Discovery of the Comstock Lode

Background. The Comstock Lode is located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson in Virginia City, Nevada, which was part of the western Utah Territory at the time. It was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States. The discovery sparked a silver rush of prospectors to the area, causing considerable excitement in California and throughout the United States, comparable to the California Gold Rush of 1849.

Discovery. Peter O'Riley and Patrick McLaughlin are credited with the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859. Finding all the paying ground already claimed, the two miners went to the head of Six Mile Canyon in the spring of 1859 and began prospecting with a rocker on the slope of the mountain near a small stream fed from a neighboring spring. The lode was named after Canadian miner Henry Comstock.

Impact. The discovery caused considerable excitement in California and throughout the United States, the greatest since the California Gold Rush in 1849. Mining camps soon thrived in the vicinity, becoming bustling commercial centers, including Virginia City and Gold Hill. The lode generated immense fortunes and spurred advances in mining technology, such as square set timbering and the Washoe process.