Caifornia gold

Habanero chiles and tomatillos

The California Gold Rush started in 1848 when gold was discovered in Sutter's Mill, a settlement near Coloma on the American River. John Sutter, the founder of the settlement, wanted to create an agricultural utopia in California. So when John Marshall, the man who ran the settlement's sawmill, found gold nuggets in the mill's tailrace, Sutter wanted to hush it up. He feared that all his workers would abandon the fields and farms for mining.

The timing couldn't have been better. On February 2, 1848, the Mexican-American war ended with the signing of the treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo. In the treaty, Mexico ceded its territory of Alta California to the United States.

Although Marshall's discovery happened in late January, it wasn't until March that big-mouth San Francisco newspaperman and merchant Samuel Brannan returned from a visit to Sutter's Mill, announcing that gold had been discovered, and opened up a store to sell prospecting supplies.

Sutter's fears were proven right. Agricultural workers and city slickers alike rushed into the hills to strike it rich. The discovery was announced in the New York Herald in August of 1848, and confirmed by U.S. President James S. Polk in December.

Getting to California was not easy. You could sail from the East Coast south around the tip of South America and up to California - it took about eight months.Or you could sail to Panama, disembark, and fight your way across the isthmus jungles for a week, and then try to catch a ship north. Or you could trek overland across the continental divide. People came from Asia, from Australia and New Zealand, and from Europe, including Turkey and Basques from the Pyrenees.

 It's estimated that by 1855 some 300,000 people came to California. The population of San Francisco grew from 1,000 to 25,000 in just two years. Some came for gold; others came to make money off everyone else.

Sutter lost everything - no one cared about agriculture when you could mine for gold. Miners trespassing on his land broke his fences and ran his livestock off; his workers ran off; and eventually he lost his land. He moved to Pennsylvania, and later died in a Washington, D.C. hotel.

Today, California is reaping gold again. Golden beets on display here at the Santa Monica Wednesday Farmers' Market.

Gold-blushed pluots - this variety is called Flavor Grenade. I'm thinking of making some jam out of them!

John Sutter would have enjoyed this kind of Gold Rush.

I just love working within walking distance of the Farmers' Market! 

What's worth more than gold where you are?