Peter H. Burnett is elected governor. General John Sutter also runs for governor but comes in third. Sacramento County is created. California formally gained statehood. California becomes the 31st state.
People come to California from all over the United States and the world, by land and by sea.
The gold rush compresses a half century of normal growth into a half decade. Squatters take over Sutter's land throughout the Sacramento Valley. A partial exodus of miners takes place when gold is discovered on the Fraser River in British Columbia. 1854 Sacramento becomes the state capital. Many people take their earnings and leave the state.