John Sutter, who left Switzerland to escape debtor's prison, came to California and built a giant land monopoly. Again, he became heavily in debt and died desti

Travel the Old Plank Road, or take a trip on the old Ridge Route over the Grapevine Grade. They were once treacherous but have been replaced by modern highways,

This book has 41 different chapters on California's gold rush and development history. Read about The Lost Spanish Galleon, Pegleg Smith's Lost Gold Mine, Joaqu

San Francisco grew from a tiny burg of 1,000 persons in 1848 to its present-day population of 825,863. The city was founded in 1776 when Spain built a fort at t

The reader should not be conned into thinking Nevada is only desert and casinos. Nevada gained its statehood because of its incredible wealth in gold and silver