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