USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -While mining for gold in 1859, they found themselves stymied by a bluish clay. As it turns out, that blue clay was full of silver. Unfortunately, they died before reaping the profits. Another man, Henry Comstock, cared for the Gosh’s cabin and laid his own claim to the land.

Detailed explanation-2: -The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States and named after American miner Henry Comstock.

Detailed explanation-3: -In June of 1859, one of the most significant mining discoveries in American history was made in the Virginia Range of Nevada. The discovery of silver and gold in the area drew people in from across the country, and the town of Virginia City was created almost overnight. Read more on ArcGIS Story Maps.

Detailed explanation-4: -At the far right a wagon is pulled by horses removing the riches from the veins. Smith and Tingley note that the “bonanza period” of the Comstock mines was at its end by 1880. 1877 was the peak year for production from these mines extracting $14, 000, 000 of gold and $21, 000, 000 of silver.

Detailed explanation-5: -The 19th-century mining bonanza that turned Virginia City into the most important industrial city between Denver and San Francisco, was the result of the Comstock Lode. A rich deposit of silver ore discovered by Henry Comstock, part-owner of the property on which it was discovered, in June 1859.