On Sunday, the customer care line is available 8 am to 7pm EST. In the event a problem arises after the designated times, customers can either mail the company or send an email. Existing customers are recommended to provide details of the phone and service for optimal care. Plan changes and enrollment: 1-800- 723-35465.
California Gold Discovery. On January 24, 1848, an event occurred in Coloma that would radically impact the history of California and the Nation. James W. Marshall was building a sawmill for Captain John Sutter, using water from the South Fork of the American River. He noticed several flakes of metal in the tailrace water and recognized them to be gold.
- James Marshall, 1848. At a time when restless Americans were already itching to go west, the discovery of gold in California in 1848 was like gasoline on a fire. Within a year of its discovery, emigrants using the California Trail were flooding into the Sierra Nevada Range by the thousands. John Sutter was a Swiss immigrant who came to California in 1839 with a dream of building an agricultural empire.