The "Marshall Monument"
/Marshall Monument Cabinet Photo
The Marshall Monument stands on a hill overlooking the Gold Rush town of Coloma, the site where James Marshall discovered gold back in 1848. This Cabinet Card photograph was produced by George D. Stewart, Photographer, of Sacramento.
The front of the photo is an image of the Monument; the back of the card relates a brief history of the Monument:
"This Monument was erected by an Act of the Legislature, at a cost of $5,000, to the memory of J.W. Marshall, the discoverer of gold. It is located on the summit of Marshall Hill, overlooking the town of Coloma and the site of Sutter’s Mill, where Marshall made the discovery that electrified the world, January 24, 1848.
The Monument is of Granite, beautifully designed, 31 feet in height, on top of which is a Bronze statue of Marshall, 10 feet 6 inches in height, making the structure 41 feet 6 inches high, and one of the most imposing in the State.
The designer and sculptor was J. Marion Wells, the Commissioners, J.H. Miller, A. Caminetti, Geo. Hoffmeister, and H.C. Gesford.
Marshall was born in New Jersey, Oct. 8, 1810; came to California in 1844, and died Aug. 10, 1885.
At the time of the discovery he was a millwright in the employ of Captain John A. Sutter, and by his discovery emigrants quickly poured in from all parts of the American continent, and, ere long, from Britain, Germany, and other European counties, until the population of San Francisco alone rose, from under 200, in 1845, to 40,000, in 1858."
