Henry Comstock - Bozeman, MT - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

By 1859, the California Gold Rush had largely dissipated but a Nevada silver rush was about to begin. Gold had been discovered in Six Mile Canyon just east of Mount Davidson in Nevada, but it was difficult to get to because of the bluish-black clay-like substance in which it was stuck. When this stuff was assayed and determined to contain a high percentage of silver, the rush was on. Virginia City sprang up practically overnight directly over the rich vein of silver and gold which ultimately produced about $400 million worth of precious metal.

Details of the original strike are sketchy, and no doubt romanticized, but apparently the two prospectors who discovered the gold in the canyon were confronted by Henry “Pancake” Comstock who claimed he had a right to the land. After some dispute, they agreed to share in the claim. Comstock eventually sold his share for a reported $11,000 and at the time boasted about how well he had made out, but considering the total value of the ore, it turned out to be a bad deal. (“Pancake” got his nickname because he was too lazy to bake bread.)

The name Stanford may be associated with the university in Palo Alto and the name Hearst with newspapers, but the rich strike of silver and gold which directly or indirectly contributed to both of those fortunes was named for Henry Comstock who died in relative poverty. The fast-talking prospector had bragged to so many people about ‘Comstock’s’ lode that the name eventually stuck and it’s the name by which the most famous silver bonanza in the United States is known today.

Henry Tompkins Paige Comstock eventually ended up prospecting in Montana where he died at the approximate age of 50 from a gunshot wound, possibly self-inflicted. Due to the fame of the Comstock Lode, some local folks found a spot for his burial in the Sunset Hills Cemetery near the plot of the well-to-do Story family.
(Sources: wikipedia.org, americanheritage.com.)

Description: See Long Description above. Date of birth: 01/01/1820 Date of death: 09/27/1870 Area of notoriety: Historical Figure Marker Type: Horizontal Marker Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: none Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log for waymarks in this category, you must have personally visited the waymark location. When logging your visit, please provide a note describing your visit experience, along with any additional information about the waymark or the surrounding area that you think others may find interesting.

We especially encourage you to include any pictures that you took during your visit to the waymark. However, only respectful photographs are allowed. Logs which include photographs representing any form of disrespectful behavior (including those showing personal items placed on or near the grave location) will be subject to deletion.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.