Introduction

The title for this exhibit — "I am bound to stick awhile longer" — is taken from a gold rush letter sent by N.A. Chandler, from the diggings at Michigan Hill. It expresses something of the hope and persistence of these early miners, working against hard odds yet drawn on by the gleam of gold.

Through journals, letters, emigrant guides and other early accounts of the gold fields, photographs, lettersheets, sheet music, maps, lithographs, drawings and other pictorial materials, the exhibit presents the experience of those affected by the gold rush during the early years of discovery and first diggings, 1848 through 1853.

Each room reflects a different theme in the history of the California Gold Rush. We hope you enjoy the experience!

Content written by Bonnie Hardwick, former Curator of the Bancroft Collection, and edited for the web by Lee Anne Titangos. The original exhibit was displayed from March through August 1998. Special acknowledgement is due to Richard Hitchcock, Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley for his assistance with the selection of materials and captions for the exhibit; and to Dean Smith, who provided the selection and display of original art on the gallery walls.