Book
Map (digital)
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As news of the California gold discovery in January of 1848 spread around the world, men rushed in to grab their share of the wealth. During the next few years, well over a thousand ships descended on the small village of Yerba Buena (now San Francisco) and anchored in the shallow cove on the eastern edge of town. Most gold seekers immediately deserted their vessels and headed straight for the gold fields, leaving the burgeoning town littered with scores of discarded hulks. Many of them were put to good use for storage and temporary housing. Others were broken up, burned, or sank. Wharves were built out over the cove, and land speculation on water lots soared, resulting in confrontations where vessels were sunk, lawsuits were filed, and even shots were occasionally fired! As the cove was filled in, an unknown number of vessels became buried in the foundation of the City, now lying beneath the Financial District. This book tells the stories (including maps and images) of over 180 gold rush era ships that were reported to have met their demise in San Francisco. Some have already been uncovered, but how many more of these historic vessels might still remain beneath our feet today? — Ron S. Filion.
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