In the Washoe Range of the Virginia Mountains, between Carson River valley and Pyramid Lake, the miners in 1859 were finding “black stuff' with the gold. It was silver from the Comstock Lode, a vein so rich that for many years it yielded half the silver output of the nation. Virginia City sprang into existence, and the region's first newspaper, The Territorial Enterprise, founded in 1858 at Genoa, was moved to it. Prospectors and settlers flooded in. Among early mining camps were Unionville, Aurora, Arabia, Cortez, Ione, and Candelaria.

In 1861 western Utah became Nevada Territory, reaching east from California about two-thirds of the width of the present state. The eastern boundary was extended in 1862. President Lincoln wanted Nevada to become a state because he needed its votes in Congress to win approval of a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution calling for the abolition of slavery. (The amendment, the 13th, was adopted in 1865.) Congress authorized Nevada's admission in 1863 even though its population was less than one-sixth the required figure—but its voters failed to approve the proposed state constitution. A new constitution was then drawn up, and it was ratified. On October 31, 1864, Lincoln proclaimed Nevada the 36th state of the Union. Carson City was made the capital.

A major discovery of lead and silver was made at Eureka in 1864. In 1866 the eastern boundary was extended again, to its present location, and in 1867 the area forming the southern tip of the state was added.