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About This Quiz
Travel! Adventure! Instant wealth! The Gold Rush seemed to offer all these things to Americans in the middle of the 19th Century. Of course, hardship, violence and the very real possibility of going broke also awaited. How much do you know about the Gold Rush? Find out now with our quiz!
Which state was home to the Gold Rush?
Alaska
California
California is now known as the "Golden State" because of that historic time. Of course, its sunny weather and beaches are also part of the equation.
Colorado
Oregon
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True or false: Did most ships to California use the Panama Canal?
true
false
The Panama Canal didn't exist at the time of the Gold Rush; it opened to traffic in 1914. Some sea travelers went around the horn. Others got to Panama by boat, then across Panama by land, and then on to California by sea again.
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In what year was the first gold discovered?
1459
1742
1848
There are stories about small, pre-1848 finds. But those didn't spark a craze for prospecting.
1996
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Which city turned from a sleepy settlement to a boomtown because of the Gold Rush?
Yreka
San Joaquin
Sacramento
San Francisco
San Francisco, a port city, was where would-be gold seekers arrived in California. As the Gold Rush continued, San Francisco became a hub for mining supplies, banking, and entertainment.
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True or false: Was gold mining in California largely without harm to the environment?
true
false
The image of the 49er gently panning by hand is a romantic one, but gold which could be found that easily was quickly exhausted. Harsher methods, like hydraulic mining, soon followed.
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Who made his fortune selling overalls to miners?
S.S. Kresge
Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss, now an iconic brand, got started in the Gold Rush days as overalls for miners. Soon, Levi's jeans were worn by laborers in all sorts of field. Finally, in the 1950s and 60s, they were co-opted as a fashion statement by middle-class youth, and now you might pay $200 for a pair. That's progress!
Yves St. Laurent
James Sutter
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What is the classic, picturesque method of finding gold during the Gold Rush called?
blasting
fracking
panning
When people think of the Gold Rush, they often imagine a prospector shaking river water and silt through a fine-mesh pan until it reveals a nugget of gold. Some California tourist attractions still let visitors pan for gold (spoiler alert: the creeks are usually seeded!)
trepanning
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The first gold was discovered at _______.
the La Brea tar pits
Lake Tahoe
Sacramento Flats
Sutter's Mill
Sutter's Mill, now a famous name, was a sawmill north of present-day Sacramento, which harnessed water from a nearby river. One day, there was something shiny in the water of the mill's tailrace (the part where the water exits), and the rest is history.
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John Sutter's land was nearest to which California town?
Coloma
Coloma is a small town near present-day Sacramento, but Sacramento itself didn't exist yet. It was founded and named "Sacramento" by Sutter's oldest son. annoying his father, who wanted the young city to be called "Sutterville."
Lompoc
Sacramento
Yerba Buena
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On which river was Sutter's Mill?
the American
The American River was the first major source of gold in California. Prospectors rushed there after an entrepreneur went through the streets of San Francisco publicizing the discovery.
the Colorado
the Sacramento
the Deschutes
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What was the most common nickname for would-be prospectors?
48ers
49ers
Though the discovery at Sutter's Mill took place in 1848, the race for California gold didn't start in earnest until 1849. Hence the name, which is now that of San Francisco's football team.
panniers
oroneers
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"Argonauts," a less-used name for the 49ers, comes from which source?
an Edith Wharton novel
Greek mythology
Jason and his Argonauts (their ship was called the Argo) went in search of a mythical golden fleece. The parallel is clear: brave young men, facing dangers and a faraway land in pursuit of gold.
Norse mythology
a Shakespeare play
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In 1848, California was ...
part of Mexico
a U.S. state
a U.S. territory
none of these
California was no longer Mexico's holding, yet it had neither territory nor state status. It was under a kind of loose martial law under the U.S. Army. Of course, the discovery of gold fast-tracked statehood -- that's usually the case when valuable resources are at stake.
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Why didn't the Gold Rush take off until 1849?
gold prices were stagnant in 1848
news traveled slowly in those days
many people thought the news was just rumor and tall tales
both #2 and #3
In 1848, people couldn't turn on the TV and see live footage of gold being found in a creek, or confirmed by a geologist. It took time for the news -- carried by mule wagons or by ships -- to reach the East Coast and other parts of the world. And even then, artist's sketches and anecdotal accounts of gold strikes weren't the most convincing.
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Who were the "Californios," who made up a good number of the 49ers?
drifters who ended up in California after not being successful anyplace else
Californians of Mexican ancestry or birth
Some Californios held land and were wealthy, a holdover from the days when Mexico owned California. But those Californios who were poor enough to head for the gold fields faced discrimination.
anyone native-born in California
people who wanted California to be its own country
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Who was U.S. president when the Gold Rush began?
John Quincy Adams
Andrew Jackson
Abraham Lincoln
James Polk
Polk confirmed the rumors of gold in California in an address to Congress. He did this after receiving a package from the West containing 230 ounces of gold nuggets and dust. Which raises the question: Who gives up that much gold, even to impress a U.S. president?
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In what year did California become a state?
1850
A mere two years after the first gold was discovered, California became a U.S. state. It leapfrogged "territory" status entirely, which was not at all common.
1862
1868
1900
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Approximately how many people lived in California just before the discovery of gold?
88,000
170,000
Most of California's population at the time was made up of Native Americans and Californios. They were about to witness a very uncomfortable population explosion.
500,000
1 milliion
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The overland route to California was called ...
the Argonaut Trail
the California Trail
Like the Oregon Trail, the road to California was named simply for its destination. But this overland route wasn't easy on travelers, and many 49ers chose to go by sea instead.
the Gold-Fields Passage
the Yellow Brick Road
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Gold Rush figure Samuel Brannan is best known for which of these?
striking the richest claim in California
founding the newspaper the California Star
The California Star was the state's first newspaper. Shortly after the Sutter's Mill discovery, Brannan is said to have gone through the streets of San Francisco shouting, "Gold! Gold on the American River" -- not to sell papers, but to fuel business for one of his other ventures, a general store.
killing a man who jumped his claim
opening the largest hotel for new arrivals to California
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At the time of Brannan's announcement, approximately how many people were living in San Francisco?
800
It's hard to believe, but that's how many people were estimated to be living in sleepy San Francisco in 1848. Today, with rents being what they are, that's about how many people seem to occupy one San Francisco Victorian house!
5,000
7,500
15,000
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What was the right to mine a particular piece of land called?
a claim
In California it was "first come, first served" when it came to land that potentially had gold on it. Miners staked claims, and if someone moved in on that territory, it was called "claim jumping."
a deed
a fort
a stake
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Which of these roles did women commonly play in the Gold Rush?
boarding-house keepers
prospectors
merchants
both #1 and #3
Though we're sure that there's a tough, sexy female prospector in at least one Hollywood movie, women mostly played supporting roles in the Gold Rush. In addition to the two occupations listed above, they were cooks, seamstresses, prostitutes, brothel proprietresses, and more.
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True or false: Was it a better proposition financially to be in a mining-support business than in mining itself?
true
While some prospectors hit it big, a lot more went home with their pockets turned out. Meanwhile, people who pursued the slow-but-steady profit of selling supplies, meals, clothes, and lodging to the miners tended to do much better, financially.
false
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True or false: Did the promise of gold lure only Americans west?
true
false
The promise of easy riches drew Frenchmen, Chinese, Australians, New Zealanders and more. Sadly, the ethnic group who suffered most were the native Americans, who were driven off their land or killed in clashes with 49ers.
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What did California tax in 1850?
brothels
foreign miners
The Foreign Miners' tax was a transparent attempt to favor white Americans who came from back east over the Chinese, Mexican and other non-American prospectors. The amount paid monthly, $20, would come to between $550 and $600 of today's dollars (depending on value fluctuations).
mining supplies
new clothing
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Approximately how many Native Americans died during the Gold Rush?
10,000
30,000
45,000
100,000
An exact figure is impossible to settle on, but large numbers of Native Americans died of non-natural causes during the Gold Rush, often as the result of violence from 49ers. By 1900, the Native American population in California had dropped to a mere 16,000.
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What happened to many ships on which 49ers arrived?
they sailed back to their destination ports
they were broken up for mining-camp firewood
they were used as buildings
The lure of gold was so strong that often, on reaching California, sailors would jump ship to go to the gold fields. The ships they abandoned became a nuisance. But resourceful locals, dealing with a population boom, turned them into homes, lodging-houses, and saloons.
they were ground up to enrich the soil
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During the Gold Rush, iron pyrite was known as ...
a blasting agent in mines
a metal that amalgamated with gold
a less-valuable byproduct of gold refining
fool's gold
Fool's gold, to this day, glints from creekbeds in California. It's pretty, but prospectors probably really hated it.
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What innovation in transportation aided migrants getting to and from the gold fields?
airplanes
a railroad
steamships
both #2 and #3
The need to transport workers to California, and gold out, hastened the building of railways connecting West and East. In addition, steamships made ocean travel easier and faster.
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After the discovery of gold, what happened to John Sutter?
he got rich from gold on his lands
he got rich selling food to prospectors
he sold his land and went East
his lands were overrun by squatters and his plans to farm were ruined
Sutter never figured out a way to profit from the Gold Rush. His dreams of agricultural success came to nothing, and he tried unsuccessfully to sue for restitution of the use of his land by prospectors. One consolation: there are a number of California landmarks named for him.
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True or false: Were significant amounts of gold found in Southern California?
true
false
Gold was found in small amounts in Los Angeles, but not enough to attract hordes of prospectors. Fortunately, that whole "entertainment business" thing seems to be working out.
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Which of these culinary treats has its roots in the Gold Rush?
beignets
Hangtown Fry
Hangtown Fry is a breakfast dish of eggs and oysters, said to be created for a newly-rich, celebrating miner. While the oysters might sound like the only expensive part of that meal, chicken eggs were a rare treat back then, too.
Irish coffee
banh mi sandwiches
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What is located in San Francisco due, in part, to the influence of the Gold Rush?
the headquarters of NASDAQ
the federal mine inspectors' academy
one of two U.S. Mint buildings
San Francisco was obviously a good place to turn raw gold into coins, and one of the nation's two mints is still there. Incidentally, California does have a sizable museum of mining and minerals -- but it's located in Mariposa, not San Francisco.
the world's largest geology museum
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Since 1849, California has had "gold rushes" in which of the following fields?
agriculture
entertainment
technology
all of these
All of these fields have drawn fortune-seekers throughout the years. A boom in agriculture followed quickly after the Gold Rush. In the 20th century, the founding of movie studios in formerly desertlike Los Angeles led to thousands of would-be stars flocking to Hollywood. Finally, around the turn of the 21st Century, Silicon Valley began drawing new tech talent from all over the globe.
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