It has been said that there is no place on earth with more mineral wealth than that contained in the borders of the State of Nevada. While it may sound like an absolutist statement meant to inspire and exaggerate, there is proof to back it up.

Nevada is famous for many mining booms, the world-famous Comstock Lode being only one in a long line. The complete list of all the sites is too long to include here. Still, some areas of note are Goldfield, the Cortez Mountains, Ely, Tonapah, Rhyolite, Beaty, Candelaria, Battle Mountain, Eureka, and Austin. The state has nearly 1.3 million mining claims and over eleven thousand known operating mines. It could be fair to say that no other state in the United States has had such an intimate relationship with mining as Nevada. Not even California and its great Gold Rush compare. The stories of Nevada’s mining legacy are entertaining and instructive; that they haven’t been more widely circulated is a shame, and this is something Western Mining Preservation hopes to correct.

For many years, the frontier prospectors passed through Nevada on their way to California. Some prospected and found gold and silver (among other minerals), but they seemed to be far more concerned with imagined wealth in California than the possible real wealth they had at their feet. It wasn’t until the Grosh brothers, Ethan and Hosea, allegedly discovered the Comstock Lode in 1857 that Nevada became an attractive option for the budding frontier miner.

The Comstock Rush was legendary, and it set the stage for the mining rushes that would come. The last Gold Rush of the “Wild West” happened in Nevada, in the fantastic area of Jarbidge. Read along as we explore this great state and share the wonderful stories the Nevada miners created.