chapter 18
DESCRIPTION
Mining Booms. Chapter 18. Section 1. PIKE’S PEAK or BUST. Colorado Rockies in 1858. Comstock Lode. A rich lode of silver-bearing ore on the banks of the Carson River in Nevada. Henry Comstock. Carson River, Nevada. Henry Comstock owned the land - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Chapter 18Section 1
Mining Booms
PIKE’S PEAK or BUST
Colorado Rockies in 1858
1858 servants made less than $1.00
a day
Foreign investors
$20.00 a daypanning for
gold
underground lodes – rich streaks between layers of
rock
Comstock LodeA rich lode of silver-bearing ore on the banks of the Carson River in Nevada.
Henry Comstock
Carson River, Nevada
•Henry Comstock owned the land
•Henry sold it for $11,000 & 2 mules
•Worth hundreds of millions in gold/silver
•Mining companies purchased the land
Mining Booms
BoomtownsTowns that grew up
overnight around mining sites.
BOOMTOWNS:• Built around mining areas• Wild and lawless• Vigilante groups ruled• Few women and children• “busted” when all ore had been mined• ( 30,000 to 4,000 inhabitants) ghost
towns
Life of a miner*vigilantes ruled the towns*lived in boomtowns that were filled with violence (stealing and cheating were common) *Worked from daylight until dark*extravagant living and gambling (food, lodging, clothing)*fortunate miners - $2,000 a year*Women – sewed, cooked, entertained, started schools, churches, businesses - brought stability
leadcopper
zinc
Other metals found
Government & the Railroads
subsidies
Rail networks wanted
free land
Towns offered
cash subsidies
20 – 80 miles wide
of land
130 mill. acres
Transcontinental Railroad
Omaha, Nebraska to Sacramento, California
Union Pacific – 1,038 miles
Central Pacific – 742 miles
Central Pacific 10,000 Chinese
Union Pacific African Americans Irish
Railroad Workers
Promontory Point in Utah Territory on May 10, 1869
Effects of the Transcontinental Railway
Brought thousands of
workers to the west
Time Zones1883 – U.S.
divided into 4 zones
Coal production, RR manufactures,
construction companies grew
Towns sprang up along the rail
lines