Coloma
California History
Pan for gold in the American River where John Sutter started the Gold Rush, Coloma (near Placerville)
The Gold Discovery that Changed the World
Coloma, California, 1848
On January 24, 1848, an event occurred in Coloma that would radically impact the history of California and the Nation. James W. Marshall was building a sawmill for Captain John Sutter, using water from the South Fork of the American River. He noticed several flakes of metal in the tailrace water and recognized them to be gold. Though he tried to keep it a secret, the word spread quickly, and triggered the California Gold Rush of 1849.
Until then, Coloma had been a remote outpost, named for a nearby Southern Maidu Indian Village. (Early spellings of the name included “Colluma” and “Culoma”.) Its population soon swelled to many thousands.
Coloma and Nearby Places to Go in Sacramento - Map and Directions
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