Rediscovering the Peninsula: Samuel Brannan

Brannan was the ideal person to have been sent to the wild, undeveloped West in 1846. He was a born leader, loud of voice, forceful in persuading people to do things, eager for adventure and hungry for success. He was, however, disappointed that he had gotten to California too late for the establishment of the new country, Zion, and his plans were immediately changed. He saw opportunity in the small pueblo and he immediately set up the second press in California, the California Star. Now he could lead and influence people in the guise of being an editor. In 1848, he merged with the only other newspaper, The Californian. Now, he controlled all of the voices of the press. Everything needed to be done so he opened the first school in California, followed by the purchases of land. Brannan had been authorized by the church to collect tithes so he went to Sutter’s Fort when he found out that gold had been discovered there to collect tithes for the Mormon men. This was before the amount of gold that was on the ground was not believed by the country but Brannan, a newspaperman, now found out the truth. He started a store at Sutter’s Fort and the gold flowed into his palm by the bucket full.

After returning to San Francisco, Brannan is credited with awakening up the public to the gold strike on the American River. He walked down the main street one day and held up a vial of gold dust and shouted “GOLD, GOLD, GOLD in California.” The gold rush was on. Before the day was over, almost every able man had dropped everything and took off for sacrament. Ships in the Bay lost their crews, and sailors jumped ship almost before the ship was anchored. Monterey became deserted and all of the shovels, pants, shoes were sold at exorbitant prices.

Brannan is credited as being the first millionaire from the gold strike in California. He was elected to the first town council of San Francisco in the new U.S. territory. He helped organize the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance (which was a de facto police force). He built the Napa Valley Railroad for the resort he built and called the town Calistoga. He founded the Society of California Pioneers, developed banks and built the first famous Cliff House on the Pacific Ocean.

In 1872, his wife, Anna Eliza Corwin, divorced Brannan. Because Brannan had most of his money tied up in land, both around San Francisco and Los Angeles County, the settlement with his wife bankrupted him.

Following his divorce, he began drinking to excess, eventually returning to a small ranch near the Mexican border. Land speculation with the Mexican government produced enough money to pay off his debts but not enough to bury him when he died in 1889.

Rediscovering the Peninsula runs every weekend. It is compiled through our archives created by Jim Clifford and the late Darold Fredricks.