Photo of the plaque from the SCVH History website.

The first plaque was screwed to the oak tree on March 9, 1930, during the ceremony to dedicate the site of the first gold discovery in California. This was the oak that Francisco Lopez supposedly slept under before he found the gold at the nearby discovery site. It is not clear as to the size of the plaque or the location on the oak where it was placed. After the plaque was stolen a few times, it was never replaced.

In the 1930 document written by Francisca Lopez de Belderrain about the gold discovery (see here for that document) there is also a photo of the plaque, but this time showing more of the tree. The plaque seems kind of small, something like 3" x 6".

Here is a closeup of a the next photo showing the plaque and more of the oak tree from a little further away than the last photo. The angle is more to the side so the plaque doesn't appear quite as wide, but the nearly vertical branch above it is obviously the same branch as in the previous photo.

This is the Oak of the Golden Dream with the plaque in the circle. View towards the west. (ca. 1930. From the Historical Society of Southern California Collection - Charles Puck Collection of Negatives and Photographs. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.)

Here is the oak on 4/30/2019. If the plaque was still attached to the tree, we would see it, although it would be covered with branches. The large horizontal trunk section fell down in February of 1986 during a storm. Ground level is higher then it was in 1930 because of the construction of Placerita Canyon Road in 1955-56. Extra dirt was spread out in this area. The gold discovery spot is behind me.

This plaque is mounted on a boulder outside of the fence around the Golden Oak. The original 1930 story did not contain a dream and the discovery location is east of here. (4/30/2019)

This plaque is mounted inside of the fence. (4/30/2019)