Episode 2 of 2

Reporting and Confirmation

When: January 24 to August 19, 1848
Where: Coloma and Sutter's Fort
Part of: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill, starting the California Gold Rush

Marshall reported the find, and Sutter sought mineral rights while Brannan confirmed rumors.

Marshall reported the finding at Coloma. Four days later, he returned to Sutter's Fort. In February 1848, Sutter sent Charles Bennett to Monterey to secure mineral rights. By March 1848, rumors were confirmed by Samuel Brannan. The New York Herald reported the discovery on August 19, 1848.

Sources

James W. Marshall Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-15
California gold rush Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-20

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.