Virginia City

Virginia City

Virginia City Nevada is a happening old town that slowed but never really stopped. Today Virginia City is the County Seat of Storey County. Located just south east of Reno, this historic mining town is easily accessible by car from Lake Tahoe, Reno, or Carson City.  Some say Virginia City's rich gold and silver mines financed the Civil War. Rich in history, Virginia City and the Comstock Lode still maintains the flavor of the old mining days, when Mark Twain roamed the streets and everybody wanted a piece of the Richest Place on Earth.

"C" Street

Like many cities and towns in Nevada, Virginia City was a Mining Boomtown; it appeared virtually overnight as a result of the Comstock Lode strike of 1859. At its peak, Virginia City had a population of over 30,000 residents and was called the richest city in America. During the 20 years following the Comstock success "about $400 million was taken out of the ground." Most of the miners who came to the city were Cornish or Irish.

The Castle 1876

Folklore indicates that the town got its name from a man named James Finney who was nicknamed Old Virginy. Finney was credited with discovering the Comstock Lode. Or not. His real name was James Fennimore, and he had fled his home state of Virginia after killing a man there. 

Another house on Millionaire's Row

Historically, gold was found at the head of Six-Mile Canyon in 1859 by two miners named Pat McLaughlin and Peter O'Reilly. A fellow miner, Henry Comstock, stumbled upon their find and claimed it was on his property. So it wound up being called the Comstock Load. Between 1859 and 1875, Virginia City experienced five serious fires. The 1875 fire, dubbed the Great Fire of 1875, caused $12 million in damage.

Storey County Court House

At the peak of its glory, Virginia City was a boisterous town with something going on 24 hours a day both above &below ground for its nearly 30,000 residents. There were visiting celebrities, Shakespeare plays, opium dens, newspapers, competing fire companies, at least five police precincts & a thriving red-light district.The International Hotel was six stories high and boasted the West's first elevator, called a "rising room. 

Mackay Nansion

When the Comstock Lode ran out in 1898, the city's population declined sharply. Without the scores of grand buildings that had been constructed during the boom times, Virginia City might have disappeared without a trace, as many other Nevada mining towns already had. Instead, the town lingered on, gradually losing population and buildings over time.

Typical Virginia City Neighborhood

Now, many locals work at the shops in town that cater to tourists, while others seek jobs in the surrounding cities. Virginia City draws over 2 million visitors per year and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Today, the population of Virginia City is about 855 people in the town. 4,000 live in Storey County. 

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