MrJvdv's video: Virginia City

The 19th century mining bonanza that turned Virginia City into the most important industrial city between Denver and San Francisco, was the result of the Comstock Lode. A rich deposit of silver ore discovered by Henry Comstock, part-owner of the property on which it was discovered, in June 1859. Getting his nickname for only making pancakes for breakfast, Henry T. “Pancake” Comstock was referred to as one of the original finders of gold in Gold Canyon, just south of Virginia City. Comstock was said to have been lazy, employing American Indians on his claims, and was a fast-talker. Since he was on the scene of the original findings, his name stuck almost instantly. The history and stories of Virginia City are as unique, rich and colorful as the streets and buildings themselves. One must see Virginia City to even remotely understand it. It’s a living, breathing example of America’s fortitude and desire to achieve. At its peak, Virginia City was a thriving, vibrant metropolis of 25,000 residents. Located about 35 miles south east of Reno, Nevada in the Virginia Range and in the shadow of Mount Davidson, its hills made millionaires. Silver and gold was buried deep beneath her streets and men and women traveled from around the world to live and work. Miners pulled millions of dollars from shafts and tunnels 3,000 feet beneath the thriving town. The spirit of those Comstock “originals” still inhabits the places where they once worked, lived, worshiped, educated and died. The Virginia and Truckee Railroad is one of the most famous short lines in American history. It was incorporated on March 5, 1868 by the "Bank Crowd" to serve the mines of the Comstock. A railroad was deemed necessary because of the high cost of freighting goods by wagon into and out of Virginia City, and the need to carry ore to the mills along the Carson River. One fateful day in history, the use of outdoor toilets was allegedly banned and angry residents pushed, pulled and dragged their outhouses to the town hall in protest. From this event the World Championship Outhouse Races were born.The event pits teams of costumed outhouse racers against each other as they rush down the town’s main drag, C Street, with one rider taking the throne as the other two race to the toilet paper finish line. Clever team names such as “The Pot Rod,” “The Classic Crapper,” “The Flapper Crapper” and “The Urinator” dominate the town’s loudspeakers throughout the event. The Silver Terrace Cemeteries are a series of terraces dramatically located on a steep, windswept hillside of Virginia City.Beginning in the 1860s, fraternal, civic and religious groups established burial yards on the hillside. These groups included the Masons, Pacific Coast Pioneers, Knights of Pythias, Virginia City Firemen, Wilson and Brown, Improved Order of Redmen, Roman Catholic and the city and county. Great hopes and dreams pulled immigrants from all over the world to Virginia City. Now they all rest together in these authentic Old West mining cemeteries. https://visitvirginiacitynv.com https://www.facebook.com/stmarysvc/ https://www.virginiatruckee.com