Local author, Ruth Criddle, believes you can learn by listening

Hammonton and Marigold were dredger towns located 10 miles east of Marysville, and they were founded as a result of the California Gold Rush of 1849, according to a Hammonton and Marigold book.

“In Hammonton and Marigold, there was no upper or lower class; the people were all working for dredging companies and considered equals,” according to the book. “The company towns were shut down and the families all displaced.”