James W. Marshall Biography
The following biography
James Wilson Marshall (October 8, 1810 -
August 10, 1885) was an American carpenter and sawmill operator, whose
discovery of gold in the American River in California in January 1848
set the stage for the California Gold Rush.
James Marshall was born in Lambertville,
New Jersey on October 8, 1810. He left New Jersey at age twenty-four
(after the death of his father) and headed west. He settled in Missouri
after the Platte Purchase, and began farming along the Missouri River.
It was there that he contracted malaria, a common affliction in the
area. On the advice of his doctor, Marshall left Missouri in the hopes
of improving his health. He joined an emigrant train heading west and
arrived in Oregon's Willamette Valley in the spring of 1845. He left
Oregon in June 1845 and headed south, eventually reaching Sutter's Fort,
California in mid-July.
It was here Marshall met John Sutter, the
founder of the Sutter's Fort, an agricultural settlement. Sutter was
also the alcalde of the area, as California was still a Mexican
possession in 1845. Sutter hired Marshall to assist with work around the
fort (carpentry, primarily). He also helped Marshall buy land near the
Sacramento River and provided him with cattle.
Not long after Marshall began his second
stint as a farmer, the Mexican-American War began in 1846. Marshall
volunteered and served under Captain John Fremont during the Bear Flag
Revolt. When he returned to his ranch in early 1847 he discovered that
all his cattle had either strayed or been stolen. With his sole source
of income gone, Marshall lost his land and was forced to go back to work
His first job was to scout the area for a
suitable location for a sawmill. He eventually decided upon Coloma,
located roughly 40 miles upstream of the fort. He proposed his plan to
Sutter, who contracted Marshall on August 27 to supervise construction
at the site. His crew consisted mainly of local Native Americans and
Mormons on their way to Salt Lake City.
Construction continued into January 1848,
when it was discovered that the tailrace portion of the mill was too
narrow and shallow for the volume of water needed to operate the saw.
Marshall decided to use the natural force of the river to excavate the
tailrace. This could only be done at night, so as not to endanger the
lives of the men working on the mill during the day. Every morning
Marshall examined the results of the previous night's excavation.
On the morning of January 24 (although
different dates have been given), Marshall was examining the channel
below the mill when he noticed some shiny flecks in the channel bed. As
later recounted by Marshall:
I picked up one or two pieces and examined
them attentively; and having some general knowledge of minerals, I could
not call to mind more than two which in any way resembled this --sulphuret
of iron, very bright and brittle; and gold, bright, yet malleable. I
then tried it between two rocks, and found that it could be beaten into
a different shape, but not broken. I then collected four or five pieces
and went up to Mr. Scott (who was working at the carpenters bench making
the mill wheel) with the pieces in my hand and said, "I have found it."
"What is it?" inquired Scott.
"Gold," I answered.
"Oh! no," returned Scott, "that can't be."
I replied positively,--"I know it to be
The metal was confirmed to be gold after
members of Marshall's crew performed tests on the metal; boiling it in a
lye solution and hammering it to test its maleability. Marshall, still
primarily concerned with the completion of the sawmill, permitted his
crew to search for gold in their free time.
By the time Marshall returned to Sutter's
Fort, four days later, the war had ended and California was about to
become an American possession. Marshall shared his discovery with
Sutter, who performed further tests on the gold and told Marshall that
it was "of the finest quality, of at least 23 carats."
News of the discovery soon reached around
the world. The immediate impact for Marshall was negative. His sawmill
failed when the all able-bodied men in the area abandoned everything to
search for gold. Before long, arriving hordes of prospectors forced him
off his land. Marshall soon left the area.
Marshall returned to Coloma in 1857 and
found some success in the 1860s with a vineyard he started. That venture
ended in failure towards the end of the decade, due mostly to higher
taxes and increased competition. He returned to prospecting in the hopes
of finding success.
He became a partner in a gold mine near
Kelsey, California but the mine yielded nothing and left Marshall
practically bankrupt. The California State Legislature awarded him a
two-year pension in 1872 in recognition of his role in an important era
in California history. It was renewed in 1874 and 1876 but lapsed in
1878. Marshall, penniless, eventually ended up in a small cabin, earning
money from a small subsistence garden.
James Wilson Marshall died in Kelsey on
August 10, 1885. His body was brought to Coloma and buried on the
property where he had owned his vineyard. The grave was in a hill that
overlooked the south fork of the American River. In May 1890 a monument
was erected over his gravesite. A statue of Marshall stands on top of
the monument, pointing to the spot where he made his discovery in 1848.
In 1927, California's government named the
one-acre parcel where Marshall's vineyard stood the Marshall Gold
Discovery State Historic Park. In 1967, Marshall's boyhood home in
Lambertville was saved from demolition and has been restored. The
Marshall House now houses an extensive collection of archived items and
documents pertaining not only to the Marshall family, but also to the
history of Lambertville.
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March 17, 2006
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