The California Gold Rush began 171 years ago today (January 24, 1848) when carpenter James Marshall found shiny flakes in the American River near Sutter’s Mill in the Sacramento Valley. “It made my heart thump, for I was certain it was gold,” he said. Days later, the treaty ending the Mexican-American War left California in the hands of the U. S. The following year, “Forty-Niners” quintupled California’s population to 100,000. During the gold rush, miners extracted more than 750,000 pounds, but after gold became scarce, many stayed on. By the end of the decade, the state boasted 380,000 residents. Fifty years later, California experienced another “boom” when movies became the next bonanza. Hollywood, later dubbed “The Silver Screen,” became the seat of the film industry in the early 1900s. While movie-making now takes place the world over, greater Hollywood is still the major site of production. Today the U.S. television and film industry employs an estimated 2.1 million people. Read more about Hollywood and movie history in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
