ABSTRACT
The discovery of gold and the subsequent population increase caused a land boom like few others in history. The Gold Rush attracted people from all over the world to California. Most of these people came by sea, through San Francisco and Sacramento, where population was scattered and few buildings existed. The US government honored the Mexican land grants, but new immigrants quickly squatted on land that was not obviously occupied. Miners quickly developed their own rules of property ownership and staked out lots for mining. For a while, the Gold Rush was a land rush. Ultimately, the land rush spread from San Francisco and Sacramento to the surrounding farmland. Ultimately, the rush of the 49ers to California created only a short surge in land values. According to bank historian Ira Cross, in the early months of 1850 it began to appear, however, that the future of business in practically all lines had been greatly overestimated.
