From the tents and brush shanties set up near the Ophir Mine immediately after the discovery of silver was made, the growth of the town was rapid. The first structure worthy of the name of “house” was erected in the summer of 1859, by Lyman Jones, a pioneer miner of Gold Canyon. It was of canvass and was 18x40 feet in size. Soon several frame structures were removed from Johntown and from Dayton (then called “Chinatown”) to the “new diggings” of “Ophir.” Lumber from saw-mills in the foot-hills of the Sierras was then procured and a few small houses and offices erected. As there was then no wagon road up the mountain to where the city now stands it was necessary to carry lumber up to the new diggings on horses, half packing and half dragging it from the valley, where it was delivered by wagons. Very soon, however, a wagon track was made up the mountain, and building then progressed more rapidly. At first the new mining camp had no fixed or acknowledged name. It was variously spoken of as “Ophir,” “Ophir Diggings,” “Pleasant Hill,” and “Mount Pleasant Point,” though at that time there could have been nothing very “pleasant” about the place, except the sight of the gold and silver then being dug out by the pound and by the ton almost at the surface of the ground—less than a yard below the roots of the sage-brush. Even as late as October, 1859, the place was called Ophir Diggings. About that time James Fennimore, known among the miners as “Old Virginia,” was in the camp one night, having a “little run with the boys,” when he fell and broke his whisky bottle against a rock. Old Virginia picked up the bottom part of the bottle, in which still remained a small quantity of the precious liquid, and, solemnly pouring it upon the ground, said, “I christen this camp Virginia!” He called upon those present to bear witness to the fact that he had duly named and christened the town in honor of himself and his native State. Old Virginia was a favorite among the miners, and one and all declared that Virginia should be the name of the town. At first the place was called “Virginia Town,” but soon the word city was tacked on to Virginia, the name by which it was christened, and Virginia City it has remained. Old Virginia had some right to name the town. He was one of the first to mine on Six-mile Canyon, working at a point now included in the eastern suburbs of the city, and he was the first man in the country to locate a quartz vein in the vicinity. This vein was a large one lying west of the Ophir, and known as the “Virginia Vein,” or “Virginia Croppings.” This back lead contained a vast deal of “base metal,” but very little paying ore. The location was made February 22, 1858, more than a year before the discovery of silver. In July, 1861, “Old Virginia” was thrown from a “bucking” mustang, in the town of Dayton, and killed. At the time of his death he was possessed of about $3,000 in gold coin.