Today, many times cemeteries are managed privately or by cities and/or counties.  In the 1800s it was customary for religious and fraternal organizations to manage their own cemeteries.  In many cases, as it was on the Comstock, the county did get involved with cemetery grounds. One of the first cemeteries was established by the county and was called Flowery Hill.  As the community grew and needs changed, the larger cemetery in Virginia City held a section for County use that could have been for those not able to avoid burials. There is some historic evidence the county section also held a separate area for Native American Indian burials.  One of the Comstock’s earliest burial ground was the Gold Hill Cemeteries.  Richard Sides killed a man named Jessup.  Jessup was buried (later moved) in the current Gold Hill Cemeteries in 1859.  Gold Hill Cemeteries were also separated by fraternal/religious affiliations; Oddfellows, Masons, and Catholic. There is no evidence of a county section within the Gold Hill cemeteries.  

Today, a large part of the county section contains modern day interments.  In some cases these burials have disrupted the historic fabric of the land.  The county section has also grown beyond the boundaries of the historic cemetery to accommodate new burials.  Storey County is working on an acceptable cemetery plan for now and in the future for those wishes to be buried on the Comstock.

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