The story of Virginia City begins in 1859. Gold was found in Six Mile Canyon by two miners named Pat McLaughlin and Peter O'Reilly. Another miner, named Henry Comstock, happened on their claim and claimed it was on his property. They bought the story and Comstock took over their find. Another miner working in the area, named James Finney, was nicknamed "Old Virginny." This was due to his birthpalce of Virginia. On night during a drunken celebration, he accidentally dropped his bottle of whisky and then christened the tent city on the slopes of Mt. Davidson as, "Old Virginny Town."
There was one problem with the mining in the area. There was such thick blue-grey mud that stuck to the picks and shovels. Coincidentally, when the mud was assayed, it was shown to be silver ore worth over $2,000 per ton (in 1859). This ore (with silver and gold in it) was recovered in such huge quantities. the find became well known as the "Comstock Lode."
President Lincoln had his eye on Nevada Territory now. He neeeded all of the silver and gold ore to fund his Union armies. Next, Lincoln did the unthinkable. On October 31, 1864, he made Nevada a new state, even though it didn't have enough people to constitutionally authorize such an action.
The resulting boom forced "Old Virginny Town" to cahage its name to Virginia City. It was said to be the most important settlement between Denver and San Francisco. It turned many propspectors into millionaires practically over night. With all of this wealth, it was necessary to build a railroad. So, the Virginia and Truckee Railroad was built to link Virginia City to Carson City and Reno. The investments made in this area from the 1860's to 1890's fueled the economy of a small city growing to the west named San Francisco.
During its heyday, Virginia City had over 30,000 residents. There was always something going on here. Virginia City had established the first Miner's Union. Virginia City even had the first elevator in the west. It was in the six story International Hotel.
Today, Virginai City has lots of buildings from the 1800's still standing. many are restored and some old buildings are left as they were abandoned. Virginia City is located just east of the Carson City and Reno area.
