Carson Hill

James Carson found gold in the creek below in 1848, and the creek, the hill and the town all took his name. He died in 1853, a year before the hill produced the thing it is remembered for: 195 troy pounds of gold, taken from the Morgan Mine in November 1854, the largest mass of gold yet found in the country. A New Orleans buyer carried it east, it was exhibited in Paris in 1856, and then somebody melted it down.

What the plaque says

CARSON HILL STATE REGISTERED LANDMARK No. 274 GOLD DISCOVERED IN CREEK JUST BELOW TOWN BY JAMES H. CARSON IN 1848, WHOSE NAME WAS GIVEN TO CREEK, HILL AND TOWN. IN NOVEMBER, 1854, AT MORGAN MINE, WAS FOUND THE LARGEST GOLD NUGGET IN CALIFORNIA, WEIGHING 195 POUNDS TROY, WORTH AT THAT TIME $43,000. MARKER PLACED BY CALIFORNIA CENTENNIALS COMMISSION. BASE FURNISHED BY ANGELS CAMP LIONS CLUB DEDICATED MAY 22, 1949 JAMES H. CARSON JAMES H. CARSON (1821 - 1853) -- SOLDIER, GOLD PROSPECTOR AND MINER, WRITER, SPORTSMAN. DISCOVERED GOLD AT CARSON'S CREEK. HE INSPIRED A MUTUAL CONFIDENCE BETWEEN MAN AND MAN. DEDICATED BY MATUCA CHAPTER, E.C.V. THIS 27TH DAY OF APRIL 1974

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Columbia State Historic Park — 6.1 mi
  The Gem of the Southern Mines, still open for business on a car-free Gold Rush main street.

More markers nearby

• Archie Stevenot — steps away
• Robinson's Ferry — 1.3 mi
• Parrott's Ferry — 2.9 mi
• Mark Twain Cabin — 3.2 mi