The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims. Mining camps soon thrived in the vicinity, which became bustling centers of fabulous wealth.
It is notable not just for the immense fortunes it generated and the large role those fortunes had in the growth of Nevada and San Francisco, but also for the advances in mining technology that it spurred. The mines declined after 1874.
Read more about Comstock Lode: The Discovery of Silver, Fate of The Discoverers, Early Mining and Milling, The Days of "bull Teams" and The Virginia & Truckee Railroad, The Virginia City and Gold Hill Water Company, Yellow Jacket Mine Fire, The Sutro Tunnel, Big Bonanzas, Comstock Kings, Current Mining Activity