Oregon-California Trails Association |

David Hopper:

David Hopper of San Diego, California, is a long-time OCTA member who spent his free time collecting primary source material related to the California Gold Rush. David made a career in real estate, but his avocation was studying the gold rush history of his home state, collecting thousands of full or fragmented pieces of diaries, letters, reminiscences, newspaper articles, books, and other such resources. He planned to write what he called "the most comprehensive history of the California Gold Rush ever written," but when finalizing that project eluded him, he made the difficult decision to donate his life's work to OCTA. Hopefully, future generations of historians will build on David's work and bring this story new life with their own research and publications. We thank David profusely for donating this incredible collection, which we are proud to share with you here.