Trade Tokens from Historical California Gold Mining Towns
Stockton, California

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Built during the California Gold Rush, Stockton's seaport serves as a gateway to the Central Valley and beyond. It provided easy access for trade and transportation to the southern gold mines. Europeans and Americans started to arrive in the area after gold was found in northern California, starting with the California Gold Rush in 1848. When Captain Charles Maria Weber, a German immigrant, decided to try his hand at gold mining in late 1848, he soon found selling supplies to gold-seekers was more profitable. Weber acquired the Rancho Campo de los Franceses Mexican land grant and founded Stockton in 1849. During the California Gold Rush, Stockton developed as a river port, the hub of roads to the gold settlements in the San Joaquin Valley and northern terminus of the Stockton - Los Angeles Road. During its early years, Stockton was known by several names, including "Weberville," "Tuleburg," "Fat City," "Mudville," and "California's Sunrise Seaport." Weber decided on "Stockton" in honor of Commodore Robert F. Stockton. Chinese immigration - Thousands of Chinese came to Stockton from the Kwangtung province of China during the 1850s due to a combination of political and economic unrest in China and the discovery of gold in California. After the gold rush, many worked for the railroads and land reclamation projects. By 1880, Stockton was home to the third-largest Chinese community in California.