OtterKnow Kids Encyclopedia

A long time ago, people found shiny gold in California! This happened in 1848, and it changed everything. Thousands of people packed up their things and rushed to California hoping to find gold and get rich. This exciting time is called the California Gold Rush.

The people who came looking for gold were called Forty-Niners because many arrived in 1849. They used pans to scoop sand and water from rivers, hoping to find gold pieces. Life was hard for the Forty-Niners. They slept in tents, cooked over campfires, and worked all day long. Small towns popped up almost overnight near the gold fields. California grew so fast that it became a state in 1850!

Not everyone who got rich actually found gold. Some people made their fortunes selling food, tools, and supplies to miners. And people who owned land in San Francisco got rich too — the city grew so fast that land that once cost almost nothing became very valuable very quickly.