2. Gold, Cuban Cigars & Mud

Marine archaeologist Jim Delgado uncovers the shipwrecks, secrets, and human stories buried under San Francisco’s streets and waves.

From Gold Rush vessels entombed beneath the Financial District to wrecks off the Marin Headlands, Jim reveals how these “unread books” preserve a hidden record of the city’s boom-and-bust beginnings.​

Along the way, we visit the buried Gold Rush ship Niantic, trace forgotten hulls under downtown sidewalks, meet tragedy under the Golden Gate Bridge, and hear Jim's riveting tale of solving one of the greatest mysteries in U.S. naval history. He shares the poignant human stories preserved in mud: cigar boxes, bunk beds, family photographs, and the long-awaited answers for descendants of sailors who never came home.​

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🌊 Learn More

• To see the map of buried ships and other images from this episode, go to https://www.onceuponabay.org/post/more-about-episode-2-gold-cuban-cigars-mud.
• If you’d like to help protect and celebrate San Francisco Bay, visit onceuponabay.org and click the button that says “Be a Keeper!"

🌊 Credits

• This episode was produced with the assistance of Sam Anderson and Earthstory Studios.
• Theme music by Zac Bentz.
• Voice work by Ted McDonald.
• “Looking for Clues” by David Robson and “Lovers” by David Fesliyan. Royalty-free music from Fesliyan Studios at https://www.fesliyanstudios.com. Please DO NOT add this audio content to the Youtube Content ID System. This content is owned by FesliyanStudios.
• “Massive Structure Bend” by Kostas17 is licensed under an Attribution 3.0 International License at https://freesound.org/people/Kostas17/sounds/529620/.
• A remix of “Slow Motion Part 2” by Peter Rudenko is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International License at http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Peter_Rudenko/Inner_Mechanics/Slow_Motion_Part_2.
• Cover art by Level Five Graphics, Inc.