Comstock Lode

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Comstock Lode

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Comstock Lode richest known U.S. silver deposit, W Nevada, on Mt. Davidson in the Virginia Range. It is said to have been discovered in 1857 by Ethan Allen Grosh and Hosea Ballou Grosh, sons of a Pennsylvania minister and veterans of the California gold fields who died under tragic circumstances before their claims were recorded. Henry T. P. Comstock, known as Old Pancake, was a sheepherder and prospector who took possession of the brothers' cabin and tried to find their old sites. He and others searching for gold laid claim to sections of the Comstock (1859) but soon sold them for insignificant sums. The lode did not become really profitable until its bluish sand was assayed as silver. News of the discovery then spread rapidly, attracting promoters and traders as well as miners, and the lode was the scene of feverish activity. Among early arrivals was William Morris Stewart, who later became one of Nevada's first senators. Camps and trading posts in the area became important supply centers, and Virginia City, a mining camp on the mountain, was for several decades the "capital" of the lode and a center of fabulous luxury. Great fortunes were made by the "silver kings," John W. Mackay, James Graham Fair, James C. Flood, and William S. O'Brien, and by Adolph Sutro, George Hearst, and Eilley Orrum Bowers. Silver determined the economy and development of Nevada until exhaustion of the mines by wasteful methods of mining and the demonetization of silver started a decline in the 1870s. By 1898 the Comstock was virtually abandoned.

Bibliography: See G. Smith, History of the Comstock Lode (1943); G. Lyman, The Saga of the Comstock Lode (1934, repr. 1971); L. Beebe and C. Clegg, Legends of the Comstock Lode (4th ed. 1956).

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Comstock Lode

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | © The Oxford Companion to American Literature 1995, originally published by Oxford University Press 1995. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Comstock Lode, silver deposit discovered by H.T.P. Comstock on the site of Virginia City, Nev. (1856). By 1863 the settlement had mushroomed to 40,000 inhabitants, and the mines were producing $20,000,000 to $30,000,000 annually. Large quantities of ore were milled throughout the 1870s. Clemens was present (1861–64) during its heyday and describes it in Roughing It. While in Nevada he first used his pseudonym Mark Twain (1863) and he also helped to edit the local newspaper, The Territorial Enterprise. Some 50 of his articles and dispatches were reprinted for the first time in Mark Twain of the Enterprise (1957) and his letters to the Enterprise in 1855–56 were collected in Mark Twain: San Francisco Correspondent (1957). Other authors of the region and the time included William Wright, known by his pen name Dan De Quille and for his History of the Big Bonanza, and Fred H. Hart.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Comstock Lode." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Comstock Lode." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (December 9, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-ComstockLode.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Comstock Lode." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. Oxford University Press. 1995. Retrieved December 09, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-ComstockLode.html

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GoldSpring Enters into Agreement to Acquire Mineral Rights to Properties in Comstock Lode.
PR Newswire; 8/14/2008; 700+ words ; ...properties in Nevada's Comstock Lode Mining District...and Mills of the Comstock Region Western Nevada...mined. Occidental Lode -- Mining Lease...property in the Comstock Lode District. Our Company...consolidating the Comstock Lode by acquiring...
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Magazine article from: Rocks & Minerals; 11/1/1999; ; 700+ words ; The story of the Comstock has been retold many times...The discovery of the Comstock lode in the early 1850s was...fastened his name to the lode itself. "He made himself...geological conditions of the Comstock. The ore was not a
GoldSpring Renews Reclamation Permit for Comstock Lode Property.
PR Newswire; 8/19/2008; 700+ words ; ...favorable drilling results in the Comstock Lode project. The Company has secured...us to increase the scale of our Comstock Lode project beyond the parameters...extensive, contiguous property in the Comstock Lode District. Our Company was...
GoldSpring to Provide Special Investor Update on Tuesday, June 10th to Discuss Significant Developments and Preliminary Findings of 43-101 Resource Report on Valuation of Company's Mineral Holdings in Nevada's Comstock Lode Mining District.
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Alliance Signs Letter of Intent to Option the Comstock Lode Tailings After Receiving Assay Results
Newspaper article from: CCNMatthews Newswire; 4/15/2008; 700+ words ; ...tailings were derived from the famous "Comstock Lode Mines" that were most active between 1859-1879. The Comstock Lode is reported as some of the richest...COMSTOCK MINE TAILING ASSAYS...
GoldSpring, Inc. Announces Additions to Its Comstock Lode Team.
PR Newswire; 11/6/2007; 700+ words ; ...team to assist in the development of its project in the Comstock Lode district. Mr. Juras has over 30 years of diverse experience...industry experts with established mining history in the Comstock Lode region. Their initial responsibilities will be to review...
Early Assay Results from Comstock Lode Project Sparks Review.
M2 Presswire; 1/25/2008; 700+ words ; ...January 2008-Pinnacle Digest: Early Assay Results from Comstock Lode Project Sparks Review(C)1994-2008 M2 COMMUNICATIONS...early assay results from Stage One drilling at their Comstock Lode Project are encouraging. This news has justified a...
Coin Collector's CDs.(Silver Fever: The Comstock Lode to the Carson City Mint)(Heads or Tails: A Beginner's Guide to Collecting Coins)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
Newspaper article from: Internet Bookwatch; 9/1/2009; 535 words ; ...dealers as well amateur coin collectors. SILVER FEVER; THE COMSTOCK LODE TO THE CARSON CITY MINT (9781440202476, $14.99...and offers a story of the mines and miners of the silver lode. A searchable digital collection includes CC mint history...
Coin Collector's CDs.(Silver Fever: The Comstock Lode to the Carson City Mint and Heads or Tails: A Beginners Guide to Collecting Coins)(Product/service evaluation)(Brief article)
Magazine article from: The Bookwatch; 9/1/2009; 528 words ; ...dealers as well amateur coin collectors. SILVER FEVER; THE COMSTOCK LODE TO THE CARSON CITY MINT (9781440202476, $14.99...and offers a story of the mines and miners of the silver lode. A searchable digital collection includes CC mint history...
GoldSpring, Inc. Announces Letter of Intent to Acquire 100% of Plum Mining Company, LLC Located in Gold Hill, NV, in The Comstock Lode, About 3 Miles North of GoldSpring Placer Claims.
Business Wire; 9/24/2003; 700+ words ; ...Mining Company, LLC located in Gold Hill, NV, in the Comstock Lode, about 3 miles north of the GoldSpring placer gold...provides all the infrastructure we will require in the Comstock Lode for all our claims and it's absolutely ready to go...
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