The California State Railroad Museum complex is located within Old Sacramento State Historic Park — itself a portion of the Old Sacramento Historic District. News of the 1848 discovery of gold in nearby Coloma (site of Sutter’s Mill and today home to Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park) traveled quickly around the world, drawing thousands of people to the Sierra Nevada foothills and kicking off the California Gold Rush. Originally part of the New Helvetia land grant of Captain John Sutter, Sacramento sits at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers.