A pea-sized gold nugget was unearthed at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California 152 years ago on January 24, 1848. Although the news did spread, Sam Brannan, a San Francisco newspaperman, is credited with starting the actual rush on May 12 when he walked the
"Although the gold in the California hills eventually ran out — the impact of the Gold Rush era lives on.
Welcome to Oakland Museum's Gold Rush exhibit.
"It was in the first part of January, 1848, when the gold was discovered at Coloma, where I was then building a saw-mill.