Ghost Town Repair Virginia City NV

In 1859 the gold ore was reported to be worth $3,000 to $4,000 dollars per ton of dirt. The gold was found in the quartz rock and could be mined by following the veins as they went underground. The deepest mine shaft was 3,862 feet below the ground. By 1863 the total production in Virginia City was up to over twelve million dollars. Virginia City was now becoming a very sophisticated city. It had many hotels, opera houses, fancy restaurants, stores, banks and its own water, electric and gas systems. There were ten different fire departments both paid and volunteer. Many people became very rich from silver mining and stock investments in mining and took their money to San Francisco to help build that city. The mining kings, James Fair, Wm. Flood, John Mackay and Wm. O’Brien were the wealthiest, along with Wm. Sharon, Crocker, Wm. Ralston and several others. Ralston owned the Bank of California with offices in Virginia City. Leland Stanford (Stanford Univerisity) and George Hearst (newspapers) also made millions here. Many industrial inventions still used in mining today were invented in the mines of Virginia City. The money made here impacted both our nation and the world. John Mackay went on to form the company that laid the first transatlantic telephone cable. The man who devised the formula for the speed of light lived in Virginia City in the 1870’s. Nevada had been a territory since 1861 but became a state in 1864. President Lincoln needed the congressional votes for re-election and wanted to ensure that Nevada entered the US on the side of the Union.