Positions of the Upper and Lower Gold Mines on the South Fork of the American River, California — July 20th , 1848

Cartographer: Lieutenant Edward Otho Cresap Ord, U.S. Army

Year: 1848

Drawn just months after James Marshall’s famous discovery, this is one of the first government maps to locate California’s gold diggings. Ord traces the American River eastward from Sutter’s Fort, marking sawmills, ferries, and the confluences of the North and South forks. Shaded knolls and oak “plains” give way to steeper, red-clay hills where Ord labels “Lower Mines No 3” and “Upper Mines Nos 1 & 8,” the placers that ignited the Gold Rush. Mileage notes show the diggings to be 25 miles and 50 miles from the fort, respectively, and a bold compass rose orients the sheet. The cartography reveals how narrow river terraces and wooded ridges guided early miners and supply trains into the Sierra Nevada foothills. Researchers gain a rare, near-contemporary snapshot of settlement, terrain, and the very first routes to the fabled diggings.