Comstock Foundation receives donation

The Comstock Foundation for History and Culture, a three-year old non-profit working to preserve the history of the Comstock Mining District, received its first donation.

John Winfield donated 100,000 shares of Comstock Mining Inc. stock, which was trading on the New York Stock Exchange at 55 cents per share on Monday morning.

Winfield, a former chairman of the board at the Virginia City-based Comstock Mining and a principal investor in the company, has committed to donating 1 million shares to the preservation group over the next decade.

“We are thrilled at this extraordinary commitment and this first donation will enable some of our more immediate preservation needs. We are now working to restore the historic Donovan Mill, located in Silver City and open this great Comstock treasure to the public,” said Pamela Abercrombie, executive director of the foundation.

Donovan Mill began as the Kelsey Mill in 1861, which processed ore from Comstock mines and was the first cyanide process mill on the Comstock.

The mine was bought in 1912 by William Donovan, whose family mined there for three generations.

In addition to the Donovan Mill restoration, and since its founding in 2013, the foundation has also done restoration work on the Upper Yellow Jacket Hoist, which stands above the tracks of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Gold Hill, and Ore Chute.

The foundation is also helping with the ongoing restoration of the Gold Hill Depot and St. Mary’s Art and Retreat Center.

The Comstock Historic District was granted National Historic Landmark status in 1961 and includes 14,000 acres and the communities of Virginia City, Gold Hill, Silver City and Dayton.