Orange County Gold Dealer Gems N' Loans Trivia

Gems N' Loans of Dana Point is a trusted cash buyer and seller of gold!

 

The California Gold Rush started when gold was found in 1848 on the property of John Sutter. 

Sutter arrived in California in 1839 (California was then owned by Mexico), and he initially called his 48,827-acre land grant New Helvetia (Latin for New Switzerland). He later built Sutter's Fort on a part of New Helvetia (he also had a penchant for wearing military uniforms). After the discovery of gold, he swore his workmen to secrecy to prevent being overrun by gold prospectors, but it was hard to contain that kind of news. The secrecy lasted about a week!

Historical note:
Thousands of prospectors did get rich in the California Gold Rush, but John Sutter wasn't one of them. After the news got out, his property was indeed overrun by prospectors, just as he had feared. He had to abandon his land, and then began a decades-long campaign to have the US government reimburse him for his financial losses. He was unsuccessful in that and died in Washington D.C. a man of modest means. (He is buried in Lititz, Pennsylvania, his last home). Kind of ironic end for a man who owned the land where gold was discovered!  

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