View of Virginia City, Nevada, from a nearby hillside, 1867-68

Virginia City is an unincorporated community in and the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States.

Geography

Virginia City is located at 39°18′37″N, 119°38′57″W^[1].

History

View of Virginia City from Boot hill

Virginia City is one of the oldest established cities in Nevada. Like many cities and towns in the state, Virginia City was a mining boomtown; in fact it is one of the most famous boomtowns in the Old West as it virtually appeared overnight as a result of the Comstock Lode silver strike of 1859. During its peak, Virginia City had a population of nearly 30,000 residents. When the Comstock Lode ended in 1898, the city's population declined sharply.

Virginia City could be considered the birthplace of Mark Twain, as it was here in 1863 that writer Samuel Clemens, then a reporter on the local Territorial Enterprise newspaper, first used his famous pen name.^{[citation needed]}

Historical data in The Virginia City Historical documents, point out that newspaper writer Samuel Clemens, was "mugged" one night as he walked over the hill from the south while returning to Virginia City (probably after consuming alcoholic beverages at the home of friends.) The evidence shown points out that this was one of the reasons that persuaded him to relocate elsewhere. The highwaymen with the common "Stand and deliver!" relieved Mr. Clemens of his watch and money he had with him. This evidence is found in the newspaper office and the veracity of the robbery is likely valid as it is reported as a crime in the (period)newspaper. As a motivation for his leaving, it is just speculation since the date of the robbery is prior but close to his leaving and beginning his writing career in earnest at a more developed city.

Virginia City had the first elevator between California and Chicago.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1950s, two Virginia City neighbors got into a dispute.^[2] When one of the men built a new house, the other bought the lot next to it and built a house less than twelve inches from his neighbor's house in spite to deprived the neighbor of both view and breeze.^[2] The Virginia City Spite House still is standing and occupied.^[2]

Film history

Many tons of rich gold and silver ore such as the example shown here, built and supported Virginia City

Virginia City is near^{[citation needed]} the Ponderosa Ranch on the Western television drama Bonanza. As such, the show's characters made visits to the town regularly -- or at least to the flat Hollywood backlot town.

It was the setting of a 1940 Errol Flynn movie set during the Civil War.

Elmar Bartlmae (Dir.): Virginia City und die wahre Geschichte des Wilden Westens. Dokumentation, France 2007, Arte-TV, May 26th, 2007 (the real history...; French, German)

Virginia City Historic District

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.^[3][5]

Today, Virginia City is but a shadow of its former glory, however, it still draws over 2 million visitors per year. It is one of the nation's larger^{[citation needed]} National Historic Landmarks and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Keeping with tradition, Virginia City does not have any chain stores or fast food restaurants.^{[citation needed]}

Visiting Virginia City

Church St. Mary in the Mountains

A walk down mainstreet will show you much of what Virginia City has to offer. Along with shopping and site seeing you can take a carriage ride through town, visit the cemetery, or see an old-fashioned gun show. Virginia City is a safe community and, as long as they have a leash, is dog friendly. Unusually for a town in the United States, outdoor consumption of alcohol is tolerated.

Virginia City Locals

Virginia city consists of a population of 1,000 people in the town and 4,000 in Storey County. It has 1 elementary school, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. Many locals work at the shops in town that cater to tourists, while others seek jobs in the surrounding cities. Popular hangouts for teens include the swimming pool and restaurants. Basketball is very popular, with the high school possessing the most state championship titles in Nevada. The middle school is passing on the tradition by winning four league titles in two years between the varsity and junior varsity teams.

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 Club of America Pacific Region and the Northern California Shelby Club. Originally the event was put on by the SCCA and took a totally different route; before the truck route was constructed cars would run up Highway 342, past the Gold Hill Hotel and other landmarks. Highway 342 is now the return route for cars that have completed their runs up Highway 341. The hillclimb covers 5.2 miles, climbing 1260 feet and passing through 21 corners.

Darcy Farrow

Darcy Farrow, a folk song written by Steve Gillette and Tom Campbell mentions Virginia City and other places and landmarks in the area (including Yerington, the Carson Valley, and the Truckee River). The most popular version was performed by John Denver.

References

External links

• Virginia City, Nevada and the Comstock Lode website
• Virginia City, Nevada official site
• Virginia City Photos and Information at Western Mining History
• Three Historic Nevada Cities: Carson City, Reno, Virginia City, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

v â€¢ d â€¢ e Municipalities and communities of Storey County, Nevada County seat: Virginia City Unincorporated communities Gold Hill | Virginia City

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