After the Gold Rush: Tarnished Dreams in the Sacramento Valley (review)

After the Gold Rush examines the lives of men who did not amass a pocket full of rocks during the Gold Rush—George Washington Pierce, Champion I. Hutchinson, Jerome C. Davis, and William Montgomery—who stayed in northern California and clung to the spirit of '49. "Yankee farmhands too ashamed to return home; their employer, an entrepreneur/politician/farmer/fugitive . . . ; an adventurous Ohioan looking . . . to make his mark . . . ; and a long-struggling family of squatters," all saw the Gold Rush as the defining moment in their lives, and based their future, and the future of the lower Sacramento Valley on their dreams and gambles (25–26). Vaught follows two generations of men and their families who, determined to succeed in Putah Valley, California, risked the farm, over and over again. Their determination to succeed on the land, their commitment to the market and to community life, and their loyalty to capitalism and community values allowed the following generations to develop the area into an agricultural contender and an educational center. "If just one of the golden dreams came true, then all the broken dreams would be worth it," writes Vaught in a summary of the hardships of these Californians (228).

Vaught draws from a variety of disciplines and interests as he follows the failed argonauts in their transition from mining and land speculation to farming and ranching and from planting wheat to growing fruits and nuts. His most notable contribution is his analysis of the ways in which the environment affected the lives of Putah settlers. He provides a layout of the land, a description of the ecosystem, and the effects of irrigation. He notes that creeks shaped the lives of these Californians as much as, and perhaps even more than, any other factor. Vaught also provides a detailed inquiry of the legalities involved in land-claim controversies caused by squatters, incorrect land surveys, prolonged court cases, and political maneuvering. The economic history of Putah Valley is told through the impact of farm credit, railroad prices, falling market prices, and the growth of capitalism.

Vaught gives a nod to social history in his discussion of community life—family relations, women's contributions to the family and society, and celebrations of national events—but he uses this material mainly to introduce his economic concerns. Scholars looking for a full social history of the lower Sacramento Valley will be left wanting. But Vaught uses a wide variety of sources—including newspapers, court records, censuses, land-grant records, deed books, agricultural reports, and county records, as well as quotations from personal diaries and interviews with descendants—to provide a comprehensive economic and legal narrative.

Overall, Vaught's book follows in the tradition of such California Gold Rush monographs as Susan Johnson, Roaring Camp (New York, 2000); Peter Blodgett, Land of Golden Dreams (San Marino, 1994); and Malcolm Rorhbough, Days of Gold (Berkeley, 1997). It highlights the idea of faded glory that motivated men to take big risks, always hoping that their golden dreams would one day come true. After the Gold Rush is an agricultural history that weaves together an unpredictable creek, a fluctuating market, and the perseverance of the American Dream.