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This map set contains a number of maps and images that can be used to introduce and enrich your study of the history of the California Gold Rush. Included in this set are suggested questions for inquiry that have been adapted from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources.
San Francisco grew from a small settlement of about 200 residents in 1846 to a boomtown of about 36,000 by 1852. Roads, churches, schools and other towns were built throughout California. In 1849 a state constitution was written.
Washington Bartlett, the first American alcalde, made a successful flank movement and succeeded in capturing the name San Francisco and issued the first official announcement of the change of name. During 1847, six trading vessels entered the bay. The population of San Francisco was then 459 souls.
Between the 1st of January, 1849, and the 30th of June following, it was estimated that fifteen thousand had been added to the population of the county; of which number nearly ten thousand came by sea and landed at San Francisco. Only about two hundred of these were females.
The San Francisco waterfront in 1849. Many arriving ships were anchored near the City's wharfs and abandoned by their crews who struck out for the Sierra foothills during the Gold Rush (1848-1855). As San Francisco expanded, dozens of large Gold Rush-era ships were simply covered with dirt and debris and streets were paved over them.
Cities up and down the state of California grew rapidly during the Gold Rush era. Some of these cities were veritable boomtowns: San Francisco, a small village in 1847, was a bustling city by 1849, just two years later. San Francisco's population boom even had an impact on its geography.
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The first fire, which came to be called “The Great Fire” in those days, started at six o’clock in the morning on December 24, 1849 at a gambling parlor called Dennison’s Exchange on Kearny Street between Clay and Jackson and opposite Portsmouth Square.
