STOREY COUNTY

I've always read about how dangerous the Comstock mines were. There are countless stories that speak about how many men died in these mines. With exception of the 1869 Yellow Jacket fire and a couple other major accidents, not much else is written about who these men actually were. It is also very difficult to find information about where and when the accidents occurred. A couple years back, I decided that I was going to try to find out. I used the book Comstock Mining and Miners 1883- By: Eliot Lord. There is a table in the book that lists how many men died each year in Comstock mining accidents. The table goes from 1863-1880. However, the book doesn't provide any further details or specifics on who, what, when, where or how. I spent countless hour going back through old Comstock newspaper archives from 1863-1892. I was able to find at least as many deaths per year as Lord listed in his table. In a couple specific years, I was able to find more than he listed. As of today, I have cataloged all of the details from 1863 through 1882. I have found a few more from 1883 through 1893, but the research on these years is still far from complete. For each of the mines and mills listed below, I will put the information that I have for each of these deceased men from that mine on that page. I also have a page titled 'Comstock Mining Deaths'. It is located in the 'Old Cemeteries' Section. On that page, I have photographs of the gravestones that still remain in the Comstock cemeteries for the men who died in these Comstock mining accidents. A description of those men and the mining accidents are also listed on the 'Comstock Mining Deaths' page. 

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Trying to re-write the history of the Comstock itself, doesn't seem like the best use of this space. A simple internet search will provide you with more information than you can ever read. There are also many books that give ample history of almost every aspect of the area. Again, the one thing that is missing in all of this history, is who the men who died in these mining accidents actually were. I figured that giving these forgotten men an identity would be a much better memorial and use of the space in this section. 

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Here is a brief verbatim description of the Comstock from Nevada Historical Marker #13 titled "The Comstock Lode";

"Near this spot was the heart of the Comstock Lode. The fabulous 2 1/2 mile deposit of high-grade ore that produced nearly $400,000.00 in silver and gold (*Note* the sign has a typo. This should have read $400,000,000.00). After the discovery in 1856, Virginia City boomed for 20 years, helped bring Nevada into the Union, and to build San Francisco. Several major mines operated during the boom. Their sites are today marked by large yellow dumps. Several of which are visible from here - the Sierra Nevada a mile to your left, the Union, Ophir, Con Virginia and, on the high hill to the southeast, the Combination. The lode was worked from both ends. North up Gold Canyon and south from the Sierra Nevada Utah Mines." 

 

The Comstock is not like most other Nevada mining areas that were short lived and only had a few active mines. The Comstock consists of hundreds of mines that were all right next to each other. In many cases, these mines were even connected to each other underground. For example, there were tunnels that connected the Yellow Jacket, Kentuck and Crown Point. When looking at a tailings pile, it may sit right next to a tailings pile from a completely different mine. This makes it difficult when trying to positively identify a specific mine.

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I've done my best to try and get all of this right. Some Comstock experts may look at a specific page on this site and say, that's not "Mine A", that's "Mine B". If this happens, I apologize and will do my best to correct it. I've used GPS coordinates from USGS, along with several of the mine layout maps of the Comstock from the 1870's and 1880's. These include: Map of the Comstock Lode by Parkinson- 1874; Map of the Comstock Lode by Parkinson- 1875; Treadwell's New Map of the Comstock Mines- 1876; Comstock Mines and Sutro Tunnel by Rose- 1878; Map of the Washoe District by Hoffman and Craven- 1881. I am going to find a spot to link these maps.