Forty-Niners
Notice calling for a meeting of citizens in Canajoharie, New York, to discuss mining gold in California, 1849; courtesy the Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley
Gold Strike in California!
In December 1848 President James Polk officially confirmed the discovery of gold in California. Gripped by visions of great wealth, hopeful prospectors in the East immediately began planning for the trip west. The overland route was risky and mostly unknown. Beginning their journey in spring of 1849, most of these forty-niners chose to sail to California from cities in the East, particularly Boston and New York.
Journey to the Gold Country
Some traveled alone, but most prospectors formed mining companies that enabled them to share expenses, supplies, and the miseries of travel. One of these, the New England Mining and Trading Company, was composed of 150 men from Boston, most from well-to-do backgrounds. Seagoing travelers from the east has the choice of two possible routes. One went south to Panama, where passengers disembarked and began a several-day mule ride through the steaming jungles, boarding a San Francisco-bound ship once they reached the Pacific Coast. The other route was entirely by sea, following the long path south around Cape Horn and north to San Francisco.