Series: Victorian Springtime -- The Jacobsen House 1860: Virginia City, Nevada. Virginia City was founded in 1859. With the rush of mining, its population quickly grew to 35,000. At present, Virginia City has a population of 800.A 3.5 mile stretch, known as the Comstock Lode, located around Virginia City, was the richest silver mining region of its size in the history of the U.S. Almost $300 million in silver and gold ore was mined before production severely declined..In 1860 the first houses were built, the Jacobsen being among them. One of the owners, Dr. Donald Geiger built the first roadway from Reno to Virginia City called the "Geiger Grade." The house was last purchased in 1966 by Mel and Aileen Jacobsen who restored it to its present condition.