Tales of Gold a serial by Forrest Barriger

Here are four tales from the famous California gold rush of the mid-18th century.

Mariposa County - After California was granted statehood in 1850, Mariposa County's first elected treasurer was Joseph Marr, who was headquartered at Agua Fria, the original county seat. Because staffing was minimal in those days it was not surprising that Mr. Marr was required to collect taxes as one of the functions of his position.

Sierra County - Marshall's gold discovery was made in 1848, but the real boom of arrivals in the gold country didn't get well started until 1849. The early birds spread out through the foothills, taking gold where they found it and settling into established camps or starting their own. 

Nevada County - As soon as the cry of 'Gold!' began to rise in 1848 settlers in Oregon heard it and some responded, moving south from their place of vantage. Three of them, discovering a small cup of a valley in the middle foothills, panned the streams and creviced the banks with good success, but were forced out and down into the central valley by the approaching winter. 

Calaveras County - The hey-day of the Gold Rush, and the dependence on easily recovered placer gold, began in 1848 and tapered off into the sixties and after, but it never did end completely. Gold still weathers out of rock and is washed down from the higher mountains. Streams still carry and concentrate it. It's still there in nearly every Northern California watercourse, waiting to be found.