Clayton Tutors

About Clayton

When we think of the history of California—what made it famous, lucrative, and prosperous—we think of the discovery of gold in 1849 near the modern-day capital of Sacramento. What we don’t often consider is what made the gold industry move, area to area, city by city. What was needed to keep California’s growing economy on a steady trajectory? The answer: coal. The town of Clayton, along with surrounding cities in California’s early days, helped fuel the gold rush with the discovery of coal; in many ways, coal was a different kind of gold for the success of California.

Miners who were unable to discover gold often would resort to joining the coal industry, which was lucrative in its own right. Many Welsh miners, English miners, and miners from Pennsylvania made their way to California, already skilled and familiar with the patience and hard work necessary for success in mining ventures. Clayton was waiting for them.

By 1861, Clayton had become a hub of economic and social activities in the area. With miners flocking to the hills for supplies and entertainment, Clayton became a community of hotels, a general store, school, tavern and two churches. Rowdiness filled the streets of Clayton as hordes of prospectors, miners and other settlers arrived to the region. Food, mining tools, and land were in high demand, and prices soared. By 1868, the initial boom period, Clayton was one of the largest cities in the region, and had a population of 900.

Coal mining was by no means an easy feat. It required dangerous conditions, digging deeper and deeper into hillsides, and often meant total darkness for days at a time. Hauling coal out was a strain on the body, but the profit margins were lucrative. Miners were ready to work hard and chase the promises of discovery, and even once the coal boom ended, Clayton remained a desirable community to settle in.

Tutors, like miners, often must dig deep and work hard to draw out the best of their clients’ potential. And, like miners, they are met with success when their students stumble upon their own abilities to turn grades around and academically progress. Students must also work hard in their own way, changing habits, work ethic, and often recommitting to learning after being consistently discouraged and let down by their own struggles. Sometimes we don’t discover what we want to discover initially—but finding other academic skills to improve grades is like finding coal: still of vital importance in the grand scheme of things.