Originally know as the Gould and Curry Office, the Mansion first served as a mining office and living quarters. It was built and occupied in 1859 by a young mining superintendent named George Hearst, who began the Hearst fortunes with $400 of borrowed money.

As was the first habit of so many miners, he stayed just a short time. Unlike most, however, he made several million dollars here. Then, he parlayed it into hundreds of millions in lumber in California, and mines in South Dakota and Utah. Hearst may have taken his leave a bit early, because the Comstock continued to flourish. By the early 1870s, the three-story house was headquarters for one of the most powerful, wealthy and revered characters on the Comstock: John Mackay.

He was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831, and immigrated to New York at the age if nine. He became an apprentice ship builder at sixteen, and for four years tooled wood for side wheel steamers under the tutelage of a William H. Webb. But it was a craft he never seriously persued, for on the last day of his apprenticeship, he boarded one of those steamers bound for San Francisco.

He was seeking his fortunes in California's gold fields at the tender age of twenty. But, by 1859, returns were dwindling in California's gold fields. He learned a lot about back-breaking work, but earned very little.

Then there were rumors of a silver strike on the Comstock. With nothing to hold him in California, he walked in from Downieville to try his luck. His ascent here was rapid: first working as a pick and shovel miner at four dollars a day, then timber man and then contractor. Using the skills he acquired building ships, he gained recognition for his work in the mine shafts. Compensation often came as stock in the mines he was helping to develop.

He began buying claims, and his fortunes grew. He was controlling owner of the Kentuck Mine during most of its peak years from 1866-1869. There were other acquisitions: the Hale and Norcross, Gould and Curry, and the Best and Belcher Mines.

When he began living in the Mansion during the early 1870s, dwindling revenues led many to believe that the boom was over. While the financial world blinked, Mackay and his partner James Fair invested. They bought a series of small, relatively unsuccessful claims lying between the Ophir and the Gould and Curry, and incorporated them into the Consolidated Virginia Mine. They sank a shaft and then rocked the civilized world when they discovered the largest silver deposit on the North American continent. When all was said and done, $133,417,000 had been hauled from its depths.

Mackay was a reserved man with simple tastes, and hated the fact that his wealth set him apart from the friends who had shared his humble beginnings -- once grumbling bitterly that winning at poker wasn't fun anymore. He spent much of his wealth helping those in need and developed a reputation as a great philanthropist.

You can learn more about John Mackay and the Mackay Mansion by joining us for a tour the next time you're in Virginia City.