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Feature Article on Gold Rush. Topic:
GOLD RUSH
Written by Rich Wallace in May, 1996
MANY SHELBY COUNTIANS LEFT HOME TO SEEK CALIFORNIA GOLD |
| Especially after a hard winter, the month of
April brings to all of us a feeling of renewal and adventure. One hundred and fifty years
ago, the warm winds of April carried not only the promise of good weather, but the hope of
a new beginning for many in the frontier villages of western Ohio such as Sidney. Many had
heard of the vast, uncharted lands west of the Mississippi. Could there be a better future
there? When Joel and Mary Walker
left Independence, Missouri on April 30, 1840, with their four children to seek a better
life in far away California, they could not have known the extent of the human tide that
would follow them over the next sixteen years. The uncharted and inhospitable lands of
what became known as the California Trail lay before them. They had survived the
depression of 1837 and the lure of a better life seemed irresistible. The Walkers and four
others made it safely to California. Beginning in 1843, many others would also take the
Oregon Trail to the Pacific Northwest in search of rich farmland and a new life.
What started out as a trickle turned
into a torrent of people after news of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill first spread
eastward in 1849. Over the next 15 years, more than 200,000 others would follow as word of
the new life spread across America. In 1848, Sidney had just 1,500 inhabitants. After
"gold fever" struck this tiny town, Sidney was to experience an exodus of people
unlike any other time in its history. This is the story of some of those intrepid souls.
Robert Houston was a farmer of some repute
in Shelby County. He owned a 140 acre farm near the present day Houston, a village which
was named in his honor. Times were hard, however. As rumors of the rich, inexpensive farm
land out west filtered back to him, Houston became determined to make a better living for
his family. After selling the farm and packing all their worldly possessions, Houston left
home on February 28, 1848 with his wife and five children.
Walking much of the way, they
eventually reached St. Joseph, Missouri. There they purchased an outfit consisting of
wagons, horses, cattle and all manner of supplies that would be needed. Teaming with about
100 others, they struck out across the unknown expanse. Their destination: a new land of
promise called Oregon.
News of the discovery of gold spread
eastward with amazing speed when one remembers that a man on horseback was the quickest
means of communication. It reached Sidney in just a few months. John Bush lived on the top
of Sulphur Heights Hill, just south of Sidney on the Sidney-Piqua Pike (now county road
25A). When he heard, it did not take long for Bush and his brother, Charles, to make up
their minds. It mattered not that Charles was a doctor with an established practice. They
were going west. A friend, M.W. Jackson, joined up and the adventurers left Sidney on
April 19, 1849. Thirteen others from Shelby County would follow their tracks west that
year.
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