James Marshall discovered gold at the site of a lumber mill he was building on the American River for John Sutter in 1848.
Marshall never profited from his discovery and died penniless.
A monument stands above his grave on a hill in Coloma. His statue points to the spot where he discovered gold, starting the great California Gold Rush.
The site is now a California State Park.Your can see more skies from around the world at Sky Watch Friday, hosted for us by
Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia.
What a great and blue sky you have!:-)
ReplyDeleteNice blue sky over Marshall. Too bad he couldn't reap the rewards of his discovery. Hope there's no holes on the ground where he's pointing. ;-)
ReplyDeleteNice sky, big statue. Too bad he didn't have anything to show for his discovery.
ReplyDeleteSuch great and honorable man.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful skies and captures Martha.
Enjoy the weekend.
Not just good composition, but technicaly good shots too!... thanks for sharing!....:)
ReplyDeleteneat pix. i still need to explore to that part of the state, it is after all so close to where i live.
ReplyDeleteTerrific captures, great composition and, oh, I do love those blue skies! Hope your week has gone well, Martha. Have a great weekend! Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
Great capture and interesting piece of history! I love those blue skies!
ReplyDeleteVery impressive monument! I like how Marshall's statue points to where he discovered gold.
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting story! I had heard of Sutter's Mill but that is all.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos, the sky is so blue. Neat looking statue.
ReplyDeleteNice post. I enjoyed the history.
ReplyDeleteNice shots, Martha, I esp like the second. Interesting info also.
ReplyDeleteThat second photo sure has a blue sky - a nice backdrop for the statue.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful skies and a reminder of some poignant CA history I'd forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThat would be my luck! Find something so awesome and not get a thing out of it...poor guy! But, he is now a giant statue and a state park in his honor...not bad! What a fabulous sky you also captured. It must have been a fine day to tour that area.
ReplyDeletePerfect sky for the pictures.
ReplyDeleteMakes my heart sad to know a person died penniless when he discovered material wealth. Great shot and information too, thanks! Happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteSkyWatchFriday~Gloomy
Well at least Marshall got a monument. I wonder why he never profited from his discovery!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post-and you have great sky shots !!
ReplyDeleteThe history of the gold discovery reminded me of a Dan Fogelberg song (on the subject)...Sutter's Mill.
Do you know it?
A great song although the history is not correct- as Sutter did not actually discover the gold nuggets. I posted the song on my followup blog-and linked to your blog here!
Junie
That's some blue sky! And a bit of history too!
ReplyDeleteYou chose the right spots to shoot the picture from! Amazing! Nice compositions!
ReplyDeletePixellicious Photos
What a sad story. But I'm glad he was eventually recognized with this monument. That first shot is awesome! Happy SWF and have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteMartha, I just have to comment to a glass of wine and a grandbaby the important things in life!:) That will give me a smile for the whole day!
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that is a "gold en" post even though the sky is a beautiful deep blue LOL
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post on the history of the California Gold Rush. We visited a tiny town called Downieville where one of my ancestors died as he was searching for gold. So sad that so many died and a relative few found gold.
ReplyDeleteThat is a wonderful spot and gorgeous monument. Well captured.
ReplyDeleteThank you for providing this information and beautiful photography. A wonderful start into the weekend for you.
ReplyDeletedaily athens
A very interesting post! And the monument looks wonderful enhanced by the blue of the sky!
ReplyDelete