The richest story ever told,
Is California's rush for gold,
At Sutter's Mill the gold was found
The masses came from all around
As rumors first started the skeptics all laughed
Until confirmation from President Taft
Word spread out quickly of bona fide gold
The families packed up, and the east wagons rolled
They left lives at home, to try out being miners
Named for the year, they were called forty-niners
Hundreds of thousands had rushed to the site
They all saw gold nuggets, and wanted a bite!
Half came by the land, and the rest came by sea
For riches untold and some prosperity
From countries like Mexico, Chile, Peru
Then China and Britain and even France too
At first they were profiting, fortunes galore
Compared to back east they made fifteen times more!
The economy saw what was known as a boom
There was wealth to be found in a shop or saloon
But as the time passed gold was harder to find
More people had come, and more land had been mined
The average prospector did not make out well
Living was costly without gold to sell
Gold mining companies learned to survive
And only they stood by eighteen fifty-five
Gold is worth money, and it's fine decoration
But during the gold rush, it helped shape a nation