Nevada’s oldest geology museum can be found inside a mining school that was endowed by one of the barons of the Comstock Lode, one of the most significant mining discoveries in American history. John Mackay (pronounced “Mackey”) was one of the handful of hopeful prospectors who made a fortune on the silver strikes of the Comstock Lode, going from penniless immigrant to wealthy mine owner. After his death in 1902, the Mackay family donated much of his fortune to endow a school of mines at the University of Nevada in…
