William Randolph Hearst

James G. Swinnerton

James G. Swinnerton is not remembered strictly as a Nevada artist. However, mention the name "Jimmy" Swinnerton, and his popular cartoon series "Little Jimmy" in the Hearst newspapers might come to mind. Swinnerton's poor health was a major reason for his sketching and painting in the dry climate of Southern Nevada. His paintings have been characterized as straight forward, not influenced by the more expressive styles of his day. For a time in the 1930s, he resided in Las Vegas, and died in Palm Springs at age ninety-eight.

Virginia City and Gold Hill

Virginia City was known as the Queen of the Comstock, the internationally famous mining district. Founded in 1859, the settlement was the focus of a gold rush and within a year, it became the region's largest community, a status it maintained in Nevada into the 1890s. Virginia City was incorporated under the Utah Territory in 1861.

George Hearst

George Hearst, born on a Missouri farm in 1820, was a shrewd investor who turned a small investment in the Comstock Lode into the foundation of an American empire. He was seeking his fortune in California when news of the 1859 Comstock Lode discoveries rippled through the western mining camps. Hearst was one of the first to cross the Sierra, hoping to purchase claims before prices inflated. He agreed to pay $3,000 to Patrick McLaughlin for his one-sixth share of a Comstock mine.

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