California Gold Rush Day is January 24

Gold was discovered in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Central California on January 24, 1848, an event that changed that state’s history. The strike happened at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California, about 60 miles east of Sacramento. Over 300,000 fortune-seekers, from all over the world, journeyed to the area within six months, turning the sleepy village into a boom town.

Today, Coloma is all but deserted, home to just 300 citizens. The Gold Rush era is honored with Marshall Gold Discovery State Park, which features reconstructions of the old Sutter’s Mill as well as other buildings from the era.

^{(photo credit: © R Scott Jones/cc license)}