Gold Rush Capitalists: Greed and Growth in Sacramento (review)

Historians have much to say about the California gold rush of the mid-nineteenth century, which drew 100,000 people to the state in fewer than three years. Most studies of the rush, however, have focused on developments in the gold fields of the Sierra Nevada foothills, where lone prospectors could find a fortune in a single day. Afew studies have concentrated on speculative activities in the port city of San Francisco, which served as a major supply depot during the rush. In this well-researched study, Mark Eifler shows that Sacramento also played an important role in this great historical drama. Strategically located between the gold fields and San Francisco, Sacramento became a thriving commercial center during the rush, a place where an eclectic group of merchants received and distributed goods bound for mining camps. From a broader perspective, Eifler has offered an interesting case study of western urban development, showing how natural resources, trade patterns, and social and cultural values shaped frontier communities.

His book begins in the late 1830s, when the Swiss adventurer John Sutter gained permission from Mexico to settle land in California's fertile central valley, between the coastal mountain ranges and the central Sierras. Relying largely on Indian labor, Sutter built a trading empire in the valley, supplying goods to Native Americans as well as to the growing number of newcomers in the area. When Sutter's workers discovered gold near the American River in 1848, his empire was already crumbling. A new breed of entrepreneurs had moved to California during the Mexican War and captured a large share of consumer markets. When the extent of gold deposits in the Sierras became clear, these people set up shops and warehouses in a low-lying spot on the banks of the Sacramento River, where prospectors debarked before heading to the gold fields. The spot quickly became a nerve center of commercial activity.

Sacramento was a chaotic place in 1849. Street corners became informal marketplaces, as well as the sites of new saloons, gambling halls, and brothels. Residents grew increasingly concerned about moral standards in the city, but the lack of drinking water and health and sanitation services worried them more. Things grew increasingly chaotic the following year, when the Sacramento River flooded and washed away many homes and businesses. A cholera epidemic broke out in 1850, taking the lives of several hundred people. Meanwhile, the economic hierarchy in Sacramento became more pronounced, as did social and cultural divisions in the city. A simmering feud between landowners and "squatters" turned violent in the summer, after landowners raided the homes of squatters and forcefully evicted them from the land. There were two public "shootouts" between these groups, both of which resulted in loss of life.

In 1851, as the gold rush ended, a sense of order settled over Sacramento. By then, the city was the second-largest urban community in the West, with a population of nearly ten thousand. The institutions of the community were in place, and residents had settled into familiar routines. Compared to its larger neighbor by the bay, Sacramento was less spectacular and had more of a middle-class ethic and feel. It also had fewer large opportunities, the lack of which prompted some of its original merchants to leave the city. Sacramento was a place where business people could earn steady profits, but where they were unlikely to grow rich.

This book makes a valuable contribution to the literature of the American West. It draws on a wealth of manuscript collections and primary sources and an abundance of secondary works. It is not without shortcomings. Like many books that start out as doctoral dissertations, it seems narrow and tedious at times. Eifler begins with a strong sense of narrative and direction, but gradually loses...