H25.734

• california gold rush

Gavel of walnut wood,. From the History Information Station: Object: Black walnut gavel. History: The gavel is a traditional symbol of authority, and is familiar to anybody who has watched television courtroom dramas or served on a jury. It served similar purposes in official courtrooms presided over by judges, and unofficial settings such as public auctions and farm sales, throughout nineteenth-century California. This gavel was carved from the stair-rail of a house in Kaskaskia, the first capital of Illinois, for Shadrach Bond, the state's first governor (1818-1822). It was later brought to California by Dr. W. G. Eggleston, former president of the Oakland Free Library.