High grade ore deposits were discovered near here in 1859, ultimately producing about $400,000 in silver and gold. The deposits became know as the Comstock Lode, after Henry T. P. Comstock, who claimed ownership of the ground where the discovery was made. For the next 20 years Virginia City became a boom town, which helped bring Nevada into the Union.
The mountains surrounding Virginia CityThe Comstock Keystone Head Frame. This mine produced 15,074 tons between 1933 and 1939, equating to more than $68,000,000 in gold and $7,000,000 in silver, in today’s value.Mine carOre was put in a Battery Box, where the ore was crushed into powder, which went through amalgamation plates which captured the gold and silver.Head frame cam shaft.Flat hoisting cable, steel wire flat cable, with a breaking strain of 1400 pounds, used to hoist from depths of up to 2000 feet.Downtown Virginia CityMark Twain started his career as a writer in this building in 1862 on the editorial staff of the Territorial Enterprise.
