and grab a big chunk of gold. Well that is what Conner thought would happen. We quickly realized that he would become “rich” in a matter of minutes. That’s not how it works when you are panning for gold. You see it is a long cold process.

He we are looking for our small flecks of gold. Look we even found a few! The kids quickly realized that panning for gold was a long cold job. Auvi decided after about 5 minutes she was done. Surprisingly Vern and I enjoyed this more than the kids. The trick was to separate the flakes from the dirt and rocks. We found a lot of flakes, we just didn’t have the skill to get them.

If you visit the park there is a Frank Bekeart's Gunshop where you can pan for gold for a small fee. You are guaranteed to get a few gems and maybe even a little gold. We decided to get our own pans and do it the real way. We purchased our pans at the gift store in the museum. These pans work better then the plastic ones sold at the mercantile.

Check the schedule of the park. They have volunteers that run the blacksmith and gun stores and they often are doing historic demonstrations and displays.

It is important to make sure that you pan across the bridge and on the left side of the park. This is BLM land and you can pan there. On the right side is California State Park land, you will receive a ticket and lose your gold if you pan there.

Coloma is a beautiful area. The mountains and the trees are breathtaking. If you are wanting to take a tour of this great Gold Rush Ghost town here is a perfect link to see all of the original historic building (it is just fun to look through the pictures also)      http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ca/coloma.html

And if you want to travel through time make sure you check out and drive the Historic 49  http://www.historichwy49.com/coloma/coloma.html