In 1852, exactly 7 of the 11,794 Chinese residents of California were women.¹⁰

In 1850, 92 percent of California's population was male.¹¹

When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in January 1848, California was still officially Mexican territory.

In 1850, it cost £5 to travel by ship from Liverpool to New York (3321 miles). It cost $30 to travel by ship from San Francisco to Sacramento (80 miles).

In the first nine weeks of "gold fever" in California, San Francisco merchant Samuel Brannan made more than $36,000 selling supplies to miners. That's the equivalent of more than $750,000 today. Brannan was able to sell mining pans (that he'd bought for 20¢) for $15 each.¹²

San Francisco burned to the ground six separate times between December 1849 and June 1851.¹³