Vya is a small
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...
located in
Washoe County, in northwestern
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
It is about east of the
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
state line, north of Forty Nine Canyon. Not much remains of the small town, which essentially died in the 1920s. Just two wooden buildings can still be seen—the Vya Post Office and Library. The Vya Post Office was in operation from September 1910 until October 1941. The settlement was named for Vya Wimer, the first European heritage baby born in the valley.
The vicinity of Vya has since evolved into the Old Yella Dog Ranch, a working
guest ranch
A guest ranch, also known as a dude ranch, is a type of ranch oriented towards visitors or tourism. It is considered a form of agritourism.
History
Guest ranches arose in response to the romanticization of the American West that began to occur ...
, with facilities for RVs and camping.
In the winter of 1993, a young man named Jim Stolpa, his wife, and baby, became snowbound while driving through northern Nevada. After an almost 30-hour, walk, Stolpa was found near Vya.
The Stolpas' ordeal was made into a movie, ''
Snowbound: The Jim and Jennifer Stolpa Story.'' Vya remains a ghost town to this day.
See also
*
List of ghost towns in Nevada
Most ghost towns in Nevada in the United States of America are former mining boomtowns that were abandoned when the mines closed. Those that weren't set up as mining camps were usually established as locations for mills, or supply points for n ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Ghost towns in Washoe County, Nevada