Go West with Merchants and Traders

Go west to see how people in the towns lived, selling goods to the settlers, miners, and prospectors. Some became hugely successful, such as Levi Strauss, who began selling overalls and tents to prospectors in the California gold rush. Others scraped out a living by selling essential goods in the local general store, or by running stables, saloons, hotels, or newspapers. Some merchants made their money by shipping goods west or east across the continent. In some places, groups of settlers from different countries formed townships, such as the Chinese in San Francisco and the Mormons in Salt Lake City.