January,
1998 marks the 150th anniversary of an accidental discovery that
led to one of the greatest quests in American history--the California
gold rush. A new television documentary, narrated by Emmy award-winning
actor John Lithgow, chronicles this American odyssey and airs
on PBS at 10 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 1998.
"The
Gold Rush," underwritten by Wells Fargo Bank, kicks off a
nationwide celebration of the 150th anniversary of the discovery
of gold. Documentary filmmakers Michael Trinklein and Steven Boettcher,
who spent three years researching and producing the film, see
the gold rush as the singular event that re-defined the American
Dream.
"Before
the gold rush, we were a nation of staid farmers," said Trinklein,
writer and co-producer of "The Gold Rush." "But
the discovery of gold ushered in the kind of free-wheeling, risk-taking
entrepreneurialism that has defined America ever since."
Lumberman
James Marshall inadvertently discovered the first gold nuggets
on Jan. 24, 1848, while building a sawmill on the American River.
The find sent a shockwave across the United States and the entire
world. Soon nearly every ambitious young man and many women were
en route to California in search of instant riches. They traveled
from all corners of the world, including Mexico, China, Germany,
France and Turkey. Most left home in 1849, and hence were dubbed
"forty-niners."
"Most
of these guys failed every day in their attempt to find gold,"
Boettcher said. "Failure became the norm, but they kept trying.
That willingness to risk failure is the key to an entrepreneurial
economy."
Boettcher
adds that the smartest fortune-seekers quickly realized that the
best way to make money was to supply the miners' needs, rather
than dig for gold themselves. "No one understood this better
than Sam Brannan, one of the most successful gold rush businessmen,"
Boettcher said. "At one point, Brannan bought up every tin
pan in the region for thirty cents each, and then re-sold them
to the miners for $15.00 per pan."
One of the
film's most surprising revelations is that many of the gold rush's
most successful businesspeople were women, who quickly realized
that domestic skills had considerable value in Frontier California.
In many ways, it was really the beginning of the women's movement.
One woman, according to author JoAnn Levy, who appears in "The
Gold Rush," made $18,000 cooking simple meals in her dutch
oven.
"Men
didn't want to cook or wash clothes, and so the small number of
women in California could make an incredible income. Women relished
their first taste of economic freedom," said Levy, one of
more than a dozen leading historians who worked closely with Boettcher
and Trinklein in the production of "The Gold Rush."
Some of the
most ambitious risk-takers during this era went on to become some
of America's most well-known and successful entrepreneurs. Their
companies--Levi Strauss, Studebaker, Armour Meats and Wells Fargo
Bank--all can trace their roots to the California gold rush.
More than
any other event, the gold rush created America's "land of
opportunity" ideal, according to Wells Fargo & Co. Chairman
Paul Hazen. "We decided to underwrite 'The Gold Rush' because
we want to take part in the celebration of the entrepreneurial
spirit in America," he said. "Wells Fargo was there
when this ideal was born, and we're still here delivering the
services our new generation of entrepreneurs have come to expect
from us. This film offers a spark to anyone with entrepreneurial
zeal, and it helps to preserve America's heritage, of which Wells
Fargo is very much a part."
Boettcher
and Trinklein head up Boettcher/Trinklein Television Inc., a four-time
Emmy-winning production company. Their recent productions include
"The Oregon Trail," an award-winning film which aired
nationally on PBS stations in 1995.
The exclusive
underwriter of "The Gold Rush," Wells Fargo Bank, is
the 10th largest bank holding company in the U.S. with assets
of $100.2 billion. Wells Fargo, which was founded during the California
gold rush, has branches in the 10 western states of Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.
