Why was a railroad built near the Comstock claim?
While the Comstock claim did contain some gold, miners were unable to get to it because it of an abundance of bluish clay. This discovery triggered a rush of thousands of miners to the area. A railroad was quickly built and the area became one of the most heavily industrialized areas in the West.
What did Henry Comstock do?
Henry Tompkins (or Thomas) Paige Comstock (1820—1870) was a Canadian miner after whom the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada was named. Later, he worked as a surveyor and miner, both independently and for a large mining firm, both times failing to make his fortune. …
What is the significance of Comstock Lode?
The Comstock Lode is one of the most important mining discoveries in American history. It was the first major silver discovery in United States history. It is estimated that out of all of the ore that was taken during this discovery about 57% was silver and the rest was gold.
What happened to the Comstock Lode?
Though the Comstock Lode took out more than 700 million dollars in gold and silver between 1859 and 1919, it couldn’t last. Inevitably, the mines began to play out and by 1880, all of Nevada’s mines, with the exception of Delamar, were beginning to decline.
How did the railroad affect mining?
The use of railroads was able to provide easier access to necessary labor, food, materials, and equipment, and the railroads were also used to deliver ores and metals from the mines to places all over the country, which contributed greatly to the Industrial Revolution and the overall economic boom happening in the …
What did the blue tint to the sand and mud at the Comstock Lode indicate?
A lode is a rich vein of ore. At the Comstock Lode, a blue-tinted sand stuck to all the equip- ment and made the gold hard to dig out. The blue mud turned out to be loaded with silver. In fact, the silver was far more valuable than the gold.
How did the Comstock Lode affect American Indians?
The influx of non-Native inhabitants put pressure on scarce resources, which culminated with the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859. Clearly, damaged food reserves, the introduction of new diseases, racism, and alcoholism took a terrible toll on the indigenous population.
How did the Comstock Lode affect the West?
The Comstock Lode contributed to economic development in the west and to population growth in the region.
What was the significance of the Comstock Lode quizlet?
The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims.
What was found at the Comstock Lode?
silver ore
The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the United States and named after American miner Henry Comstock.
What incentives did the government offer to railroad builders to extend railroad lines westward?
What incentives did the government offer to railroad builders to extend railroad lines westward? The government offered 10 square miles of land next to the tracks for every mile of track to the Railroad builders built and they gave the builders many loans to help them extend and improve the railroads.