4189

Comstock Lumber & Water Check Group [154794]

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Mining Start Price:150.00 USD Estimated At:300.00 - 400.00 USD
Comstock Lumber & Water Check Group [154794]
SOLD
120.00USD+ (30.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Apr 02 @ 11:26UTC-7 : PDT/MST
SHIPPING & HANDLING: The customer is responsible for all shipping and packaging charges. We offer shipping service as a convenience to our buyers. Items are not shipped until the invoice and shipping charges are completely paid. Shipping costs will be calculated and billed separately after your items have been paid for. Purchases will be shipped via our approved, insured carriers: FedEx, UPS, USPS or DHL. Pick up is available from our Reno office, once you have received your invoice post auction
Lot of 9 pieces. Lumber for the Comstock mostly came from the Lake Tahoe area. Water for Virginia City was originally sourced locally but eventually supplied by Marlette Lake (above Tahoe) and pumped across the Carson Valley and up onto the lode. 1) Carson & Tahoe Lumber & Fluming Company. a) Check issued in 1877 to Jno. Fox (Carson City merchant). Signed by DL Bliss. RN-G. b) Check issued in 1874 to D. Moores. Signed by Bliss. RN-D. Virginia City datelines for both. Bliss was arguably the most important figure in the Tahoe/Comstock lumber industry and this was the biggest company. Later, he also helped develop Lake Tahoe as a tourist destination by building the Tahoe Tavern, the Lake Tahoe Railroad from Truckee, and outfitting a line of passenger steamers. 2) Virginia & Gold Hill Water Company. Three checks, issued 1897-1902. The latter two have RN-X imprinted revenues. All signed by JB Overton. The Virginia & Gold Hill Water Company was incorporated in the early 1860s, a consolidation of the Virginia Water Co. and Gold Hill Water Co. Reincorporated in 1871 and purchased by W.S. Hobart and the Bonanza Firm (Fair, Mackay, Flood, O'Brien). The new owners had a plan to bring water from the Hobart Creek and Marlette Reservoir area 1,500 feet above Lake Tahoe. They hired Hermann Schussler, a noted hydraulic engineer, who constructed a pipe line from Marlette down to the Washoe Valley and back up the other side to Virginia City in a reverse siphon process. It is still providing water to citizens of Virginia City. Overton was involved in numerous lumber companies. The town of Hobart Mills was originally called Overton. 3) Sierra Nevada Wood & Lumber Co. Check issued in 1879. Signed by Overton. RN-G. Lumber operation at Lake Tahoe. Eventually moved near Truckee and established Hobart Mills. 4) Yellow Jacket Silver Mining Co. 1893 check issued to the Virginia & Gold Hill Water Co. Signed on back by Overton. 5) Two WS Hobart related pieces. Hobart was a hugely instrumental figure in the Comstock lumber industry. a) Bank of California check, 1869, issued to NC Hall. Signed for Hobart by Hall. Nicely framed and matted with plaque. b) WS Hobart, Nevada Bank of San Francisco, RN-G, issued in 1882 in SF to Chas. Bridge. Signed by Hobart.

Date: 1869-1902
Country (if not USA):
State: Nevada
City: Virginia City
Provenance: