GOLD RUSH DAYS
Prologue to 1857: The California Gold Rush
Background Information
Our Gold Rush Era Timeline:
August 1848
U.S. Congress officially organized land into the Oregon Territory. Gold was discovered in Oregon in January 1849.
The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) supported “westward expansion” by contracting with private steamship companies to transport mail between New York City and Astoria, Oregon.
The first Atlantic-side U.S. Mail shipment from New York City to Chagres, Panama left December 1,1848. It was coupled with a Pacific U.S. Mail steamship contractor to collect the west-bound cargo and passengers in Panama City…after completing a rugged overland journey across the Isthmus of Panama. (The Isthmus was transited only by wagon and mule until December 1855 when a cross-country railroad was completed.)
It also depicts the route for the 30-40-day journey via two steamships between New York and San Francisco which included a crossing by land at the Isthmus of Panama.
Back on the East Coast…President James Polk, in his public address to Congress on December 5, 1848, affirmed an “AN ABUNDANCE OF GOLD” in California…and the Gold Rush was on!
The Pacific route stops included a fledgling San Francisco CA by February, 1849. At that time, San Francisco was a village of just a few hundred residents called “Yerba Buena.”
Crossing the Isthmus of Panama and transferring ships took far less time than traveling around South America’s Cape Horn from New York to San Francisco, a 200+ day journey!
There was no transcontinental telegraph until 1861, so U.S. Mail was essential for communications. But U.S. Mail, passengers and cargo, going either way through Panama, may have taken up to 40-days!
However, because of the remarkable Gold Rush developments, returning vessels were now carrying U.S. Mail, passengers, plus commercial gold cargo destined for East Coast banks and government agencies.
There were U.S. Mail Steamship contractors on both the Atlantic and Pacific coats. Ships like the S.S. Central America (previously operated as the S.S. George Law) had two runs per month: by 1857, this ship had already transported over $54 million in gold! (The value of these shipments today would be approximately 30-times the 1857 value.)
“In 43 trips between Panama and New York City between 1852 and 1857, the ship (S.S. George Law /S.S. Central America) carried as much as a third of all the gold found during the California gold rush.” (1)
This ship’s impressive career ended as the result of a massive hurricane in the Atlantic, sinking the New York-bound ship on September 12, 1857 approximately 160 miles east of Cape Fear, N.C. While 153 women and children were rescued, 425 men lost their lives, including the Captain, W.L. Herndon.
(1) National Museum of America History: Disaster! The Sinking of the S.S. Central America https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/exhibitions/on-the-water/online/maritime-nation/shipwrecks/sinking-central-america
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REMEMBER…THE FINAL JOURNEY:
The 170th Anniversary of the S.S. Central America’s tragic sinking is September 12, 2027!
Remember the S.S. Central America’s final journey. Help us honor the 425 men, passengers, and crew whose lives were lost, and the 153 women and children who were rescued and whose lives were changed forever. Here is what we are considering.
- Hosting a special remembrance event and ringing the ship’s bell
- Producing a commemorative medal with a story card
- Publishing new research about the passengers and crew
We are seeking sponsors, donors, and volunteers to help us plan, organize, and host a special commemoration in memory of the lives lost and those changed when the S.S. Central America sank in 1857.
Let us know if you would like to learn more.
Contact Rebecca at programs@10tumultuousyears.org
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We’ll keep you notified of upcoming Podcasts, Publications, Programs, Exhibits and Presentations in 2027.
Any questions? Contact Rebecca:
programs@10tumultuousyears.org