Silver and Gold Comstock Prospecting

[Smithsgold]

Silver and Gold Comstock Prospecting 

 

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The Trailer is packed lets head to Virginia City Nevada to find Silver and Gold  @Chris Ralph, Professional Prospector  We enjoy a ride on the Virginia and Truckee railroad and a not so short hike to the Donovan Mill in Silver city where we meet up with Chris Ralph and learn about Stamp mills before heading off to find Silver and Gold ore in the Comstock lode of Virginia City Nevada.

SG 057

Gold was found in this region in the spring of 1850, in Gold Canyon by a company of Mormon emigrants, After arriving much too early to cross the Sierra, the wagon train camped on the Carson River in the vicinity of Dayton, to wait for the mountain snow to melt. William Prouse soon found gold along the gravel river banks by panning, but left when the mountains were passable, as they anticipated taking out more gold on reaching California. Other emigrants followed, camped in the canyon and went to work at mining. However, when the water supply gave out toward the end of summer, they continued over the mountains to California. The camp had no permanent population until the winter and spring of 1852–53, when about 100 men worked part of the year along the gravel banks of the canyon with rockers boxes , Long Toms and sluices. The Gold from Gold Canyon came from quartz veins, toward the head of the vein, near where Silver City and Gold Hill now stand. In 1857 miners found gold in Six Mile Canyon, which is about four miles north of Gold Canyon. These canyons form the north and south ends of what is now known as the Comstock Lode.

The Ophir Discovery and the Gold Hill Discovery. 

Credit for the discovery of the Comstock Lode is disputed.

It is said to have been discovered, in 1857, by brothers Ethan Allen Grosh and Hosea Ballou Grosh.

 

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