James Fair

Virginia City and Early Nevada Mining

Virginia City and the Comstock Lode played a crucial role in the development of the region and the nation. The news of its importance has reverberated throughout the world for nearly 150 years. The wealth of the Comstock's fabulously rich mines affected presidential politics and gave Nevada international fame. Immigrants arrived from every continent, attracted by legendary amounts of gold and silver, which poured into the economy during the crisis of the Civil War.

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.

Herman Schussler and the Comstock Water System

Hermann Schussler is famous for designing the Comstock water system, one of the most extraordinary engineering feats of the West, but his influence on the state exceeded even that astounding achievement. He was born in what is today Germany, in Rastede in 1842. Schussler attended the nearby Prussian Military Academy at Oldenburg between 1859 and 1862. In the fall of 1862, he left to study civil engineering at universities in Karlsruhe and Zurich and worked for some time as an engineer in Switzerland.

Comstock Lode

The Comstock Lode is one of the most important mining discoveries in American history, in output and in significance. It was the first major silver discovery in United States history: of the total ore taken out from the district, best estimates are that 57 per cent was silver, yet it was a considerable gold camp, given that the remaining 42 per cent was of that metal.

Bonanza Group

The term Bonanza Group, together with the names "Big Four" and the "Irish Four," refers to a group of immigrants who outmaneuvered William Sharon and broke the monopoly of his Bank of California until they controlled much of the Comstock Lode.

Big Bonanza

The Spanish term "bonanza" means prosperity and also a rich vein of ore. Mines or communities were said to be in bonanza when profits ran high. The contrasting Spanish word "borrasca" refers to times of depression. Together, bonanza and borrasca hint at the importance of Spanish speakers to western mining history.

William Sharon

William Sharon played an important role in early Nevada. Born in Ohio on January 9, 1821, he practiced law in St. Louis then pursued business in Illinois. With the 1849 Gold Rush, Sharon traveled to California where he engaged in business and real estate, but he lost his earnings in stock speculation.

Subscribe to James Fair