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The discovery of gold on the magical date of January 24, 1848, when James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill near Coloma, started a rush that was unprecedented in all of the world's history. It started a boom period to the state that lasted at least 15 years. By 1849, gold production reached $10 million, and it would not be until 1929 that production would drop below that value. 1852 was the all-time peak year, with $82 million in gold production from a total of almost four million ounces mined. Between 1850 and 1864, over one million ounces were mined every year. In this book Frank Lorey covers the historic towns and mining locations in the eleven counties which produced the vast majority of California's golden wealth. Most are situated along and nearby to Highway 49, known as California's "Golden Highway.