Category Archives: Gold

Gold on the Feather River — A Timeline

When did John Bidwell discover gold on the Feather River? As you can see from the following timeline, he made more than one discovery, culminating in finding rich deposits at Bidwell’s Bar. It is also interesting to notice how much … Continue reading

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The Rush Is On!

On December 5, 1848, President James K. Polk ignited the California Gold Rush in his State of the Union address to Congress. Gold was discovered by James Marshall at Sutter’s Mill in January 1848, but John Sutter did the best … Continue reading

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The Wimmer Nugget

In this post, I wrote that the first gold nugget found by James Marshall is now in the Smithsonian Institution. Certainly they have one of the first pieces of gold found at Coloma. But another piece of gold has an … Continue reading

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Nugget, Nugget, Who’s Got the Nugget?

I just found out where James Marshall’s gold nugget is today. Along with many other great American artifacts, like Lincoln’s top hat and the Star-Spangled Banner, it is in the National Museum of American History, part of the Smithsonian Institution. … Continue reading

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Bidwell’s Gold Discovery–part II

When John Bidwell headed off to the Feather River to mine for gold, he didn’t just jump on his horse and go. There was planning to do, and Bidwell was always a man who planned carefully before taking a course … Continue reading

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Bidwell’s Gold Discovery

John Bidwell learned of Marshall’s gold discovery at Coloma shortly after Marshall showed his gold samples to John Sutter. Sutter asked Bidwell to take a sample to San Francisco, which he did, probably in early February 1848, being the first … Continue reading

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