The ship was built at the Westervelt &amp; MacKay shipyard in New York and launched in September 1849. She was a coal-fired sidewheel steamer, but also rigged as a two-masted sailing ship to take advantage of favorable winds. Like several other shipping entrepreneurs, Westervelt &amp; MacKay sought to take advantage of the commercial opportunities afforded by the California gold rush by building a ship for service in the Bay Area. She was christened "Gold Hunter". The ship sailed for San Francisco via Cape Horn in December 1849. After multiple stops, she arrived in San Francisco on April 29, 1850 with 150 passengers aboard. She immediately began freight and passenger service between San Francisco and Sacramento for the firm of Simmons, Hutchinson &amp; Co.