Francisco Lopez

Despite Marshall’s claim to fame, the first man to find gold in California was actually native Californian Francisco Lopez. While looking for stray horses near what today is known as Placerita Canyon, Lopez dug up some wild onions and found a small metal nugget. Searching the area a bit more, he came up with more metal. The authorities later confirmed for Lopez that the metal was gold.

While locals and Mexican miners began searching for other gold stores, news of the discovery clearly didn’t make it east, as Marshall’s would in just a few short years.

The above woodcut depicts San Francisco in its bonanza period, with gold diggers lined up in front of the post office.