They came to California with great hope for the future-they left a legacy.
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With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
The discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, California, in 1848 set off a siren call that many Americans couldn’t resist. Enthusiastic pioneers headed west intent on picking up a fortune in the nearest stream. Though only a few actually used a pickax in the search for a fortune, women played a major role in the California Gold Rush. They discovered wealth working as cooks, writers, photographers, performers, or lobbyists. Some even realized dreams greater than gold in the western land of opportunity and others experienced unspeakable tragedy.
Juanita slowly walked to the gallows, took the noose in her hands, and adjusted it around her neck. She pulled her long, black hair out from beneath the rope so it could flow freely. A blanket of silence fell over the crowd watching the hanging in Downieville, California, that sunny July afternoon in 1851.
Less than twenty-four hours before, the people in this California Gold Rush town had been celebrating the country’s independence. The streets were still lined with bunting and flags. A platform still stood in the center of the town where prominent speakers had given patriotic lectures. There had been bands and parades. Drunken miners had brawled in the streets and bartenders had rolled giant whiskey barrels into tent saloons for everyone to have a drink. It had been a momentous occasion – the first Fourth of July celebration since California had become a state.
Juanita was one of a couple of thousand people who had taken up residence in this pine-covered mountainside burgh, three thousand feet across the upper Yuba River. Downieville was the richest region in the Gold Country. Ninety-two thousand dollars worth of gold had been found in the area in the first half of 1850.
To learn more about Juanita and the events that to her hanging or about any of the other women who made their mark on the Gold Rush read:
With Great Hope: Women of the California Gold Rush.
