settlers flocked to the new US territory of California. The population expanded from 14,000 non-natives to an estimated 85,000 newcomers in just a year. There were roughly 81,000 newcomers in 1849 and another 91,000 in 1850. Many settled at the new town of Coloma, California, which sprung up close to Sutter's Mill. Numerous further discoveries of gold in California were made. During the next seven years, approximately 300,000 people came to California (half by land and half by sea) to seek their fortunes from either mining for gold or selling supplies to the prospectors. This California Gold Rush permanently changed the territory, both through mass immigration and the economic effects of the gold. California became a US State in 1850. Current status The site of the mill is part of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, registered as California Historical Landmark number 530. The current Sutter's Mill is a replica of the original building. It was built in 1967 based on Marshall's own drawings and a photograph of the mill taken in 1850. Meteorite On April 22, 2012 a meteor entered the Earth's atmosphere and exploded, showering meteorite fragments over parts of California and Nevada. The first samples of this meteorite fall were recovered close to Sutter's Mill, so it was named the Sutter's Mill meteorite. Several dozen fragments were eventually identified, with a total weight of about a kilogram. The meteorite is classified as a carbonaceous chondrite and contains some of the oldest known material in the Solar System. In popular culture The mill was the namesake and inspiration for a song by singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg. The mill was also the namesake for a song by the New Riders of the Purple Sage, and for Herb Sutter's blog. In Beverly Cleary's novel Mitch and Amy, the protagonists build a model of Sutter's Mill out of toothpicks. Sutter's Mill is referenced heavily in an episode of Little House on the Prairie titled At the End of the Rainbow, in which Laura Ingalls Wilder and a friend believe they have found gold in a stream near Walnut Grove. It is mentioned a few other times as well. See also Sutter's Fort California gold coinage References External links Discovery of Gold, by John A. Sutter, Hutchings’ California Magazine, November 1857. Sutter describes how he wanted a sawmill near the Sacramento and how Marshall told him of the gold. Early photographs, illustrations,