Daily Life in San Francisco
The Mexican period was characterized by a large influx of American settlers, many of whom were interested in exploiting California’s natural resources, such as timber and gold. Between 1848 and 1855, San Francisco was transformed from a sleepy little town of around 800 residents into a booming city of over 50,000 people. The reason for this population explosion was the discovery of gold in the nearby Sierra Nevada foothills in 1848. The news of the discovery spread quickly, and soon people from all over the world were flocking to San Francisco in the hopes of striking it rich. The gold rush was not all sunshine and rainbows, however.
