This collection consists primarily of legal documents related to the economic and social history of late 19th century Virginia City, Nevada, with some materials showing economic connections between Virginia City and San Francisco, California, as well as inter-state relations between Nevada and California. These documents are related to specific court cases (most filed with the First Judicial District State of Nevada) from a variety of different law suits including: mining companies suing one another over the uses of resources such as water, building material, railroads, roads and tunnels; and employees suing their employers for wages or injury compensation.

The Comstock Lode, composed of silver and gold ore, was discovered in the 1850s. It was located in western Nevada (then Utah Territory). The discovery of silver and gold attracted numerous people consisting of proprietors, miners, journalists (including Mark Twain, who came in 1861 and left in 1864), as well as investments from speculators. This Comstock rush quickly created a city called Virginia City. While the Comstock Lode yielded a tremendous value of silver and gold (more than the California Gold Rush), it was drained by the late 1870s and many mines were closed by the early 1880s. It is worth noting that the materials in this collection were created in the decline of the mining industry in and around Virginia City in the last quarter of the 19th century.

898 items in 13 boxes

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