The Gold Rush
On January 24th 1848, James Marshall found a few tiny gold nuggets whilst working on a saw mill building project on the American River near Sacramento in California. Within months a massive global migration had begun with nearly half a million people flooding to the area as the Gold Rush started in earnest. Within 4 years, California's annual gold production reached an all-time high of 81 million US dollars.

The first people looking for gold mainly used panning as a technique – in this photo from 1850 two men are dressed up as prospectors panning for gold in a gravel bed. Within a few years, hydraulic mines had been set up. Many profited from the rush (as opposed to the gold) – none more so than Samuel Brannan, an entrepreneur who quickly opened several supply stores in the area selling shovels and panning equipment to the miners.