Addiction's blog: "California History, facts, and claims to fame."

California History

• The Gold Rush sparked the biggest mass migration in the history of the world.
• Between 1848 and 1852, four short years, California's population grew from 14,000 to 223,000.
• The state motto is Eureka !, a Greek word translated "I have found it!" The motto was adopted in 1849 and originates from the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada .
• The Iron Door Saloon in Groveland claims to be the oldest drinking establishment in the state. It was constructed in 1852.
• The fastest Pony Express delivery on record, six days from Missouri to Sacramento, delivered the news of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
• Knights Ferry Covered Bridge is the longest covered bridge west of the MIssissippi and was built in 1863.
• In the late 1850s, Kennedy Mine, located in Jackson , served as one of the richest gold mines in the world and the deepest mine in North America.
• Empire Mine, near Grass Valley, is a gold mine operated for over 100 years and has over 367 miles of tunnels extending 2 miles (3.2 km) down. It is said to still contain millions in dollars of gold and is now a historical park.
• Near Murphys, five million dollars in gold was removed from a four acre placer area during a single winter during the height of the Gold Rush.
• In 1854 the largest gold nugget ever found was in California at Carson Hill above the Stanislaus River. It weighed 195 pounds (90 kg) and was valued at $43,534 in the currency of the day.

• In 1973, a 25 pound gold nugget was found by an amateur gold seeker in the Yuba River near Downyville along Highway 49.
• Two Billion Dollars in gold was removed from 12 counties in California between 1848-1965.
• More than 80% of the gold in the Mother Lode is still yet to be found.
• The longest single span covered bridge in America was built in 1862 near Bridgeport and is still there today.
• During the 1930's newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst had an income of $50,000 per day.
• Hearst Castle along the Pacific Coast has 165 rooms, 38 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, 14 sitting rooms, a kitchen, a movie theater, 2 libraries, a billiard room, a dining hall, an assembly hall, 41 fireplaces, and 127 acres of gardens.
• The 1,000,000 tiles that cover the pool room at Hearst Castle are all inlayed in real gold making it the most expensive pool room ever built.
• The plans for the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930's were modified to allow the bridge to be built right over the top of the Civil War era Fort Point.
• Demonstrations on making toothpaste from orange by-products were popular attractions at the Los Angeles County fair in 1922. The fair is held in Pomona.