1867, Original Sutro Tunnel Broadside

Western AmericaExtremely Rare Original "Sutro Tunnel" Worker Broadside
Calling for a Mass Meeting
to be Addressed by Adolph Sutro !

1867, Original Sutro Tunnel Broadside: "MINERS! LABORING MEN! MECHANICS! RALLY! - GREAT MASS MEETING...," Virginia City, Nevada, Choice Very Fine.
17.5" x 22" uncolored broadside, laid-down on matboard, and matted and framed to an overall size of 20" x 24". Slightly toned page, with large, dark lettering—impressive and a real attention-grabber! This extremely rare broadside is the first we've seen in relation to the Sutro tunnel. The broadside calls men to a mass meeting at:

"Piper's Opera House" [some of the text at the bottom is hand-written in black grease pencil, the rest of the poster is in large printed block letters—all are original and authentic from 1867!], featuring an appearance by "ADOLPH SUTRO" who was to address the citizens of Virginia City on the subject: "'The Sutro Tunnel and the Bank of California.' Admission FREE. - Seats reserved for Ladies. - Come one! Come all!"

The Sutro Tunnel Company was organized by Adolph Sutro for the purpose of constructing a drainage tunnel under the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. On February 4, 1865 the Nevada legislature granted the company an exclusive franchise to construct a drainage tunnel beginning in the foothills of the Carson River Valley in Lyon County, and terminating in the Comstock Lode of Virginia City. The Sutro Tunnel Company was also given a charter to sink mining shafts along the line as long as they did not infringe upon the rights of miners with previous claims. The U.S. Congress gave Sutro the right to purchase public land at $1.25 per acre to use for construction of the tunnel, and $5 per acre for land within 2,000 feet of the tunnel which contained mineral veins and lodes. It also specified that all persons, companies or corporations owning claims benefited by the tunnel would be required to contribute to the costs of its operation.

Sutro encountered considerable difficulty in raising the capital necessary for construction. The sale of stock in the Sutro Tunnel Company enabled construction to begin in 1869 but he was eventually forced to turn to England where, beginning in 1872, he obtained major financing from the banking house of McCalmont Brothers and Company. The tunnel connected with the Savage Mine in 1878. Contracts which helped pay for lateral tunnels were signed with twenty-four mining companies in April of the following year. Two months later the tunnel project was completed, and by 1880 Sutro had sold his stock in the company. The tunnel was in use for fifty years and was a success as a means of draining hot water from the mines. Financially it was a loss, as stock became worthless with the decline of Comstock Lode. Portions of the tunnel are still intact today.


John Piper came to Virginia City in 1860. Around 1862 he purchased a building on B street, built of bricks and brown mortar for a business office, that eventually became known as Piper's Business Block and now forms the front lobby of the present Piper's Opera House. Typical of the busies men in Virginia, the thriving, hot spot for making money at every turn, Piper owned several businesses. Around 1864, he purchased the Maguire's Opera House on D street and entered into the venue and promotions. Piper's Opera House #1 (Maguire's) burned down in the Great Fire of 1875. The town, including Piper's, was rebuilt by the mining barons.