While the Cincinnati Mining Company discovered silver in the Shoshone Mountains of Nye County as early as 1887, Berlin did not form until 1897. A thirty-stamp mill was built and Berlin steadily grew until it had a population of 300 by 1905. However, a miner's strike in 1907 ended the boom. A new operation from 1910 to 1914 kept a few people in the largely abandoned town. After that, Berlin was empty except for the mine superintendent who remained on duty until 1947.

"The Bank Crowd" refers to the group of entrepreneurs who dominated the economic life of the Comstock from 1867 to 1875. The name refers to the Bank of California, which was opened in San Francisco, on June 5, 1864, by William C. Ralston and Darius Ogden Mills. Ralston and Mills in November 1864 established a branch in Virginia City, with William Sharon named as manager.

When mining partners Edwin Gray and Dave Bartley discovered copper deep within a mountainside in central White Pine County between 1900 and 1902, they sparked a mining boom that would soon become one of the richest in the state. By 1910, four communities called "company towns" were established by businesses that aimed to exploit the deposits.

In 1862, William Talcott discovered silver ore in Pony Canyon, a pass through central Nevada's Toiyabe Mountains. The strike attracted newcomers who founded Clifton below the new claims. David Buel then platted Austin up the canyon, naming his town for his partner Alvah Austin. Because of the rush, legislators created Lander County in December 1862.