January 24: James W. Marshall Discovers a Small …
Jan 01, 2012· This Day In History: January 24, 1848. On this day in history, 1848, James W. Marshall was checking on the progress made the night before in expanding a drainage channel at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California (which at the time was part of the Mexican territory, but just 9 days later would be ceded to the U.S.).