At first, when large groups of people arrived looking for gold, people set up temporary camps. These steadily became more permanent with wooden buildings being built. Towns needed other professions, for example a blacksmith, an undertaker or a tailor, as well as someone to open a hotel or restaurant.
This is why the West attracted all sorts of people trying to make a living, not only those in search of gold. As children started arriving into a town, one lady usually became the school teacher, teaching all children together in one room.