From the late 1850s to the early 1860s, several gold rushes occurred. The Oregon Gold Rush happened in the 1850s. Then the Pikes Peak Gold Rush happened in the 1850s. People were going to pan for gold in Colorado and Oregon because they wanted to get rich. Additionally, people who didn't have a lot of money saw it as an opportunity to become richer. So most people ended up trying to get rich. So people found the “hot spots,” and others found the “shit spots.” The creeks near Jacksonville, the Illinois River, and Josephine Creek were where gold was found in Oregon. Once word of gold near Oregon spread, miners from California and the Willamette Valley arrived. People thought they would find gold because Oregon was believed to have a mild climate and very rich soil. The sooner you came, the better for two reasons. First, if you came early, you could claim the land where the gold was. So the first peoples claimed lands that contained a lot of gold. Second, the earlier you came, the more gold there would be. So more opportunities for the first people to become rich. Most men ...