Immigration During the Gold Rush Gold Rush period is the point in time when the population in California realized the presence of Gold and how precious it was. In the early 1840s, California was a distant outpost of a small population of the Americans. John Sutter, one of the wealthiest people at that time, decided to build his empire. He amassed twelve thousand heads of camels, among other substances related to the agricultural domain. By the mid of 1840s, more Americans trickled in by wagons and ships. To the joy of Sutter, he welcomed them to his self-proclaimed kingdom that the increase in population would destroy his agricultural ambitions. The Gold Rush was featured by non-tolerating disputes among the landowners,