Learn James W. Marshal facts about his life and about his impact on American history. Read about James Marshall's contribution to the California Gold Rush.
Updated: 11/21/2023
James W. Marshall & the Gold Rush | Biography, Facts & Impact
Table of Contents
- Who Was James W. Marshall?
- James W. Marshall: Facts and Biography
- James Wilson Marshall's Legacy and Impact
- Lesson Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
Did John Sutter and James Marshall get rich?
After the discovery of gold behind the sawmill financed by John Sutter, James W. Marshall and John Sutter attempted to get commission for gold findings in the area. Unfortunately, neither person was rich from the gold rush.
What happened when James Marshall found gold?
James W. Marshall found gold in the river behind his sawmill in Coloma, California. Once he verified it with his employer, John Sutter, he permitted his employees to search in their off time. Soon, there was an influx of gold-seekers called 49ers in the area and his sawmill venture failed.
How much gold did James W. Marshall find?
James W. Marshall found only a few small pieces of 23 karat gold on the morning of January 24, 1848. He later tried his hand at prospecting in Kelsey, California, but did not find gold there.
Table of Contents
- Who Was James W. Marshall?
- James W. Marshall: Facts and Biography
- James Wilson Marshall's Legacy and Impact
- Lesson Summary
James W. Marshall is credited with the discovery of gold in California, prompting hundreds of thousands of people to migrate there in search of riches. Originally from New Jersey, he practiced agriculture and continued to migrate west throughout his early life. Unfortunately, Marshall's endeavors were never met with success, and he spent much of his life penniless. He is described as a carpenter and in 1845 was hired by John Sutter to construct a sawmill on the American River. One morning, after inspecting the water behind the mill, Marshall came across golden flecks in the water. He had stumbled upon 23 karat gold.
The effects of his accidental discovery were far-reaching. California gained statehood in 1850 and the state experienced its largest boom in population. Many other endeavors were deserted as men wanted to "get rich quick." Negative environmental effects occurred as well. Though the Gold Rush did not result in men finding riches, many did settle in California and later found success in agriculture. The Californian economy thrived due to the influx of residents.
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| Hometown | Hopewell Township, New Jersey |
| Birthdate | October 8, 1810 |
| Parents | Phillip Marshall and Sarah Wilson |
| Siblings | Abigail, Rebecca, and Sarah (James was the oldest) |
| Family Homestead | Round Mountain Farm (known as Marshall's corner) |
In 1816 the family relocated to Lambertville, New Jersey, and lived on five acres. James' father Phillip Marshall was also a carpenter as well as a repairman for wheels. He trained his son James in the field. James W. Marshall never married and left his family home in 1834 and traveled west working as a farmer.
Marshall's Migration Westward
James W. Marshall began his migration westward in 1834, traveling through Indiana and Illinois. He settled in a few places before arriving in California. Marshall helped to establish a farm in Missouri where he worked for eight years and at some point, he contracted malaria. A doctor advised him to leave Missouri, so he continued traveling. He took a train with other immigrants to Oregon in 1845, where he worked as a carpenter in the Willamette Valley for a short time before continuing south. In July 1845, Marshall arrived in Sutter's Fort, California, which was a farming community. It was there that he met the founder, John Sutter.
The Mexican-American War and Life in California
A few key events occurred when James W. Marshall arrived at Sutter's Fort.
| July 1845 | James W. Marshall is hired by John Sutter to build a sawmill in Sutter's Fort. John Sutter helps James W. Marshall buy land in nearby Butte Creek and provides him with a small number of cows for farming. |
| May 1846 | The Mexican-American War begins. James W. Marshall joins Captain John C. Fremont's California Battalion to join the Americans ready to revolt against Mexican occupation. |
| July 1846 | The Bear Flag Revolt takes place, a short-lived military campaign led by John C. Fremont with James W. Marshall as part of his battalion. California is momentarily declared independent and then is soon declared part of the United States |
| January 1847 | James W. Marshall returns from the war and finds his farm in ruin, resulting in the loss of his money. |
James Marshall and the Gold Rush
James W. Marshall, effectively broke following the Mexican-American War, scouted land in Coloma, California, and proposed building a sawmill to John Sutter on the American River. Marshall's sawmill would begin construction in 1847 and he would earn lumber from Sutter as payment. In 1848, Marshall realized he needed to make the channel larger to properly operate the saw and at night he excavated the space.
On the morning of January 24, 1848, Marshall was inspecting the river after the night's excavation and noticed shiny flecks in the water. After further study, he and John Sutter determined those flecks to be 23 karat gold and permitted employees to search for gold in their off time.
Immediately the sawmill was abandoned by the workers who wanted to find gold. As news traveled, people arrived in droves in search of gold. At the beginning, Sutter and Marshall attempted to charge those entering their land a commission. However, the influx of people was so overwhelming that the rule did not last. Rumors circulated that Marshall knew locations of secret gold mines and he was constantly taunted until he left in 1853.
Life After the Gold Rush
Though his discovery immediately prompted the events, James W. Marshall was never given any reward for it.
In 1860, he started a vineyard that was initially successful but too expensive to maintain. After the failure of the vineyard, he led a gold mine in Kelsey, California but did not find any treasure. He received a small pension from the Government of California from 1872 to 1878 that he lived on as his main source of income.
James W. Marshall's Final Years in California
James W. Marshall's final years in California were spent attempting to work as a blacksmith in Kelsey and living at the Union Hotel. Many claimed he had strange delusions and thought he could communicate with spirits. His pension ran out and he was not able to work anymore. It seems that, ironically, the discovery of gold ruined Marshall, and in August of 1885, James W. Marshall died in Kelsey, California.
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James W. Marshall's impact upon the state of California and its history cannot be understated. With his small finding one morning in Coloma, he started one of the largest migrations in American history. The Gold Rush led to many other discoveries that modernized California.
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A monument in celebration of James W. Marshall's discovery was created at the place where his sawmill once stood. Today, Californians can visit Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma.
Impact on California
The Gold Rush had many major impacts on California:
- 1848 saw an increase of more than 70,000 people to the area. By 1853 there were over 250,000. All told, over 300,000 prospectors went west due to Marshall's discovery of gold.
- Settlers also arrived from China, Europe, and South America, creating new immigration channels. Many of these immigrants experienced prejudice.
- Negative environmental impacts included hydraulic mining and the building of dams, which proved to cause a threat to agriculture in the area by ruining crops and causing flooding.
- California was granted statehood in 1850. The capital was originally Monterrey, but it was changed due to Sacramento being a place where gold had been discovered.
- Organized government and law enforcement was necessary in all of the mining areas, paving the way for the establishment of cities.
- Of the ten first governors of the state, nine had migrated during the gold rush.
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James W. Marshall was a New Jersey native who traveled west in search of work as a carpenter and farmer. When he settled in Sutter's Fort, California after years of traveling, he negotiated with John Sutter to work for him as a farmer. Shortly after his arrival, he joined Captain John C. Fremont's California Battalion to fight in the Mexican-American war and participated in the short-lived military campaign called the Bear Flag Revolt in 1846. When he returned to Sutter's Fort, his farmland was in ruin, and he was forced to search for a new venture. Marshall scoped out land in Coloma and proposed building a sawmill on the American River with John Sutter's investment.
During construction, Marshall was inspecting the channel on the morning of January 24, 1848 when he saw flecks of what he later discovered was gold in the water. Marshall's discovery of gold in California triggered one of the largest migrations in American history. Over 300,000 prospectors made their way to California in search of gold. Unfortunately, Marshall never received much recognition or payment for his discovery during his life. He received a small pension from the government of California, but it eventually ran out. Ironically, the discovery of gold ruined Marshall and in August of 1885, James W. Marshall died in Kelsey, California. It was not until after his death that people acknowledged his place in the discovery. Today, a statue of James W. Marshall stands at the place where the sawmill once stood.
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Video Transcript
Discoveries
Sometimes, important or momentous discoveries are made by people who aren't even looking for them. For example, take the popular story of Isaac Newton and the famous falling apple. While likely apocryphal, the story shows that Newton was simply a mathematician and alchemist until a falling apple landed on his head and helped him make important realizations about gravity. According to the story, the discovery found him instead of the other way around.
James Marshall is a similar character in history. In January 1848, as Marshall was building a sawmill, he discovered gold in the American River and sparked the California Gold Rush—one of the greatest mass migrations of people in American history.
Biography
Born on the 8th of October 1810 to a carpenter and wheelwright father in New Jersey, James Marshall traveled west through several states soon after reaching adulthood. Prior to his departure, he had received a rudimentary education and learned his father's trades. By 1844, he had joined a wagon train destined for California. In 1845, Marshall reached the Sacramento Valley where he met the head of the local Sacramento River settlement, John Sutter.
Sutter saw Marshall's worth as a carpenter in a new settlement immediately and hired him. Marshall prospered in Sutter's employment, and within a year owned several hundred cattle and many acres in the Sacramento Valley. In 1846, Marshall joined John Fremont's Bear Flag Revolt attempting to wrest control of the California territory from Mexico. He would later serve in the California Battalion of the U.S. Army in the Mexican-American War. Unfortunately for Marshall, his cattle were stolen from his ranch during his service.
After Marshall's service, the future looked bleak, as he had poured most of his money into his cattle ranch. Marshall agreed with his old employer Sutter to enter into a partnership to build a sawmill on the American River. While Sutter was to be the owner (as he supplied the capital), Marshall would operate the mill and receive a portion of the profits. This agreement would have likely worked well for Marshall had he not discovered gold in the well of his water wheel on January 24, 1848.
Gold Rush
The news of Marshall's discovery soon spread. The prospect of easy gold drove an estimated 300,000 people from the eastern United States and elsewhere in the world to California in less than a decade. By 1852, San Francisco had evolved in less than five years from a sleepy port settlement on the Pacific Coast to a full-fledged city of over 35,000 inhabitants. The massive influx of people caused the U.S. Congress to grant California statehood in 1850.
Unfortunately for Marshall, the gold rush only hurt his business prospects. The mill he had built with Sutter failed as all able-bodied men in the area took to the hills and streams in search of gold. His own gold claims along the American River were soon overrun by squatting prospectors, and he left the area soon after. Marshall never saw any profit from his original discovery, and his future business ventures in various spots in California failed as well. He spent his final years in a cabin on a small spot of land in Kelsey, California, and eventually died in August 1885.
Lesson Summary
James Marshall is credited for having discovered gold in his sawmill in 1848, kicking off the California Gold Rush—one of the largest human migrations in American history. He was born in New Jersey in 1810, learned his father's carpentry trade, and moved west. Marshall reached California in 1845, where John Sutter employed him as a carpenter. He later joined the Bear Flag Revolt and spent time in the California Battalion of the U.S. Army.
Marshall partnered with Sutter to build a sawmill on the American River and in January 1848 discovered gold in the river. The discovery of gold ruined Marshall's mill, as his employees left to search for gold and his own gold plots were overrun by prospectors.
The gold rush Marshall's discovery spurred had a profound effect on California history, as San Francisco's population exploded and California quickly became a state in 1850.
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James W. Marshall & the Gold Rush | Biography, Facts & Impact
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