Virginia City is a
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only.
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...
(CDP) that is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the
Reno
Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
–
Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
.
Virginia City developed as a
boomtown
A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...
with the 1859 discovery of the
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the Unit ...
, the first major
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
deposit discovery in the United States, with numerous mines opening. The population peaked in the mid-1870s, with an estimated 25,000 residents. The mines' output declined after 1878, and the population declined as a result. As of the
2020 Census, the population of Virginia City was 787.
History
![Birds Eye View Virginia City 1875 drawing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Birds_Eye_View_Virginia_City_1875_drawing.JPG)
Peter O'Riley and Patrick McLaughlin are credited with the discovery of the Comstock Lode.
Henry T. P. Comstock's name was associated with the discovery through his own machinations. According to folklore, James Fennimore, nicknamed Old Virginny Finney, christened the town when he tripped and broke a bottle of whiskey at a saloon entrance in the northern section of Gold Hill, soon to become Virginia City.
In another story, the
Ophir
Ophir (; ) is a port or region mentioned in the Bible, famous for its wealth. King Solomon received a shipment from Ophir every three years (1 Kings 10:22) which consisted of gold, silver, sandalwood, pearls, ivory, apes, and peacocks.
...
Diggings were named in honor of Finney as he was "one of the first discoverers of that mining locality, and one of the most successful prospectors in that region". Finney "was the best judge of placer ground in Gold Canyon", locating the quartz
footwall
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
of the Ophir on 22 February 1858, the
placers on Little Gold Hill on 28 January 1859, and the placers below Ophir in 1857.
After the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859, the town developed seemingly overnight on the eastern slopes of
Mount Davidson, perched at a 6200-foot elevation. Below the town were dug intricate tunnels and shafts for silver mining. The Comstock Lode discovery and subsequent growth of Virginia City was unequaled by the history of other precious metal discoveries.
Virginia City's silver ore discoveries were not part of the
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...
, which occurred 10 years before. At the time of the discovery of the Comstock Lode, silver was considered the monetary equal of gold, and all production was purchased by the federal government for use in coinage. In 1873, silver was demonetized by the government, in large part due to the flood of silver into international markets from the silver mines of Virginia City.
![DeQuille 137 Timbering the Mines](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/DeQuille_137_Timbering_the_Mines.jpg)
Technical problems plagued the early mining efforts, requiring the development of new mining technology to support the challenge. German engineer
Philip Deidesheimer
Philip Deidesheimer was a mining engineer in the Western United States.
Deidesheimer was born in 1832, in Darmstadt, Hesse before German unification. He attended the prestigious Freiberg University of Mining (''Technische Universität Bergakademi ...
created a timbering system for mining tunnels called square sets, which enabled the retrieval of huge amounts of silver ore in a safe manner.
Square set timbering
In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
,
roots blowers,
stamp mills, the
Washoe Pan milling process,
Cornish pumps, Burleigh machine drills, wire woven rope, miners' safety cages and the safety clutch for those cages; even the
Sutro tunnel all had a place in supporting the exploitation of the rich ore body. As technological advancements, these were used many times over in later mining applications. In 1876 one observer reported that in Virginia City, "every activity has to do with the mining, transportation, or reduction of silver ore, or the melting and assaying of silver
bullion
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...
." By 1876 Nevada produced over half of all the precious metals in the United States. The Comstock produced silver and gold ore valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. The wealth supported the Northern cause during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
and flooded the world monetary markets, resulting in economic changes.
![comstock ore09](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Comstock_ore09.jpg)
Like many cities and towns in Nevada, Virginia City was a
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
boomtown
A boomtown is a community that undergoes sudden and rapid population and economic growth, or that is started from scratch. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although ...
; it developed virtually overnight as a result of miners rushing to the
Comstock Lode
The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the Unit ...
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
strike of 1859. But, Virginia City far surpassed all others for its peak of population, technological advancements developed there, and for providing the population base upon which Nevada qualified for statehood. The riches of the Comstock Lode inspired men to hunt for silver mines throughout Nevada and other parts of the American West.
Virginia City population increased from 4,000 in 1862 to over 15,000 in 1863. It fluctuated depending on mining output. US Census figures do not reflect all of these frequent changes. Nonetheless, Virginia City overnight became one of the largest cities in the American Southwest. For the
1880 United States census, Virginia City was even larger than some of today's largest cities of the entire US, such as
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
,
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
,
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
, and even
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. The city included gas and sewer lines, the one hundred room
International Hotel with elevator, three theatres, the Maguire Opera House, four churches, and three daily newspapers. Many of the homes and buildings were made of brick.
With this center of wealth, many important local politicians and businessmen came from the mining camp. At its peak after the Big Bonanza of 1873 Virginia City had a population of over 25,000 residents and was called the richest city in the United States. Dominated by San Francisco moneyed interests, Virginia City was heralded as the sophisticated interior partner of San Francisco. "San Francisco on the coast and Virginia City inland" became the mantra of west coast Victorian entrepreneurs. Early Virginia City settlers were in large part the backwash from San Francisco and the California Gold Rush, ten years before. Mine owners who made a killing in the Comstock mines spent most of their wealth in San Francisco.
A San Francisco stock market existed for the exploitation of Comstock mining. The
Bank of California
The Bank of California was opened in San Francisco, California, on July 4, 1864, by William Chapman Ralston and Darius Ogden Mills. It was the first commercial bank in the Western United States, the second-richest bank in the nation, and considered ...
financed building the financial district of San Francisco with money from the Comstock mines. The influence of the Comstock lode rejuvenated what was the ragged little town of 1860 San Francisco. "Nearly all the profits of the Comstock were invested in San Francisco real estate and in the erection of fine buildings." Thus, Virginia City built San Francisco. The Comstock's success, measured in values of the time period, totaled "about $400 million". Mining and its attraction of population was the economic factor that caused the separation of Nevada territory from Utah, and later justified and supported Nevada statehood.
![Virginia City, NV rephoto early 1870s + 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Virginia_City%2C_NV_rephoto_early_1870s_%2B_2007.jpg)
The mining industry dominated Virginia City, making it an industrial center similar to those of the east coast. But the city retained some of its frontier flavor. The social history of the town has emphasized the high number of
immigrant
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
s among its residents. Miners largely from
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, where
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
mines had been developed based on hard rock technology, flooded the Comstock. The new English immigrants were one of the largest ethnic groups. Many of the miners who came to the city were
Cornish or
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
. In 1870,
Asians were 7.6% of the population, primarily Chinese workers who settled in many western towns after they had completed construction of the transcontinental railroad. The Chinese filled niche markets, such as laundry workers and cooks.
Through time, the numerous independent Comstock mines became consolidated under ownership of large monopolies. A group called the Bank Crowd, dominated by
William Sharon
William Tang Sharon (January 9, 1821November 13, 1885) was a United States senator, banker, and business owner from Nevada who profited from the Comstock Lode.
Early life
Sharon was born in Smithfield, Ohio, January 9, 1821, the son of Willi ...
in Virginia City and
William Ralston in San Francisco, financed the mines and mills of the Comstock until they had a virtual monopoly. By manipulating stock through rumors and false reports of mining wealth, some men made fortunes from the stocks of Virginia City's mines. When it appeared the Comstock Lode was finished, the city's population declined sharply, with ten thousand leaving in 1864 and 1865. By the late 1860s, a group of Irish investors threatened the Bank Crowd's control.
John Mackay and partner
James Fair began as common miners, working their way up to management positions in the mines. By purchasing stock in the mines, they realized financial independence. Their partners
James Clair Flood
James Clair Flood (October 25, 1826 – February 21, 1889) was an American businessman who made a fortune thanks to the Comstock Lode in Nevada. His mining operations are recounted to this day as an outstanding example of what may be done with a ...
and
William S. O'Brien stayed in San Francisco and speculated in stock. The Irish Big Four (or
Bonanza Kings
The Bonanza Kings, also called the Silver Kings, was a nickname given to the four men who started a stock brokerage called ''Flood and O'Brien'', more commonly known as the Bonanza Firm. Bonanza is a Spanish term, meaning a rich ore body; in 1873, ...
), as the men were called, eventually controlled the Consolidated Virginia mine where the Big Bonanza was discovered in 1873. The next few years were some of the most profitable on the Comstock, as the Bank Crowd lost control to the Irish Big Four. Population reached 25,000 in 1875.
Mining operations were hindered by the extreme temperatures in the mines caused by natural
hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
s. In winter the miners would snowshoe to the mines and then have to descend to work in high temperatures. These harsh conditions contributed to a low life expectancy, and earned miners the nickname of Hot Water Plugs.
Adolph Sutro
Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro (April 29, 1830 – August 8, 1898) was a German-American engineer, politician and philanthropist who served as the 24th mayor of San Francisco from 1895 until 1897. Born a German Jew, he moved to Virginia Cit ...
built the
Sutro Tunnel to drain the hot spring waters to the valley below. But, by the time it was completed in 1879, the mines had substantially passed the intersection level, as their tunnels had been dug ever deeper. In 1879, the mines began to play out and the population fell to just under 11,000.
Great Fire of 1875
Between 1859 and 1875, Virginia City had numerous serious fires. The October 26, 1875 fire, dubbed the Great Fire, caused $12 million in damage. "The spectacle beggars description; the world was on fire...a square mile of roaring flames." When a church caught fire, Mackay was heard to say, "Damn the church! We can build another if we can keep the fire from going down these shafts." Though the Con. Virginia and Ophir hoisting works burned, the fire did not penetrate the Con. Virginia shaft and only reached 400 feet into the Ophir shaft. "Railroad car wheels were melted", "brick buildings went down like paper boxes", and two thousand were left homeless.
In ensuing months the city was rebuilt. A majority of the area now designated as the
National Historic Landmark historic district dates to this later time period. However, the bonanza period was at an end by 1880
Virginia City and Mark Twain
![Virginiacity](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Virginiacity.jpg)
The writer and humorist
Samuel Clemens
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
, then a reporter on the local ''
Territorial Enterprise
The ''Territorial Enterprise'', founded by William Jernegan and Alfred James on December 18, 1858, was a newspaper published in Virginia City, Nevada. Published for its first two years in Genoa in what was then Utah Territory, new owners Jo ...
'' newspaper first used the
pen name
A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen na ...
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
in Virginia City in February 1863 Clemens lived in Virginia City and wrote for the ''Enterprise'' from fall 1862 until May 1864. His departure was to avoid a duel with a local newspaper editor upset over Clemens' reporting. Clemens returned to the Comstock region twice on lecture tours, first in 1866 when he was
mugged
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
on the Divide. The muggers relieved Clemens of his watch and his money. The robbery turns out to have been a practical joke played on Clemens by his friends. He did not appreciate the joke, but he did retrieve his belongings—particularly his gold watch (worth $300), which had great sentimental value. Clemens' book ''
Roughing It
''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, as a prequel to his first travel book ''The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twa ...
'' (1872) includes this and other anecdotes about the city. Clemens' second return occurred in 1868 at the time of the hanging of John Millian, who was convicted of murdering the well-liked madam
Julia Bulette.
Climate
Virginia City has a
hot-summer mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Csa
CSA may refer to:
Arts and media
* Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
* Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics
* Crime Syndicate of Amer ...
) with warm to hot summers and cooler and rainier winters.
Economy
In the 21st century, Virginia City's economy is based on tourism. Many residents own and work at the shops in town that cater to tourists, while others seek jobs in the surrounding cities. Virginia City, a
National Historic Landmark District
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
, draws more than 2 million visitors per year. It has numerous historic properties that are separately listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
The tourism supports an eclectic assortment of fine and casual dining experiences. Many lodging properties offer options to tourists wanting to stay overnight. Several bed and breakfast facilities are based in restored historic homes including: the B Street House Bed and Breakfast, previously the
Henry Piper House, which is listed on the National Register; Edith Palmer's Country Inn and Core Restaurant in the restored 1860s Cider factory; and the 1876 Cobb Mansion.
Arts and culture
Virginia City is home to many interpretive museums and sites, including the Silver Terrace Cemetery, the Fourth Ward School Museum, the Pioneer Cemetery, the Fireman's Museum, the Way It Was Museum, Piper's Opera House, the Police Officer's Museum, St. Mary's Art Center, and numerous exhibits in businesses throughout town. Virginia City also hosts many unique and authentic event celebrations including cook-offs, parades, and Civil War re-enactments.
Virginia City Hillclimb
There is an annual
hillclimb that runs from
Silver City to Virginia City via
Highway 341 (a truck route) that is put on jointly between the
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
Club of America Pacific Region and the Northern California
Shelby Club. As of 2013, the event is officially open to performance vehicles of all makes. The event was put on first by ''
Road & Track
''Road & Track'' (stylized as ''R&T'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. It is owned by Hearst Magazines and is published 6 times per year. The editorial offices are located in New York, New York.
History
''Road & Track'' (often ab ...
'' and the
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
Club, the following year the
SCCA
The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...
took the same route, and later it was picked up by the Ferrari Owners Club.
Highway 342 is now the return route for cars that have completed their runs up Highway 341. The hillclimb covers , climbing and passing through 21 corners.
Museums and other points of interest
![A350, Virginia City, Nevada, USA, Brass Rail Saloon, upper facade, 2011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/A350%2C_Virginia_City%2C_Nevada%2C_USA%2C_Brass_Rail_Saloon%2C_upper_facade%2C_2011.JPG)
Virginia City retains an authentic historic character with board sidewalks, and numerous restored buildings dating to the 1860s and 1870s. Virginia City is home to many charming and informative museums. The Fourth Ward School Museum brings Comstock history to life in interactive displays, and a restored 1876 classroom. The four-story wooden school is the last one of this type left in the United States.
Among the attractions on C Street are the Bucket of Blood Saloon, the Delta Saloon with the Old Globe and Suicide table, the Silver Queen, the Brass Rail Saloon, and the
Red Dog Saloon
The Red Dog Saloon is a drinking establishment at 278 South Franklin Street in Juneau, Alaska, U.S. The Red Dog has been recognized by the Alaska Legislature for its longevity as the oldest man-made tourist attraction in Juneau.
History
Founde ...
, originally the 1875 Comstock House, located at 76 North C Street. The Red Dog Saloon gave many
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
rock musicians their start during the summer of 1965.
Piper's Opera House
Piper's Opera House is a historic performing arts venue in Virginia City, Storey County, Nevada in the United States. Piper's served as a training facility in 1897 for heavyweight boxing champion Gentleman Jim Corbett, in preparation for his tit ...
occupies the corner of B and Union Streets and is open as a museum when not a host to shows and musical venues of many types. Piper's Corner Saloon was one of the longest continuously operating saloons of the nineteenth century.
![A488, Virginia City, Nevada, USA, Saint Mary's and Saint Paul's, 2016](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/A488%2C_Virginia_City%2C_Nevada%2C_USA%2C_Saint_Mary%27s_and_Saint_Paul%27s%2C_2016.jpg)
Points of interest include the Comstock Historic Walking Trail, where hikers can view the Pioneer Cemetery, site of Julia Bulette's grave, the Combination Mine Shaft, and Sugarloaf Mountain. Other attractions include the Silver State Police Officers' Museum in the Storey County Courthouse, complete with jail cells from the 1870s; The Way It Was museum on Sutton and C Streets, the Fireman's Museum with authentic Victorian firefighting equipment on display, the Chollar Mine tour, Ponderosa Mine Tour, Silver Terrace Cemetery, Presbyterian Church dating to 1862, St. Mary's of the Mountain Catholic Church (c. 1876), St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and St. Mary's Art Center, offering lessons and retreats. The restored Virginia and Truckee Railroad horse-drawn carriage tours, trolley tours, walking tours, Storey County Courthouse, Miner's Union Hall, Knights of Pythias Building, numerous historic shops and homes, the Old Washoe Club, and Miner's Park are other attractions.
Virginia City was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
district in 1961, and has been carefully preserved to retain its historic character.
Also in Virginia City is the Silver Queen Hotel and Wedding Chapel, which is famous for its picture of a woman whose dress is made entirely of
silver dollars. The hotel was built in 1876 and includes a
saloon.
The historic 1864 Union Brewery and saloon on 28 North C Street, frequented by Mark Twain, has been restored and reopened.
Education
Virginia City has one elementary school (Hugh Gallagher Elementary School), one middle school (Virginia City Middle School), and one high school (Virginia City High School).
Infrastructure
Railway
![Virginia City street view](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Virginia_City_street_view.JPG)
The
Virginia and Truckee Railroad
The Virginia and Truckee Railroad is a privately owned heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is long. When first constructed in the 19th century, it was a commercial freight railroad ...
's northern terminus is located at Virginia City. A project was started in 1972 to begin rebuilding one of the nation's "crookedest railroads". The portion of line that has been rebuilt so far stretches south to
Carson City
Carson City is an Independent city (United States), independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the List of cities in Nevada, sixth largest ...
and through
Gold Hill Gold Hill may refer to:
Canada
* Gold Hill, British Columbia
United Kingdom
* Gold Hill, Shaftesbury, Dorset, a steep street used in Hovis commercial
United States
;Alabama
* Gold Hill, Alabama
;California
* Gold Hill, El Dorado County, C ...
. The project ran the first steam engine from Carson City on September 5, 2009, and continues to provide tourist excursions between Carson City and Virginia City on weekends. Other trains are pulled by historic locomotives on weekdays between Virginia City and Gold Hill on 35-minute round trips.
Notable people
![Publicité Marie Suize](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Publicit%C3%A9_Marie_Suize.jpg)
*
Fred B. Balzar
Frederick Bennett Balzar (June 15, 1880 – March 21, 1934) was an American politician and lawyer. He was the 15th Governor of Nevada. He was a member of the Republican Party.
Biography
Balzar was born in Virginia City, Nevada. His attended sc ...
,
15th Governor of Nevada from 1927 to 1934; born in Virginia City
*
Lucius Beebe
Lucius Morris Beebe (December 9, 1902 – February 4, 1966) was an American writer, gourmand, photographer, railroad historian, journalist, and syndicated columnist.
Early life and education
Beebe was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, to a prom ...
, author, gourmand, photographer, railroad historian, journalist, and syndicated columnist
*
Julia Bulette, English-born prostitute and proprietor of most renowned brothel
*
Charles Clegg, author, photographer, and railroad historian
*
Dan DeQuille
William Wright (1829–1898), better known by the pen name Dan DeQuille or Dan De Quille, was an American author, journalist, and humorist. He was best known for his written accounts of the people, events, and silver mining operations on the Com ...
, author, journalist, and humorist; wrote ''History of the Big Bonanza'' (1876) about the Comstock Lode
*
James Graham Fair
James Graham Fair (December 3, 1831December 28, 1894) was an Irish immigrant to the United States who became a highly successful mining engineer and businessman. His investments in silver mines in Nevada made him a millionaire, and he was one o ...
, mine owner, partner to John Mackay
*
George Hearst
George Hearst (September 3, 1820 – February 28, 1891) was an American businessman, miner, and politician. After growing up on a small farm in Missouri, he founded many mining operations, and is known for developing and expanding the Hom ...
, an early Superintendent of the Gould and Curry in 1860. Hearst made his first fortune at the Ophir mine on the Comstock Lode.
*
Harold A. Henry, Los Angeles City Council president; born in Virginia City
*
John Brayshaw Kaye
John Brayshaw Kaye (June 10, 1841 – March 29, 1909) was an English-born American poet, lawyer and politician.
Life and works
John Brayshaw Kaye was born in Yorkshire, England, June 10, 1841, the fifth child and the fourth son of Abram and M ...
, poet and politician; worked in the town in the 19th century
*
Richard Kirman Sr.,
17th Governor of Nevada from 1935 to 1939; born in Virginia City
*
Ezra F. Kysor, architect in Virginia City from 1865 to 1868
*
John William Mackay
John William Mackay (November 28, 1831 – July 20, 1902) was an Irish-American industrialist. Mackay was one of the four Bonanza Kings, a partnership which capitalised on the wealth generated by the silver mines at the Comstock Lode. He al ...
, richest mining millionaire from the Comstock Lode
*
Albert A. Michelson
Albert Abraham Michelson FFRS HFRSE (surname pronunciation anglicized as "Michael-son", December 19, 1852 – May 9, 1931) was a German-born American physicist of Polish/Jewish origin, known for his work on measuring the speed of light and esp ...
, the first American to receive the Nobel Prize in Physics (1907); grew up in Virginia City where his father was a merchant
*
Ferdinand Schulze, Prussian immigrant who became a member of the
Wisconsin State Assembly
The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin.
Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...
*
W. H. C. Stephenson, early African American figure; founded Baptist church and advocated black suffrage
*
W. Frank Stewart, silver mine operator and
Nevada state senator from 1876 to 1880
* , Frenchwoman who operated a shop selling wines and liquors; arrested in San Francisco in 1871 for being dressed in male clothing
*
Adolph Sutro
Adolph Heinrich Joseph Sutro (April 29, 1830 – August 8, 1898) was a German-American engineer, politician and philanthropist who served as the 24th mayor of San Francisco from 1895 until 1897. Born a German Jew, he moved to Virginia Cit ...
, industrialist, San Francisco mayor
* "Professor"
Jerry Thomas, legendary bartender, spent about a year (1864) either at the "famous" Delta Saloon or the Spalding Saloon on C Street (or both)
*
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
, iconic author, journalist, and humorist; worked for the local newspaper; his novel ''
Roughing It
''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, as a prequel to his first travel book ''The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twa ...
'' is set in and around Virginia City
In popular culture
* Author
Louis L'Amour
Louis Dearborn L'Amour (; né LaMoore; March 22, 1908 – June 10, 1988) was an American novelist and short story writer. His books consisted primarily of Western novels (though he called his work "frontier stories"); however, he also wrote hi ...
's novel ''Comstock Lode'' is set in Virginia City during the silver rush.
* Virginia City is near the site of the fictitious
Ponderosa Ranch
The Ponderosa Ranch was a theme park based on the television western '' Bonanza'', which housed the land, timber and livestock-rich Cartwright family. The amusement park operated in Incline Village, Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, from 1968 until 2004. P ...
on the Western
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on U ...
''. As such, the show's characters made visits to the town regularly. The Virginia City depicted on ''Bonanza'' was located at
RKO Forty Acres
RKO Forty Acres was a film studio backlot in the United States, owned by RKO Pictures (and later Desilu Productions), located in Culver City, California. Best known as Forty Acres and "the back forty," it was also called "Desilu Culver," the "RKO ...
in Hollywood.
* It was the locale of the 1940 film ''
Virginia City
Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno– Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Virginia City developed as a boom ...
'', set during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, and starring
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...
.
* The city appears in the 1944 film ''
The Adventures of Mark Twain''.
* The city during its mining boom was the setting for most of the 1946
James M. Cain novel ''Past All Dishonor''.
* ''Virginia City und die wahre Geschichte des Wilden Westens'' ("Virginia City and the True History of the Wild West"), directed by Elmar Bartlmae, is a 2007 German documentary film.
* "
Darcy Farrow", a folk song written by
Steve Gillette
Since their marriage in 1989, Steve Gillette (born 1942) and Cindy Mangsen have been traveling, performing and recording together.
Their album ''Live In Concert'', recorded at The Ark in Ann Arbor in 1991, is available from their own company, Co ...
and Tom Campbell, mentions Virginia City and other places and landmarks in the area (including
Yerington
Yerington is a city in Lyon County, Nevada, United States. The population was 3,048 at the 2010 census. It is the current county seat of Lyon County, with the first county seat having been established at Dayton on November 29, 1861. It is nam ...
, the Carson Valley, and the
Truckee River
The Truckee River is a river in the U.S. states of California and Nevada. The river flows northeasterly and is long.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 20, 2012 Th ...
). The most popular version was performed by
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...
.
* A significant portion of
Julie Smith's 1987 novel ''Huckleberry Fiend'', concerning the discovery of a lost section of the manuscript for
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
's ''
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' or as it is known in more recent editions, ''The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'', is a novel by American author Mark Twain, which was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United S ...
'', takes place in Virginia City. The actual missing
holograph
An autograph or holograph is a manuscript or document written in its author's or composer's hand. The meaning of autograph as a document penned entirely by the author of its content, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by a copyist o ...
was located only four years after publication.
* The 1973
Lucky Luke
''Lucky Luke'' is a Western ''bande dessinée'' series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborating with French writer René Goscinny. Their par ...
adventure
L'Héritage de Rantanplan
A list of comics albums featuring the character Lucky Luke, written and drawn by Morris.
''La Mine d'or de Dick Digger''
''La Mine d'or de Dick Digger'', written and drawn by Morris, is an album containing two stories from serial publica ...
, created by
Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manitob ...
and
Goscinny, is mainly set in Virginia City.
References
Sources
*
*
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*
*
*
*
*
*
Archivedat
The Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
*
Archivedat
The Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Virginia City Tourism CommissionThree Historic Nevada Cities: Carson City, Reno, Virginia City, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary*
*
*
{{authority control
County seats in Nevada
Census-designated places in Storey County, Nevada
Mining communities in Nevada
Reno, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area
History of Storey County, Nevada
1850s in Nevada
Populated places established in 1859
1859 establishments in Utah Territory
Boot Hill cemeteries