Gold was everywhere. A housewife discovered 500 dollars worth when she swept the earthen floor of her kitchen. The earliest and richest mines were Sailor Ravine, Blue Banks opposite Zummwalt Flats, Tin Cup Diggins at the forks of the two rivers in town, and the gravels of Durgen Flat. One of the earliest mines, the Gold Bluff, was begun in early 1850. The first drift tunnel, The Caton, was begun in July of 1851.

One of the most often told tales of the Gold Rush was the hanging of Juanita, hanged for stabbing John Canon after the Fourth of July celebration in 1851.