The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848 when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill
in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought 300,000 people (soon called "forty-niners") to California from across
the U.S. and abroad. The influx of population put California on the fast-track to statehood. San Francisco grew most
explosively - from a population of 250 in 1846 to more than 36,000 by 1852. In 1849 a state constitution was adopted
and in September 1850, California became a state.