Map of California

Robert Stockton Williamson
Map of California
May 24, 1849
Page 1 - Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4
Page 5 - Page 6 - Page 7
Manuscript map with pen and ink drawing
Manuscript Division (38A)

Williamson's sketch is an authentic treasure map of the California gold regions. He included it in a letter East written August 23, 1849, when he was in the forefront of the 1849 gold rush. The rush drew thousands of Americans and Europeans- more than eighty thousand in 1849 alone-to streams and fields around the Sacramento River. By the end of the year, California's population was roughly a hundred thousand, enough to qualify for statehood.