Preserving History with Virtual Reality: The Future of Archaeological Public Outreach at the Historic United Comstock Merger Mill

Author(s): Alicia Jensen

Year: 2023

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Digging Deeper: Pushing Ourselves to Engage the Public in Our Shared Heritage through Outreach and Education" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The United Comstock Merger Mill, locally known as the American Flat Mill, was a cyanide mill constructed in 1922 on the eastern portion of the American Flat near Virginia City, Nevada. This mill, located within the boundaries of the Virginia City National Historic Landmark, represented one of the last large-scale efforts to mine and mill ore on the Comstock. The “last gasp” of the Comstock was unsuccessful, and the mill closed in 1926. After abandonment, the mill became a popular local gathering spot and a physical safety hazard. In late 2014, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) demolished the mill after reaching an agreement with the Nevada SHPO about how the mill would be documented and how that information would be shared with the public. This poster shares the multiple public outreach projects the BLM completed to share the history of the mill, including a documentary, interpretive kiosk, brochure, virtual tour, podcast, and mobile exhibit.

Cite this Record

Preserving History with Virtual Reality: The Future of Archaeological Public Outreach at the Historic United Comstock Merger Mill. Alicia Jensen. Presented at The 88th Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Portland, OR. 2023 ( tDAR id: 474122) ; doi:10.48512/XCV8474122

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

Keywords

Culture
Euroamerican • Historic

Material
architecture • Building Materials • Metal

Site Name
American Flat Mill • United Comstock Merger Mill • Virginia & Truckee Railroad • Virginia City National Historic Landmark

Site Type
Historic Structure • Mine • Mine-Related Structures • Railroad • Road, Trail, and Related Structures or Features • Structure

Investigation Types
Architectural Documentation • Architectural Survey • Heritage Management

General
3D Technology, Public Outreach, VR • Abandoned Railroad Grade • Cultural Resource Management • Cultural Resources and Heritage Management • Documentary • Exhibit • Historic • Kiosks • Mitigation • podcast

Geographic Keywords
North America: California and Great Basin

Temporal Keywords
1880-1920

Spatial Coverage

min long: -124.189; min lat: 31.803 ; max long: -105.469; max lat: 43.58 ;

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36583.0

File Information

  Name Size Creation Date Date Uploaded Access
SAAConfPoster_Final_230215.pdf 8.18mb Apr 10, 2023 11:22:44 AM Public
"Preserving History with Virtual Reality: The Future of Archaeological Public Outreach at the Historic United Comstock Merger Mill" Poster