Overview of the Collection
Access
Administrative Information
Historical Note
Scope and Content
Arrangement
Indexing Terms
Overview of the Collection
Title: Comstock Lode Collection
Dates (inclusive): 1867-1923
Bulk dates: 1875-1894
Collection Number: mssComstock Lode collection
Extent: 898 items in 13 boxes
Repository:
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
Manuscripts Department
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, California 91108
Phone: (626) 405-2129
Email: reference@huntington.org
URL: http://www.huntington.org
Abstract: 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.
Language: English.
Access
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.
Administrative Information
Publication Rights
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item]. Comstock Lode Collection, The Huntington Library, San
Marino, California.
Provenance
Purchased from Neil Weinstein, May 9, 1975.
Historical Note
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.
The Consolidated Virginia Mining Company and California Mining Company are prominent in the collection. The former was established
in 1867, while the latter was incorporated in 1873.
Scope and Content
This collection contains 898 items. The material is chiefly related to the economic and social history of late 19th century
Virginia City, Nevada; some materials show economic connections
between Virginia City and San Francisco as well as inter-state relations between Nevada and California. The collection is
90% legal documents. These documents are related to specific court
cases (most filed with the First Judicial District State of Nevada). They are grouped case by case and contained in Boxes
1-11. Other types of legal documents, including deeds, indentures,
and agreements, are housed in Box 12. Finally, miscellaneous legal documents share Box 13 with non-legal documents, a letter,
and ephemera. The items in each series are in chronological order.
Although the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company and California Mining Company are prominent in the collection, the collection
includes documents related to more than 50 other mining
companies (too numerous to list here). The documents comes 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.
Whereas the collection includes plenty of sources related to the mining industry, it also provides a good opportunity to look
into people’s lives in Virginia City in the late 19th century.
There are legal documents regarding divorces, conflicts over bills, rent, and property; several of the court cases involve
Chinese citizens of Virginia City. There are also several documents
related to the commitments of mentally ill people.
Moreover, the fact that some corporations and dealers located in California, including Belcher Silver Mining Company, Occidental
Consolidated Mining Company, Holbrook, Merrill & Co, and Shea,
Bocqueraz, and McKee, show up in the court cases, whether as plaintiffs or defendants, suggests that there were economic connections
through the movements of capital and goods between San Francisco
and Virginia City. In this point, this collection is invaluable to the study of the ways in which the regional economy of
the Southwest developed through the movement of capital, goods, mining products, etc.
Finally, the brief guide of Comstock Lode and the map of the Comstock and Brunswick Lodes placed in the Ephemera folder give
some general and quick information of the trajectory of the mining industry
and location of the mining claims, although they were printed in the early 20th century, later than the period in which most
documents in this collection were created.
Arrangement
Arranged in the following order:
- Legal Documents regarding Court Cases (Boxes 1-11)
- Applications, Certificates, Commitments, Deeds, etc. (Box 12)
- Miscellaneous Legal Documents, Non-legal Documents, Letters, and Ephemera (Box 13)
Indexing Terms
Subjects
California Mining
Company (Virginia City, Nev.)
Consolidated Virginia
Mining Company.
Chinese -- Nevada.
Gold mines and mining --
Nevada.
Mines and mineral resources --
Nevada.
Mining corporations --
California.
Mining corporations --
Nevada.
Silver mines and mining --
Nevada.
Comstock Lode (Nev.) --
History -- Sources.
Nevada -- History --
19th century -- Sources.
Virginia City (Nev.) --
History -- Sources.
Forms/Genres
Deeds -- Nevada -- 19th century.
Indentures -- Nevada -- 19th century.
Legal documents -- Nevada -- 19th
century.