When news got out that there was gold in California, people came to San Francisco from all over the world, such as just plain Americans, Australians, Chileans, Chinese, French, Irish, Peruvians, and Italians came to join the Gold Rush. Even free blacks came to San Francisco hoping for a better life.
“On every side stood buildings of all kinds, begun,
half-finished, or done, and the greater part of
them [just] canvas sheds, and covered with all
kinds of signs in all different languages.”
This is how a reporter from New York described San Francisco. He was one of the 25,000 people in San Francisco in 1850. With all the people coming to California, new towns were springing up like popcorn popping! But San Francisco was the biggest boom town of all (of course.) San Francisco’s population had grown from just 600 people to 25,000 people in just one year! And by 1852, there were over 40,000 people in San Francisco!
Look at this panorama of San Francisco in 1851.
Did you know that before the Gold Rush, San Francisco was once called Yerba Buena?
Turns out, if you were a merchant, you would make more money selling waterfood, pans, than looking for gold. Some store owners would charge $100 for one glass of water. San Francisco wasn’t always a pleasant place.
By Regan, Derek
Levi Strauss
Levi Strauss was a Jewish settler from Germany. He came to San Francisco in 1853. Levi and Jacob Davis went into business making jeans. They sold most of their jeans to the miners and other laborers. Jacob Davis invented a way to fasten the pockets of jeans with metal rivets so they would not tear during very hard work. Levi had ads put in the newspaper about his clothing. The jeans were very tough. Now jeans are made in every color. You might be wearing this legacy from the Gold Rush right now, and not even know it.
How were blue jeans invented? It's a simple story.
By Jimmy, Veronica
