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Collection: Directories and Documents > Pamphlets

An Illustrated History of California's Gold Rush by Wells Fargo Bank (PH 1-27) (34 pages)

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The Golden Decade bout two hundred million years ago, if you recall, California was at the bottom of the Pacific. Then, as the outer layers of the earth’s surface cooled, an immense block of rock tilted up to become the roots of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Somewhat later there was an upswelling of molten magma beneath this fault in the planet’s crust. Magma is the raw material of the earth. It contains all of the minerals known—including gold. This gold, vaporized in the intense heat, filtered up into the porous rock above and condensed in its cracks and pockets. No one thought much of it at the time, because there was no one to think much of anything at the time. But the discovery of gold in the Sierra foothills in 1848 marked the beginning of a decade ~ that is without parallel in American history. Wells Fargo played a lively part in those lively years. Stages providing transportation to and from the mining camps carried Wells Fargo guards riding “shotgun” to protect the treasure. And the remains of Wells Fargo offices are all that have survived of many of the little towns of the Gold Rush days. This booklet, and the map which accompanies it, were designed by Wells Fargo to give the visitor to this historic area not only a practical guide to the Gold Country, but also a brief background of the events and personalities which made this Golden Decade memorable. A