The Sutro Tunnel is a drainage tunnel connected to the Comstock Lode

Comstock Lode

The Comstock Lode was the first major U.S. discovery of silver ore, located under what is now Virginia City, Nevada, on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range. After the discovery was made public in 1859, prospectors rushed to the area and scrambled to stake their claims...

 in Northern Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

. It begins at Virginia City, Nevada

Virginia City, Nevada

Virginia City is a census-designated place that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 855 at the 2010 Census.- History :...

 and empties approximately 6 miles southeast near the town of Dayton, Nevada

Dayton, Nevada

Dayton is a census-designated place in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 5,907 at the 2000 census.-History:Dayton is at the western end of the Twenty-Six Mile Desert at a bend in the Carson River. Immigrants stopping there for water would consider whether to follow the river...

.

The tunnel was first envisioned by Adolph Sutro

Adolph Sutro

Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro was the 24th mayor of San Francisco, and second Jewish mayor, serving in that office from 1894 until 1896...

 in 1860. He promoted the drainage tunnel in order to allow access to deeper mineral exploration in the Comstock. Mine flooding and inadequate pumps had inhibited some exploration activities up to that time.

By 1865, Sutro's idea had gained the approval of state and federal legislation. The mining interests of the Comstock also initially supported the tunnel project, but later strongly opposed the idea. They feared that an alternate access point to the Comstock minerals would threaten their monopoly on the mining and milling of gold and silver in the Comstock.

Nonetheless, Sutro formed the Sutro Tunnel Company, selling stock certificate

Stock certificate

In corporate law, a stock certificate is a legal document that certifies ownership of a specific number of stock shares in a corporation...

s to raise funds for its construction, which began in 1869. Financing also came from local miners under the guise of improved mine safety. This was further advocated (perhaps exploited) by Sutro after the Yellowjacket mine disaster where dozens of miners were burned to death because they could not escape the mine.

Arthur De Wint Foote

Arthur De Wint Foote

Arthur De Wint Foote was a mining and civil engineer who built Foote's Crossing across the Middle Yuba River and Foote's Crossing Road , and designed the hydraulic wheel for the North Star Mine Powerhouse, now a California Historical Landmark.-Early years:Foote was born...

 worked on the tunnel in 1873, but was fired in 1874, having struck a flood of water in Shaft No. 2.

The main tunnel was completed in 1878. By that time, however, the Comstock mine had gone deeper, using newer improved pumps, and was also thinning out. Lateral tunnels were also created to enhance drainage and ventilation. Upon completion, Adolph Sutro immediately sold his interest in the tunnel company and moved to San Francisco, later becoming mayor of that city.

The Sutro Tunnel pioneered the excavation of large drainage and access tunnels in the United States. Later US mine drainage tunnels included the Argo Tunnel

Argo Tunnel

The Argo Tunnel, originally called the Newhouse Tunnel , is a mine drainage and access tunnel with its portal at Idaho Springs, Colorado, USA...

 at Idaho Springs, Colorado

Idaho Springs, Colorado

The City of Idaho Springs is a municipality in the U.S. state of Colorado that is the most populous settlement in Clear Creek County, Colorado. Idaho Springs is located in Clear Creek Canyon, in the mountains upstream from Golden, some thirty miles west of Denver...

, the Leadville and Yak tunnels at Leadville, Colorado

Leadville mining district

The Leadville mining district was the most productive silver-mining district in the US state of Colorado. It is located immediately east of the town of Leadville....

, and the Roosevelt tunnel in the Cripple Creek district, Colorado.