THE STORY
Reported Haunting
Marshall's Monument is associated with reports of ghostly apparitions and unexplained activity connected to the California Gold Rush. Witnesses have described mysterious lights, shadow figures, and unexplained voices near the monument after dark. Local folklore has given the site a haunted reputation.
The Gold Rush started on June 24, 1848, when James Marshall found 2 gold nuggets caught in the waterwheel at the logging mill he operated with John Sutter. From then on, he was followed wherever he went by desperate men who wanted to follow in his footsteps and strike it rich. Marshall’s ghost has been seen as an indistinct outline around his monument.