{"id":11376,"date":"2026-01-26T20:15:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/inedc.com\/24\/?p=11376"},"modified":"2026-01-26T20:15:02","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T05:15:02","slug":"from-gold-rush-centennial-to-bicentennial-dreams-a-coloma-witness-remembers-1948","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/inedc.com\/24\/culture\/history\/from-gold-rush-centennial-to-bicentennial-dreams-a-coloma-witness-remembers-1948\/","title":{"rendered":"From Gold Rush Centennial to Bicentennial Dreams: A Coloma Witness Remembers 1948"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLOMA, Calif.<\/strong> \u2014 Seventy-eight years ago this week, as California marked the centennial of the discovery of gold, a family photograph captured a fleeting moment at Sutter\u2019s Mill that now serves as a living bridge between past and future in El Dorado County.<\/p>\n

The black-and-white image was taken Jan. 24, 1948, during the statewide Gold Discovery Centennial celebration in Coloma, commemorating James W. Marshall\u2019s 1848 discovery that launched the Gold Rush and transformed California. In the photo are multiple generations: a young woman identified as Maryeda, who recently celebrated her 90th birthday; her father, A.J. Hayes, known to family and friends as \u201cJimmy\u201d; and, at the right edge of the frame, a serious-faced toddler dressed as a cowpoke is Dennis Hayes.<\/p>\n

That toddler is now 80 years old.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI was about 2 and two-thirds years old in that picture,\u201d Dennis Hayes said. \u201cI\u2019m 80 and two-thirds now, and I\u2019m planning on attending the bicentennial celebration. If I make it, I\u2019ll be 102 and two-thirds. That would be something.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The 1948 centennial brought national attention to Coloma and El Dorado County, drawing large crowds and state leaders to what is now Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. Among them was then-Gov. Earl Warren, who proclaimed Jan. 24, 1948, as \u201cGold Discovery Day\u201d and appeared at the celebration following significant state investment in preserving and expanding the historic site.<\/p>\n

Warren\u2019s administration played a key role in shaping the park ahead of the centennial. In 1947, he signed legislation enabling the State Park Commission to more easily acquire land, followed by $80,000 in urgency funding to prepare the Gold Discovery site, including $10,000 earmarked for acreage in Coloma.<\/p>\n

For the family in the photograph, the day is remembered not only for its historic importance but also for its human details.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019m told I had to pee, so my parents let me go by a tree just as the governor walked by,\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Dennis Hayes recalled with a laugh.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cTurns out I was one of the first people to \u2018go\u2019 before Earl Warren, who later became Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Warren would go on to serve as chief justice from 1953 to 1969, overseeing landmark decisions that reshaped American law and civil rights. In 1948, however, he stood in Coloma emphasizing the broader meaning of the Gold Rush Centennial, calling for reflection and a forward-looking vision beyond California\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n

Today, the photograph stands as a reminder that history is not only preserved in monuments and proclamations, but also in family albums and living memory. With planning already underway statewide for the 200th anniversary of the gold discovery in 2048, the man hopes to once again stand at Sutter\u2019s Mill\u2014this time as a witness to two centuries of California history.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt would be pretty cool,\u201d Dennis Hayes said, \u201cto be the old man who was there for both.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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About Earl Warren in Coloma Gold Discovery<\/h4>\n

Earl Warren’s connection to the Coloma Gold Discovery primarily stems from his tenure as\u00a0Governor of California (1943\u20131953)<\/strong>, during which he spearheaded the state’s centennial celebrations of the 1848 discovery.\u00a0 Warren was a member of the\u00a0Native Sons of the Golden West<\/strong>, an organization that was instrumental in erecting the Marshall Monument in Coloma and advocating for the preservation of California\u2019s Gold Rush history.<\/p>\n

Role in Centennial Celebrations