John A. Sutter, a sweded, settled in California in 1839. In 1848, he owned a flour mill, a saw mil, a tannery, and a lage tract of land with cattle, horses, and sheep. His employee James w. Marshall built Sutter's saw mill in 1848 and on February 2, 1848, discovered particles of shining dust in the racewaygold. And, soon the gold rush in California was on. Before the end of 1848, 5,000 men were at work in the mines and the gold they found totalled 5 million dollars, an average of 1,000 dollars per man. In January 1848, there were about 2000 men living in San Francisco, all but five of whom left for the goldfield. This 1887 illustration shows a cartload of golddiggers setting off for the mines.