Nevada City ( ) is an unincorporated community in Madison County,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, United States. In the 1860s, it was one of two centers of commerce in what was known as one of the richest

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

strikes in the Rocky Mountain West, along with its sister city Virginia City. As the gold played out and prospectors moved away, Nevada City gradually became a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

. Since the late 1950s, Nevada City has become a tourist attraction for its collection of nineteenth-century buildings within or surrounding the Nevada City Museum and Music Hall.

History

Archaeological evidence found between the Music Hall and the Nevada City Hotel indicates earlier than

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

-era habitation, possibly by white

hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

s or trappers. In 1863, the discovery of gold in Alder Gulch sparked a gold rush to the area. Miners quickly settled the length of the gulch and established homes and businesses. Nevada City was occupied by residents as early as June 6, 1863. On December 19, 1863, a

miners' court A miners' court was a type of quasi-judicial court common in the American Old West that summoned a subset of the miners in a district when a dispute arose. Background It was made to retain order and decide punishments within mining communities. ...

trial took place. The trial was for the murder of Nicholas Tbalt, a Dutchman. George Ives was convicted and in less than an hour he was hanged in the middle of town while nearly 2,000 residents watched (“Nevada City, Montana.”). Nevada City became an

incorporated city Municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owned ...

on February 9, 1865. The most commonly listed occupation of Nevada City's working class was "placer miner." During the selection of territorial capitol, Nevada City was considered with Bannack and Virginia City for that distinction. The early city limits of Nevada City started 400 feet west of W. R. Lockwood’s house in Central City then went south ½ mile, west 1 ¾ mile, and south to the place of beginning. By 1869, the population of the mining camp had fallen to about 100 people. In 1869 mercantile representation included three general stores, and two saloons. In April 1872, the city contained one miners' store, one brewery, blacksmith shop, butcher shop, livery stable, and a Masonic Hall. Most of the citizens were engaged in mining pursuits, but some of the residents had farms and stock in the valley By 1880, only 50 residents remained in Nevada City. In 1896, the Conrey Placer Mining Company was organized to dredge the

gulch A gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch. In eastern Can ...

for the next 24 years, destroying many of Nevada City’s buildings. When the mining had come to an end in 1922, about $2.5 billion worth of gold in today's market had been extracted. The dredges were then disassembled and the heavy wooden barges were left to slowly be reclaimed by nature. Other original Nevada City buildings were destroyed when the highway was built through the area. In the 1950s, Charles Bovey, a former state senator, began buying land and property in Nevada City in order to redevelop the town as an outdoor museum. Over the next twenty years, Bovey reconstructed Nevada City, moving nearly one hundred historic buildings from other sites and adding them to the fifteen original gold-rush era buildings that remained in Nevada City. Forrest "Scotty" Zion of the Great Falls business, Zion Construction and Housemoving, was a close friend of the Bovey's and moved the buildings from various locations.Candi Zion, July 2017 With few existing historic photographs to guide him, Bovey assembled buildings to represent an earlier era, including saloons, a school, a blacksmith, a barbershop, a post office, and cabins. He relocated seven buildings associated with Chinese communities from around Madison County to create a sort of Chinatown in Nevada City. The Music Hall building came from

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

, and Bovey filled it with a collection of organs and coin-operated music players from

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. The Nevada City Hotel was created by joining a building from Salisbury, Montana, to a structure from Yellowstone.

Present day

Today, the town is owned by the State of Montana and managed by the Montana Heritage Commission. The town consists of an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

that includes 108 buildings. Fourteen buildings are original to the town site. Businesses in the town are Alder Gulch Accommodations, Nevada City Hotel and Cabins, Just an Experience Bed and Breakfast, The Star Bakery, and the Nevada City Hotel Coffee Shop. Some of the businesses are operational year round, others are operational during the summer season. The town has been restored as an outdoor

living history Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to ree ...

historical museum, linked by railroad to the Virginia City Historic District with numerous historic buildings, artifacts, and furnishings. Nevada City is also home to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

’s largest collection of automated music machines which can be found in the Nevada City Music Hall (“Nevada City.”).

Geography

Nevada City is approximately 27 miles southeast of

Twin Bridges Twin bridges are a set of two bridges running parallel to each other. A pair of twin bridges is often referred to collectively as a twin-span or dual-span bridge. Twin bridges are independent structures and each bridge has its own superstructur ...

on Montana Highway 287. The town site is located 1½ miles west of Virginia City.

References

External links

Nevada City – Outdoor History Museum

Where The West Was Lurid

Montana Heritage Commission
{{authority control Mining communities in Montana Towns in Madison County, Montana Ghost towns in Montana