August 17, 2024; Presented by: Salvatore John Manna;
Where: Ralston Classroom Time: 10am-12pm
One hundred and seventy-five years after the discovery of gold near Sutter’s Fort, To The Land Of Promise: The Extraordinary California Gold Rush Journal of Lewis Meyer marks one of the last, if not the last, major first-person contributions to the history of the Gold Rush. A gold mine of observations and experiences, Meyer’s journal of his 1849 voyage from New York, around Cape Horn, to San Francisco has never been published, in part or in whole, or even been available for research purposes to any historian, until now.
To The Land Of Promise is a rarity. Few other journals published to date are as complete with daily and extensive entries that go far beyond simply commenting on the weather and noting a ship’s longitude and latitude, and touch on everything from learned observations of the natural world to perceptive reflections on human nature. Few other first-person accounts published to date include a mining company’s constitution and bylaws. Few other diaries of voyages include a bill of fare detailing daily meals. Only a few others convey the reality of six months living on a sailing ship in the mid-19th century. Faster steamships as well as faster clipper ships soon dominated the Gold Rush trade. The travails of sailing ships rounding the Horn became the stuff of legend.
Come hear the rest of the story………..
CBTA Seminars
Seminars are free and open to the public. There is a $10 day-use fee to enter the park. Bring the family and plan on spending the day among the giant sequoias and plan on enjoying a delicious lunch at Sequoia Snack Shack.
