Three years in California [1846-1849]
Publisher: A. S. Barnes
Published: 1850
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 456
Subjects: History; Gold discoveries; Sources; Description and travel; Law; Political aspects; Mines and mineral resources; Business
Description: Walter Colton (1797-1851) of Vermont had a career as clergyman and journalist before sailing to California as naval chaplain of the Congress. In July 1846, Commodore Stockton named him alcalde of Monterey, a post to which he was elected a few months later. He remained in California until 1849, using his time to found the state's first newspaper and building its first schoolhouse. Three years in California (1850) contains Colton's memoirs of that period, including descriptions of the U.S. military occupation of California, social life and customs of Monterey, discovery of gold and firsthand impressions of the Sonora mining camp in the Southern Mines, visits to Stockton and San Jos, ̌ John Charles Frm̌ont, the Constitutional Convention of 1849, and California missions.
Notes: Facsimile: "Declaration of rights in the constitution of California, and the signatures of the members of the convention."