Natural Resources

Environmental Button

Description

Water is one of our most precious natural resources. Having a ready supply of water for drinking and irrigation is of paramount concern to society. Water conservation is a great concern to those living in arid regions of the western United States, such as Nevada, where this button was produced.

Location

Currently not on view

ID Number

2003.0014.0571

catalog number

2003.0014.0571

accession number

2003.0014

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Gold Nugget

Description

This small piece of yellow metal is believed to be the first piece of gold discovered in 1848 at Sutter's Mill in California, launching the gold rush.

James Marshall was superintending the construction of a sawmill for Col. John Sutter on the morning of January 24, 1848, on the South Fork of the American River at Coloma, California, when he saw something glittering in the water of the mill's tailrace. According to Sutter's diary, Marshall stooped down to pick it up and "found that it was a thin scale of what appeared to be pure gold." Marshall bit the metal as a test for gold.

In June of 1848, Colonel Sutter presented Marshall's first-find scale of gold to Capt. Joseph L. Folsom, U.S. Army Assistant Quartermaster at Monterey. Folsom had journeyed to Northern California to verify the gold claim for the U.S. Government.

The gold samples then traveled with U.S. Army Lt. Lucien Loeser by ship to Panama, across the isthmus by horseback, by ship to New Orleans, and overland to Washington. A letter of transmittal from Folsom that accompanied the packet lists Specimen #1 as "the first piece of gold ever discovered in this Northern part of Upper California found by J. W. Marshall at the Saw Mill of John A. Sutter."

By August of 1848, as evidence of the find, this piece and other samples of California gold had arrived in Washington, D.C., for delivery to President James K. Polk and for preservation at the National Institute. Within weeks, President Polk formally declared to Congress that gold had been discovered in California.

In 1861, the National Institute and its geological specimens, including this gold and the letter, entered the collections of the Smithsonian Institution. The Marshall Nugget remains in the collections as evidence of the discovery of gold in California.

Date made

1848

Associated Date

1848

referenced

Sutter, John

Polk, President James K.

Loesser, Lucian

ID Number

CL.135(1861).01

accession number

135

catalog number

135(1861).01

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Framed Photograph of California Redwoods

Description (Brief)

This photograph of California redwoods is one of forty-nine framed black and white photographic prints bequeathed to the Smithsonian by William F. Bucher of Washington, D.C. Bucher, a cabinetmaker, framed each photograph in wood of the same species as the tree depicted in the print. The photos were displayed in a special exhibition, Our Trees and their Woods at the United States National Museum in 1931.

The trees depicted in this photograph were located in California and the image was made by A. Gaskill, courtesy U.S. Forest Service. The frame is made of solid California redwood.

Location

Currently not on view

Date made

1929

frame maker

Bucher, William F.

photographer

U.S. Department of Agriculture. Forest Service

ID Number

AG.115767.38

catalog number

AG*115767.38

accession number

115767

maker number

41

Data Source

National Museum of American History

USS Alaska Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth

Description

The wooden screw sloop of war USS Alaska was built in 1868 and spent much of her career in the southern Pacific and Far East representing the American nation in foreign ports. In June 1878, she cleared New York for San Francisco and stopped at several South American ports on the way.

One of Alaska's port calls from 20-29 September 1878 was to Talcahuano, in the center of Chile's coast and that nation's main naval port. It also was one the principal stops for American whalers in the Pacific seeking fresh supplies and entertainment. This massive sperm whale's tooth was probably purchased there and engraved by one of Alaska's crew to commemorate his visit. While the carver of this tooth is unknown, it may have been one of the officers who kept the official ship's logbooks, because the calligraphy on the covers of the logs for this voyage is exceptionally elaborate and colorful.

As this tooth indicates, the Talcahuano visit and liberty calls were memorable. Sent ashore on liberty, 54 of Alaska's crew went AWOL (Absent WithOut Leave), and three more were confined to double irons (feet and hand cuffs) for drunk and boisterous behavior or fighting.

Date made

1878

USS Alaska port call to Chile, Talcahuano

1878-09

ID Number

DL.374477

catalog number

374477

accession number

136263

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Pacific Steam Whaleship Orca

Description

The steam whaler Orca was built at San Francisco in 1882 specifically for the Pacific and Arctic whale fisheries. By the late 19th century, the Atlantic whale was too scarce due to overhunting, and whaling had moved almost completely to distant western waters to exploit the remaining whales.

Measuring 177 feet in length and 628 tons, Orca had a 280-HP steam engine for propulsion. It also had a full suit of auxiliary sails for backup and fuel conservation. When built, Orca was the largest auxiliary steam whaler in the United States.

The bark-rigged vessel was heavily built and braced, with a strongly raked bow to work in the Arctic ice pack. The heavy timbers and bow shape allowed it to be driven up onto the ice, where its weight helped to break through. Orca’s propeller had two blades so it could be aligned vertically with the stern timbers when not in use in order to protect it from the ice.

Information collected by Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Conn. indicates that Orca, along with many other Pacific whalers, resorted to shanghaiing, or acquiring crewmen from agents ashore who forced potential crewmen onto their ships in various ways. With around two dozen whaleships clearing San Francisco each year for the Pacific whaling grounds, the need for crewmen was great.

Date made

1894

reference material

Mystic Seaport Museum

ID Number

TR.076237

catalog number

076237

accession number

028022

Data Source

National Museum of American History

Environmental Button

Description

Produced by the group Zero Population Growth, this button highlights anxiety created by the continued growth of the world’s population, first remarked upon by Englishman Thomas Malthus in his 1798 work, An Essay on the Principle of Population. Paul R. Ehrlich’s bestselling book The Population Bomb, published in 1968, renewed interest in the topic by raising concerns about the potential risks of overpopulation.

Location

Currently not on view

maker

Zero Population Growth

ID Number

2003.0014.0137

accession number

2003.0014

catalog number

2003.0014.0137

Data Source

National Museum of American History