Tells a powerful story that merits greater attention.
―Abraham Hoffman, Journal of the West
In this work on California’s agricultural history, Vaught also provides a social history of the development of the Putah Creek region in the wake of the California gold rush . . . Libraries with collections focusing on California, the Pacific slope, the western US, and agricultural history will want this book.
―
Choice
An excellent history of farming in the Sacramento Valley in the late nineteenth century.
―Ralph Mann,
California History
Vaught tells a riveting story of two generations of farmers who ‘committed themselves not only to the market but to community life as well.’ He argues that these twin commitments, born of their failures in the gold fields, were an essential part of the culture of American capitalism that emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century.
―Ryan J. Carey,
Business History Review
A rich account of a rural world that has been overlooked by historians, and it is an important addition to recent work on rural life that has, to date, focused exclusively on the Midwest . . . very accessible to general and specialist readers alike.
―Jeff Bremer,
Southern California Quarterly
Useful for those seeking to understand the relationship between California’s gold rush and its agricultural communities.
―Eric Steiger,
Western Historical Quarterly
Vaught set himself the goal of writing a ‘new’ rural history of California, examining the state’s wheat farmers in their social and cultural contexts. In
After the Gold Rush, he achieves his goal admirably.
―James J. Rawls, Journal of American History
An agricultural history that weaves together an unpredictable creek, a fluctuating market, and the perseverance of the American Dream.
―Melody M. Miyamoto,
Journal of Interdisciplinary History
Ambitious, richly detailed.
―Gerald Ronning,
Enterprise and Society
A detailed and focused study that advances our understanding of nineteenth-century California rural history.
―Andrew C. Isenberg,
American Historical Review
In providing such a rich story within a unique context,
After the Gold Rush does for Putah Creek what John Mack Faragher did for Sugar Creek and similarly will stand as an insightful and model work for years to come.
―Labor History
Vaught has written an informative and very readable narrative study.
―Ken Owens,
Agricultural History
I was delighted, even slightly overwhelmed, by the extraordinary scholarship and elegant writing of this book. Because Vaught writes so well, his study reads like a novel in its rich detail and narrative pace. It offers us a unique insight into the environmental history of the Sacramento Valley, banking and credit in California in the mid-nineteenth century, the entrepreneurial spirit of the times, community on the California frontier, the legal culture of the times, and a number of other important topics. It will appeal to scholars of American history, of American social and agricultural history, of the newly developing field of American business history, and Californianists of every sort.
―Kevin Starr, University of Southern California, author of
California: A History
I was delighted, even slightly overwhelmed, by the extraordinary scholarship and elegant writing of this book. Because Vaught writes so well, his study reads like a novel in its rich detail and narrative pace. It offers us a unique insight into the environmental history of the Sacramento Valley, banking and credit in California in the mid-nineteenth century, the entrepreneurial spirit of the times, community on the California frontier, the legal culture of the times, and a number of other important topics. It will appeal to scholars of American history, of American social and agricultural history, of the newly developing field of American business history, and Californianists of every sort.
— Kevin Starr
From the Inside Flap
In After the Gold Rush, David Vaught examines the hard-luck miners-turned-farmers–the Pierces, Greenes, Montgomerys, Careys, and others–who after failing to hit pay dirt during California’s gold rush, struggled to make a living in wheat, livestock, and fruit along Putah Creek in the lower Sacramento Valley. They refused to admit a second failure, faced flood and drought, endured monumental disputes and confusion over land policy, and struggled to come to grips with the vagaries of local, national, and world markets.
Their dramatic story exposes the underside of the American dream and the haunting consequences of trying to strike it rich.
An excellent history of farming in the Sacramento Valley in the late nineteenth century.–California History
Vaught tells a riveting story of two generations of farmers who ‘committed themselves not only to the market but to community life as well.’ He argues that these twin commitments, born of their failures in the gold fields, were an essential part of the culture of American capitalism that emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century.–Business History Review
A rich account of a rural world that has been overlooked by historians, and it is an important addition to recent work on rural life that has, to date, focused exclusively on the Midwest . . . very accessible to general and specialist readers alike.–Southern California Quarterly
Vaught set himself the goal of writing a ‘new’ rural history of California, examining the state’s wheat farmers in their social and cultural contexts. In After the Gold Rush, he achieves his goal admirably.–Journal of American History
An agricultural history that weaves together an unpredictable creek, a fluctuating market, and the perseverance of the American Dream.–Journal of Interdisciplinary History
–Kevin Starr, University of Southern California, author of California: A History “Agricultural History”
From the Back Cover
In After the Gold Rush, David Vaught examines the hard-luck miners-turned-farmers―the Pierces, Greenes, Montgomerys, Careys, and others―who after failing to hit pay dirt during California’s gold rush, struggled to make a living in wheat, livestock, and fruit along Putah Creek in the lower Sacramento Valley. They refused to admit a second failure, faced flood and drought, endured monumental disputes and confusion over land policy, and struggled to come to grips with the vagaries of local, national, and world markets.
Their dramatic story exposes the underside of the American dream and the haunting consequences of trying to strike it rich.
“An excellent history of farming in the Sacramento Valley in the late nineteenth century.”―California History
“Vaught tells a riveting story of two generations of farmers who ‘committed themselves not only to the market but to community life as well.’ He argues that these twin commitments, born of their failures in the gold fields, were an essential part of the culture of American capitalism that emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century.”―Business History Review
“A rich account of a rural world that has been overlooked by historians, and it is an important addition to recent work on rural life that has, to date, focused exclusively on the Midwest . . . very accessible to general and specialist readers alike.”―Southern California Quarterly
“Vaught set himself the goal of writing a ‘new’ rural history of California, examining the state’s wheat farmers in their social and cultural contexts. In After the Gold Rush, he achieves his goal admirably.”―Journal of American History
“An agricultural history that weaves together an unpredictable creek, a fluctuating market, and the perseverance of the American Dream.”―Journal of Interdisciplinary History
About the Author
David Vaught is a professor of history at Texas A&M University. He is the author of Cultivating California: Growers, Specialty Crops, and Labor, 1875–1920, also published by Johns Hopkins.
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