1954 Richards Pictorial Tourist Map of Virginia City, Nevada

This is a 1954 Robert Lewis Richards pictorial tourist map of Virginia City, Nevada. The map highlights Virginia City's historic locations and the town's history.

A Closer Look

Virginia City's mansions, museums, and saloons appear; among them the Storey County Courthouse, the Miners' Union Hall, and the Virginia and Truckee Railroad Depot are also illustrated. Views of both sides of 'C' Street create the top and bottom border, marking hotels, saloons, shops, the Mark Twain Museum, and the office of the 'Territorial Enterprise'. The left and right borders incorporate 10 views from around Virginia City, including several houses, Captain Storey's tomb, and the Fourth Ward School.

Virginia City, Nevada

Virginia City appeared 'almost overnight' on the slopes of Mount Davidson after the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859. In 1862, Virginia City had a population of 4,000, and by the mid-1870s, 25,000. Samuel Clemens worked for the local newspaper, the Territorial Enterprise from 1862 until 1864. It was in Virginia City that he first used his famous pen name, Mark Twain.

The Comstock Lode

The Comstock Lode was a massive silver ore discovery under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, in the Virginia Range in Nevada. Named after a miner, Henry Comstock, the Comstock Lode was the first major silver mine in the United States. Mount Davidson had deposits of both gold and silver and was mined for gold from about 1850. History credits Ethan and Hosea Grosh with the discovery of the mountain's extraordinary silver deposits - the Comstock Lode - in 1857. Although they discovered the Comstock Lode, neither Grosh brother profited from the claim. The uneducated miner Henry Comstock was charged with taking care of the Grosh cabin. Rooting around inside, he found a chest full of silver and gold ore. Comstock claimed the cabin and surrounding lands under his own name and proceeded to mine. The find became public knowledge in 1859, after which fortune seekers flooded the area, staking mineral claims and founding mining camps that would later become towns. Several bonanzas ensued, creating a cadre of instant millionaires. Most Comstock Lode mines began to decline after 1874, but prospectors still worked claims through the 1920s. Between 1860 and 1880, nearly seven million tons of ore were extracted and milled in the Comstock district. During 1877, its peak year, over $14 million in gold and $21 million in silver were extracted. The Comstock Lode mines also led several technological advances, including square site timbering and the Washoe silver smelting process.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn by Robert Lewis Richards and lithographed by Silver State Press in 1954. We note only one confirmed institutional holding: the University of California Berkeley. The map has appeared on the private market only a few times in the last few years.