The California gold rush is a period of time where in the west they found gold, but that's not it.It all began on January 24, 1848, on the South Fork of the American River, near what is nowthe California town of Coloma.The discovery of gold in California in the mid-19th Century ushered in one of the largest migrations in American history. Thousands of people moved west just to find gold. Marshall found the first ever piece of gold. It was on top of a run off mill water. Marshall wasn't the only one who found gold. After all the people heard about the gold, it was reported to the San Francisco newspapers. The new york herald printed news about the discovery of gold during august 1848. Gold seekers traveled