Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county
seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the
county. The city is a part of the Renoâ€"Sparks Metropolitan
Statistical Area.Virginia City developed as a boomtown with the 1859
discovery of the Comstock Lode, the first major silver deposit
discovery in the United States, with numerous mines opening. The
population peaked in the mid-1870s, with an estimated 25,000
residents. The mines' output declined after 1878, and the population
declined as a result. As of the 2010 Census, the population of
Virginia City was about 855, and that of Storey County was 4,000.Peter
O'Riley and Patrick McLaughlin are credited with the discovery of the
Comstock Lode. Henry T. P. Comstock's name was associated with the
discovery through his own machinations. According to folklore, James
Fennimore, nicknamed Old Virginny Finney, christened the town when he
tripped and broke a bottle of whiskey at a saloon entrance in the
northern section of Gold Hill, soon to become Virginia City.In another
story, the Ophir Diggings were named in honor of Finney as he was "one
of the first discoverers of that mining locality, and one of the most
successful prospectors in that region." Finney "was the best judge of
placer ground in Gold Canyon," locating the quartz footwall of the
Ophir on 22 February 1858, the placers on Little Gold Hill on 28
January 1859, and the placers below Ophir in 1857. Virginia City, Nevada Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter