Sandwiched between the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Civil War in 1861, the California Gold Rush is considered by ... ($971 million in 2005 dollars) in 1850, $75 million in 1851, and $81 ...

During the 1850s and 1860s Brannan was known as the richest man in California. The chaos of the gold rush had played to ... hired Japanese gardeners to tend the land and bought 800 horses.