The gold rush took place in 1849, a year after James Marshall actually found the gold. It took a while for people to actually believe that gold was discovered in California. At this time, San Fransisco was not well known.

When did it take place?

Where did it take place?

The gold rush took place in San Francisco, California. Many, many gold miners went there with the hope of striking it rich. San Fransisco was nothing before the gold rush, a small village with few people living there. However, the gold rush made this village explode into a manufacturing, money-making, extremely busy city that still thrives today.

Who was involved?

The person who discovered gold in California was James W. Marshall, a carpenter working on a settlement run by John Sutter. The two men tried to hide their discovery, but failed when it came out on the newspaper. Many people came to California, including Levi Strauss, Samuel Brannan, etc. Both Levi and Brannan surprisingly made a profit not from gold itself, but from it's popularity. Gold miners needed supplies to mine, so Brannan sold vital supplies to them while Levi created tough, durable trousers (denim jeans) to miners who spent all day on their knees.