In Virginia City and its Comstock Lode, miners worked one of the richest deposits of gold and silver ever found. Many places claim that title, but the precious metals retrieved between 1859 and 1880, with an equivalent value today in the billions of dollars, played an unprecedented role in industrial history. With cutting-edge technology, Comstock engineers shaped mining throughout the world for the next 50 years. Virginia City's wealth propelled several people to Congress and others into the nation's highest society. At the same time, those who settled in the mining district built a civilized, sophisticated place. Drawing on former glories, the popular television series Bonanza perpetuated the legend, capturing international audiences with 14 seasons of programs. As one of the nation's largest historic landmarks, the Comstock continues to welcome millions of visitors.

In Virginia City and its Comstock Lode, miners worked one of the richest deposits of gold and silver ever found. Many places claim that title, but the precious metals retrieved between 1859 and 1880, with an equivalent value today in the billions of dollars, played an unprecedented role in industrial history. With cutting-edge technology, Comstock engineers shaped mining throughout the world for the next 50 years. Virginia City's wealth propelled several people to Congress and others into the nation's highest society. At the same time, those who settled in the mining district built a civilized, sophisticated place. Drawing on former glories, the popular television series Bonanza perpetuated the legend, capturing international audiences with 14 seasons of programs. As one of the nation's largest historic landmarks, the Comstock continues to welcome millions of visitors.

A fun and informative exploration of how the classic television series Bonanza differs from the reality of Virginia City, Nevada. In 1959, one hundred years after the big bonanza silver strike in Virginia City, the classic television series Bonanza made its debut and brought the small Nevada city to the forefront of households around the country, and into many parts of the world. The richest city in the world at the time of the Comstock Lode, Virginia City today might well be a ghost town if not for the fame spurred by Bonanza.The show was so popular that it went on to air for thirteen years and even spawned a theme park. Historical accuracy was of great import to Bonanza’s creator, but as the series evolved, it took on a life of its own beyond the boundaries of real-life Virginia City. In Virginia City vs Bonanza: A Tale of Merging Histories, Monette Bebow-Reinhard explores select history from the show’s legendary storylines and compares it to the real history of nineteenth-century Virginia City. Readers will learn why gambling is so prominent in Nevada, how Virginia City was not necessarily developed as a cattle town, and much more, ultimately understanding how and where Bonanza got its history right. Through her analysis of history versus fiction, Bebow-Reinhard emphasizes the impact television had on shaping how we remember the Old West. From the beginnings on Sun Mountain to the new technology created for Virginia City’s mines to keep up with the demands of the labor force—hungry for more wealth—Virginia City vs Bonanza examines the politics, the environmental damage, and the social and cultural settings that made Virginia City unique. Readers will witness it all: silver’s inevitable collapse, the advent of tourism, the natives, the diversity, the violence, and today, the fun. A must-read for fans of televisionand history alike.

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The classic book of the discovery and mining of silver and gold on the Comstock Lode by the editor of the Territorial Enterprise.