Virginia City Visitors Guide
Content
VISITORS GUIDE
A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF
2014 E DI TI ON
MARSHALL
96 North C Street, Virginia City, Nevada 89440
MINT
Town
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775-847-0777 ~ www.marshallmint.com
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VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Basics of Virginia City
Virginia City Mobile App
Major Annual Events
Old West History
Virginia City Map
Visiting Historic Sites
Visitor Tour Options
Virginia City Parades
Unique Shopping Style
The Wine-Rut Cure
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A special publication of the Sierra Nevada Media Group
Publisher – Mark Raymond
Section Editor – John Seelmeyer
Advertising Sales – Brad Bancroft, Tonya Champa
Art Direction/Layout – Rob Fair
FREEBOTTLE
GET A
GLASS SOUVENIR
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On-Site Coffee Roastery
Espresso and Specialty Coffee Drinks
Old Fashioned Soda Bar
Hot Waffles & Sandwiches
Gluten-Free Menu
Coffee Merchandise
Books about The Comstock
55 N. C Street
P.O. Box 46
Virginia City, NV 89440
775-771-2606
*Must present this ad. Valid only with a purchase of $50 or more. Limit one per person.
TheRoastingHouse.com
THE LAST ONE STANDING
OF ITS KIND
IN THE UNITED STATES
Follow students’ footsteps through
the original 1876 four-storied, school
building built for 1000 students in the
finest Victorian style.
Sit in the same wooden desks as they
did from 1876 to 1936.
Explore the Cornstock story, Mark
Twain’s life, letter press printing,
alumni’s lives, early Nevada education,
Cornstock mining, abandoned mine issues, modern mining, and new exhibits
in the other classrooms.
Ask the museum store if you can pull
on the rope to hear the 1876 school bell.
VISIT THE HISTORIC FOURTH WARD SCHOOL
MUSEUM AND GIFT SHOP
2 for 1 admission when you show us this ad.
On your next visit take “ Time Out for Tea”
Authentic Afternoon High Tea
• Birthdays
• Meetings
• Special Occasions
72 Hour Reser vation Required
May 1st - October 31st • Dail y 10am-5pm
537 S outh “C ” S treet P.O. Box 4 • V irginia Cit y, NV 80440
www.four thwardschool.org • (775) 847-0975
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
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The TNT Stageline provides a thrilling ride for Virginia City visitors. Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
THE BASICS
MAJOR ANNUAL EVENTS
March:
Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry
& St. Patrick’s Day Parade,
Leprechaun Bar Crawl
April:
Virginia City Wine Tour Series
May:
Chili on the Comstock, Memorial Day
Weekend Celebration of Heroes Parade
June:
Comstock Muckfest & Heritage Wine
Tour, Street Vibrations Spring Rally
July:
Virginia City 4th of July Parade
& Fireworks Spectacular,
Rock the Comstock
August:
Hot August Nights VC Run
Virginia City brings its rich Comstock heritage to life
for visitors traveling with smartphone’s. The mobile app
provides visitors with information on this historic town’s
saloons and restaurants, its quirky special events, lodging,
a historical audio tour and the ability to check-in on social
networking sites.
September: Comstock Civil War Days & Labor
Day Parade, Virginia City International
Camel & Ostrich Races, Camel Hump
on C Street, Victorian Steampunk Ball
& Parade, Taste of the Comstock,
Street Vibrations Fall Rally
With tourism and special events being the primary
focus, the Virginia City mobile app features include:
October:
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Attractions
Adventure Pass ticket details
Special event ticket purchases
Audio tour of 32 historical attractions
Webcam of C Street
Area map and weather
Facebook check-in and access to Twitter,
YouTube and Instagram
Virginia City World Championship
Outhouse Races, Redrun II,
Nevada 150 Masquerade Ball
November: Virginia City Veteran’s Day Parade
December: Christmas on the Comstock & Parade of
Lights, Wild West New Year’s Eve Party
Ongoing:
May - October: Friday Free Museum
Day the first Friday of the month and
the Virginia City Wine Tour Series the
first Saturday of the month
SICS ABOUT
LOCATION
At 6,200 feet on Mount Davidson, historic
Virginia City is 25 miles from Reno and 45 miles
from Lake Tahoe. Like many cities in Nevada,
Virginia City was a mining “boomtown” with more
than $400 million in gold and silver mined. In
today’s prices, that’s more than $20 billion.
COMSTOCK ADVENTURE PASS
Available year round, just one admission price
provides access to numerous attractions. Comstock
Adventure Passes provide the opportunity to visit
museums, mine tours, historic buildings, a thrilling
stagecoach ride, the famous Virginia & Truckee train
ride, and more at discounted prices.
Visitors can choose from four Comstock
Adventure Passes. Or they can build their own
package and choose from 16 exciting attractions.
Comstock Adventure Passes and discounted
individual attraction tickets may be purchased at
the Visitor Center, 86 South C St. It’s open from
9-5 Monday through Saturday and from 10-4 on
Sunday.
For more information, call 775-847-7500 or
800-718-7587.
LODGING
Spend the night in modern lodging or one of
several quaint bed and breakfast inns. Virginia City
and Gold Hill, the area known as the Comstock, has
more than 200 rooms.
Clean and comfortable with a Victorian flavor,
hotels offer modern and historic Comstock flair.
Properties include Virginia City Motel, Tahoe House
Hotel, Gold Hill Hotel, Silver Queen Hotel, Silverland
Inn and Suites, Sugarloaf Mountain Motel & Market
and Comstock Lodge.
Bed and Breakfasts include: The “B” Street
House Inn, originally built in 1875, underwent an
award-winning restoration in 2007 and is now a
three-bedroom guest inn. Edith Palmer’s Country
Inn was established in a Victorian home built in
1863. Originally, the rock building to the rear of
Edith Palmer’s was used as a cider factory. After
the Great Fire of 1875 burned down most of Virginia
City, Herman J. Harris bought the lots on where the
Cobb Mansion is located, and built a home that now
serves as the property.
SALOONS
No other type of business dominates the
landscape of this historic mining town like Virginia
City’s saloons and restaurants. Many date back to
the Comstock period including maintaining the 19th
century look and antiques. 13 bars and 21 eateries
are located primarily on C Street.
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
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LIVES OLD WEST HISTORY
There’s a lot of history going on in Virginia City.
You can spend a lifetime studying all its nuances. Or
get a quick overview of the historic town via one of
three tour groups.
Virginia City Tours offers a 20-minute narrated
tour of Virginia City, perfect for an easy-on-the
budget, quick view of the interesting sites in
Virginia City. The town’s only year-round tour
company offers either a closed trolley or an openair tram pulled by a tractor, depending on weather
conditions.
“I’m in awe of how much history I give (the tour
passengers) in such a short time,” said Jack Bellesi,
who’s been giving tours of Virginia City for six
years. Among the perks: “I get to meet people from
all over the world,” he said.
Those interested in a more intimate tour of
Virginia City can find it on the horse-drawn carriage
tours offered by Happy Hoofers. The tours are
perfect for smaller groups of family and friends.
Happy Hoofers operates May through October
and reservations are required with a choice of a
30-minute or one-hour tour.
For a fast, heart-in-your-throat ride, the TNT
Stagelines offers a high-speed ride in a full-sized
Concord stagecoach — the type of ride Old West
travelers might receive while being chased by
bandits. The tour makes up in excitement what it
lacks in history narration.
M
TNT operates spring through fall. Rides fill up
fast, so early booking is recommended.
While guided tours are a great way to see the
sites of Virginia City, walking tours allow you to
choose your own pace and to see inside the sites.
The only walking tour is the new mobile app audio
tour; there is no brochure.
The mission of the tours, visitors information,
and museums is to leave guests with a taste of
the history of Virginia City, the largest federally
designated Historic District in the United States.
In 1859, Mount Davidson was just a desolate
mountain until miners Pat McLaughlin and Peter
O’Reilly discovered gold at the head of Six-Mile
Canyon. The Comstock Lode was named after
Henry Comstock, who falsely claimed the property
was his.
Soon miners flocked to the mountain, and
Virginia City was born.
Early miners were hampered by sticky blue-gray
mud. Someone took it to an assayer, who found it
was silver ore worth more than $2,000 a ton. The
frustrating mud became a new bonanza strike,
increasing the influx to the region.
Through Virginia City’s hay-day, miners
bored an estimated 800 miles of tunnels into the
mountain producing about $700 million in gold
and silver — an amount that would equal billions of
dollars in today’s economy.
President Abraham Lincoln quickly made
Nevada a state, giving the North access to the
wealth and helping win the Civil War.
In the West, Virginia City gold and silver fueled
the building of San Francisco.
Timber used to shore up Virginia City mines
came from the forests of Lake Tahoe, where the
timber industry swelled the population around the
lake.
To handle the riches, the Carson Mint was
constructed in Carson City, striking the first coin in
1870 and fueling the commerce in the West.
To carry the gold and silver out of Virginia
City and timbers and supplies to the boomtown,
the Virginia & Truckee Railroad was laid. The V&T,
which made its first run in 1870, connected to the
transcontinental railroad line that ran through Reno,
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The Mackay Mansion was built in 1860
as the headquarters of a mining company.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
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thus connecting the reach of the Comstock to the
world.
In 1886, 200 millionaires lived in Virginia City.
Many went on to powerful positions in West.
Two of them were George Hearst and John
Mackay, whose stories are told on the narrated
tours along with their connection to the Virginia
City landmark, the Mackay Mansion.
In 1874, Hearst was superintendent of Virginia
City’s Gould & Curry Mining Company and lived in
its office building, which was later purchased by
Silver King John Mackay.
Hearst earned a fortune in mining in several
western mines and later purchased the San
Francisco Examiner. His son, William Randolph
Hearst used that start to create a publishing
empire and eventually to build Hearst Castle on the
California coast.
Mackay came to Virginia City to work in the
mines. By 1864, he owned one. His silver helped lay
the first transatlantic cable and establish the School
of Mines at the University of Nevada, Reno, which is
named after him.
At its peak, Virginia City was the major town
between Denver and San Francisco. It had 110
saloons, 35 hotels, 22 restaurants, 17 breweries and
six churches.
Another landmark, Piper’s Opera House, drew
entertainers and luminaries such as President
Grant, Buffalo Bill, and Al Jolson. San Clemens,
better known as Mark Twain, found his writing voice
working for Virginia City’s Territorial Enterprise, the
first newspaper in Nevada. Clemens left town after a
fight, but returned to speak at the Opera House.
Through the decades from the late 1800s
through early 1900s, Virginia City went through a
series of booms and busts, construction and fires,
which continually changed the face of the town.
As gold and silver deposits became more
difficult to mine, and the price of precious minerals
dropped, Virginia City declined and its historic
building began to crumble. Instead of fading into
a ghost town, the popularity of the TV western
“Bonanza” changed its fortune.
Virginia City’s new boom became tourism,
beginning with the search for the town where the
Cartwrights did business.
When visitors come to Virginia City looking for
the flat streets and short distances portrayed by
Hollywood, the can be dismayed by the differences,
said Bellesi from Virginia City Tours.
When Hoss and Little Joe get on their horses in
the morning at the Bonanza Ranch at Lake Tahoe
to go to Virginia City, in television version, they can
get back home by dinner.
In reality “the horses would have had to be jet
propelled,” he said.
Visitors may not find much of the Virginia City
of Bonanza, but what they can find is much richer.
OUT WEST cuisine
Traditional Enchiladas • Steak or Mahi Tacos
BBQ Chicken Quesadillas • Vegetarian Options
Creative Salads • Great Burgers
Homemade Desserts • Beer, Wine & Spirits
Wednesday–Saturday 11:30-8
Sunday 10–7
Sunday Brunch 10–2
394 South C Street • Virginia City
775.847.5151 • cafedelriovc.com
Great Pizza,
Salads,
Sandwiches
& More!
live
jazz
SUNDAYS
AT 5PM
Reserve Space for your Group Function
Rock the
Comstock
July 18-20
76 N. C Street
Virginia City, NV
2 FREE
Sodas
with purchase of a
large pizza
775.847.7474
reddogvc.com
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
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775-847-0332
1 “C” Street
Virginia
city
www.bucketofbloodsaloon.com
Home of David John and
the Comstock Cowboys
Say Cheese!
Present this ad & recieve
a free mat with minimum purchase
Priscilla Pennyworth’s
Old Time Photos
56 N. “C” St. • Virginia City
775.847.0333
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
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St. Mary in the Mountains Church is a cornerstone of Virginia City.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
VISITING HISTORIC SITES
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Walking or riding, these are some of the major historic sites
in Virginia City:
At the Comstock History Center see one of the Virginia &
Truckee Railroad’s original steam locomotives, No. 18 Dayton.
For those looking for more detailed history of the Comstock, the
center also houses the Comstock Historical District Commission
and the Comstock Cemetery Foundation.
The center is located at the corner of E and Union streets.
Call 775-847-0419.
Open year round from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays.
Fourth Ward School Cultural Center is the site of the historic
Fourth Ward School.
Constructed in 1876 in Second Empire style, the four-storied
wooden school was built to accommodate more than 1,000
students. Its 16 classrooms retain original patina, desks, maps and
books.
The state-of-the-art school was the first building west of the
Mississippi River to have drinking fountains on every floor plus
central heat.
The Fourth Ward School Cultural Center, located at 537 S. C
Street, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily from May-October. For more
information, go to www.fourthwardschool.org
The Comstock Firemen’s Museum/NV State Firemen’s
Museum displays 19th-century firefighting equipment with
artifacts relating to the history of fire fighting on both the
Comstock and throughout Nevada.
Liberty Engine Company No. 1 is still an operating volunteer
firefighting unit.
Located at 117 S. C St., the museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
daily from Memorial Day-Labor Day. For more information, call
775-847-0717 or go to comstockfiremuseum.com
The Mackay Mansion was built in 1860 by George Hearst as
the headquarters of the Gould & Curry Mining Company Office
and later purchased by silver king John Mackay.
Between 1860 and 1950, bars of gold bullion were sold
directly from the vault. Tour highlights include mining artifacts,
original furnishings and Tiffany silver.
Located at 291 South D St., the mansion is open 10 a.m.-5
p.m. daily during the summer. For winter hours, call the visitor
center at 775-847-7500.
For more information, call 775-847-0373 or go to
mackaymansion.com
Virginia City is the sight of Nevada’s first newspaper, the
Territorial Enterprise, which is also where Sam Clemens discovered
a knack for writing before taking the pen name of Mark Twain.
The Mark Twain Museum at the Territorial Enterprise
displays Mark Twain’s desk, chair, books and most of the original
furnishings and equipment of the pressroom.
Located at 53 South C St., the museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
year round.
For information, call Sandy or John Bouie at 775-847-0525.
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Pipers Opera House was built in the 1880s and is listed by
the League of Historic Theaters. One of the most significant
vintage theaters on the West Coast, this stage once welcomed
President Grant, Buffalo Bill, Al Jolson and Mark Twain, as well as
other famous performers from across the U.S. and Europe and
continues to be open for performances and special events.
Today’s guests at Piper’s Opera House can keep their eye out
for the ghosts who are said to attend many of the performances.
Piper’s Opera House has recently undergone extensive
restoration, so please check the website for upcoming events.
Located at B and Union streets, the opera house is open 11
a.m.-4 p.m. daily during the summer. For information on guided
tours or other details, call 775-847-0433 or toll free 888-422-1956
or go to PipersLiveVC.com.
Built in 1876, the St. Mary’s Art Center was originally
established as the St. Mary Louise Hospital by the Sisters
of Charity and Bishop Patrick Manogue. The 36-room could
accommodate more than 70 patients.
Since 1964, the 14,000-square-foot hospital has been
operating continuously as a creative retreat center for business
meetings, family reunions, artist and writers workshops and more.
The National Historic Landmark is considered the Grand
Dame of Virginia City.
Glimpse into history and the lives of individuals who stayed
at the hospital; wander through galleries and experience original
works of art which are also for sale.
Located at 55 North R St. Open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursdays
through Sundays from May through October; 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Thursdays and Fridays from November through April; or by
appointment. For information on creative center retreats
and events, or paranormal tours, call 775-847-7774 or go to
stmarysartcenter.org.
St. Mary in the Mountains Catholic Church is arguably the
most prominent historical structure and institution in Virginia City.
Nevada’s oldest Catholic Church was built by “Paddy” Manogue,
who ministered to the hard-working Irish-Catholic miners for
almost 20 years and then became the first Bishop of Sacramento,
Calif.
The site offers a free tour of the museum and wine cellar.
Numerous church artifacts and photographs are on display and
St. Mary’s also has an extensive gift shop that supports the small
parish and restoration project.
Located at Taylor and E streets, the church is open 10 a.m.-5
p.m. daily and is open for Mass at 4 p.m. Saturdays and 11:30
a.m. Sundays. For more information, call 775-847-9099 or email
[email protected]
Silver State National Peace Officers Museum is dedicated to
sharing the rich history of law enforcement nationwide. Located
in the Storey County Courthouse 1876 jail, the museum boasts the
Nevada Peace Officers Memorial Room, a children’s interactive
room and an old time law enforcement themed photo studio.
Located at 26 South B St., the museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
daily from May-October. For more information, call
775-847-7800, email infopeaceofficersmuseum.org or visit
www.peacofficersmuseum.org
The Storey County Courthouse, built in 1876 after
being destroyed in the great fire of 1875, is the state’s oldest
continuously operating courthouse. Built in the Italianate style, the
two-story seat of government houses a two-tier jail, courtroom
and large iron-lined record vaults. The exterior facade is brick
with details of ornate iron. The Victorian-era courthouse boasts a
Lady of Justice statue without her blindfold. The story is that the
county chose to not blindfold her to express that here justice was,
and continues to be, not blind.
Located at 26 South B St., hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondayFriday year round except holidays. For more information, go to
www.nps.gov/nr/travel/nevada/sto.htm
The Way It Was Museum displays the most complete
collection of Comstock mining artifacts in the world as well as
rare photos, lithographs and maps of the “Bonanza” period.
Located at 113 North C St., and is open 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
daily, year round except Christmas.
For more information, call 775-847-0766 or go to www.
museumsusa.org/museums/info/13263
The Washoe Club Haunted Museum. The Washoe Club
has been called one of the most haunted locations in the west.
Featured on the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures” as well as
SyFy’s “Ghost Hunters”, the building has earned its place among
the elite haunted locations.
Memberships start at $20 per year and provide access to the
Crypt as well as the infamous Spiral Staircase.
Located at 112 South C St., the museum is open year-round
but hours and tour times vary. Call 775-847-4467. For more
information, go to http://www.thewashoeclub.com/.
With its riches first located in1859, Virginia City’s Chollar
Mine (later the Chollar-Potosi) was one of the leading producers
on the Comstock. Today the mine is open for visitors. A guided
tour lasts a half hour and is a 400-foot, level walk. Visitors see
square-set timbering, silver ore, rock drills, as well as displays of
old equipment.
The mine entrance is located at 615 South F Street. It’s open
1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday-Thursday, Easter through October.
For more information, call 775-847-0155.
Ponderosa Mine Tour begins in the Ponderosa Saloon and
goes through The Best and Belcher Mine. The 25 minute guided
tour shows more than 300 pieces of antique mining equipment,
plus underground mine workings — tunnels, crosscuts, drifts,
stopes, raises, winzes and shafts.
The mine is located at 106 South C St. and is open daily
11 a.m.-5 p.m. in summer and noon-5 p.m. in winter. For more
information, call 775-847-7210
The 1860s Joshua Hendy (built in San Francisco) two-stamp
Gold Mill is still operating at the Comstock Gold Mill. The narrated
tour shows how gold was processed from ore to recovery and
explains the history of mining equipment.
Open daily from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Mondays, May
14-Labor Day. For more information, email [email protected].
Bring the family and pan for gold like the miners once did on
the Comstock at the Virginia City Mining Company.
Located 171 South C St., the company is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday through Monday. For more information, call 775-847-7744
The Silver Terrace and Gold Hill Cemeteries are a series
of terraces dramatically located on a steep, windswept hillside
of Virginia City. As this boomtown became a more permanent
settlement, there was a need for a cemetery. Beginning in the
1860s, a variety of fraternal, civic and religious groups established
burial yards on the hillside.
The inscriptions on the markers give silent testimony to the
social and economic fabric of both Virginia City and Gold Hill.
For more information about these Comstock Cemeteries,
visit comstockcemetery.com.
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
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VISITOR TOUR OPTIONS
The V&T Railroad is among the most popular attractions in Virginia City.
Tours provide
overview,
perspective
These tours help visitors understand
the rich history of Virginia City.
Happy Hoofers,
Historic Virginia City Horse Drawn Carriage Tour
C Street in Front of the Palace Saloon
30 minute or 1 hour tours
noon- 6 p.m., daily, May through October
For special events, call for reservations
Virginia City Trolley
A 2.5-mile, 20-minute narrated tour of Virginia City
on a trolley or tram.
10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., daily, year-round
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VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
TDT Stagelines
Next to the Comstock Gold Mill on F Street at the
railroad crossing. Ride the last full size Concord
stagecoach, that runs full speed like they did in the
1800s.
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except Tuesday,
spring through fall
Book early 775-721-1496 or 775-230-1786
V&T Railroad
Virginia City Depot is located at 166 F St.
775-847-0380
The Carson City Eastgate Depot is located on
Flint Drive, off U.S. Highway 50, six miles east of
downtown Carson City
The scenic railroad offers summertime tours from
Carson City to Virginia City using century old,
ornate, open and closed passenger cars- powered
by hard working steam and heritage diesel
locomotives. The Virginia & Truckee Railroad is the
most famous of all American Short Line railroads.
For train schedules visit VirginaTruckee.com
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LOVES A PARADE
Virginia City could be the parade capital of
America.
And who, after all, doesn’t love a parade?
A dozen times a year, locals and visitors line
the wooden sidewalks of C Street to enjoy an
exciting old-fashioned, western-themed, often
patriotic and sometimes humorous, parade.
Hundreds of entrants participate, including
civic and youth organizations, politicians, VIPs,
bands and dancers. Old West and Civil War reenactors tote guns to match their historic garb,
firing into action at specific spots along the
parade route.
Virginia City features a parade for most major
holidays, plus a few other events.
• The parade calendar starts out with the St.
Patrick’s Day Parade, beginning at noon on the
Saturday before day that celebrates all things
Irish. The parade held in conjunction with the
Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry, also known as the
Testicle Festival, in which cooks compete and
guests taste this ranching delicacy.
• The Easter Bonnet and Pet Parade, usually
the Saturday before Easter Sunday, is an annual
celebration of spring with kids, parents and pets
all decked out in their Easter finery.
• National Police Memorial Parade is sponsored
by Virginia City’s Silver State National Peace
Officers Museum, which is dedicated to sharing
the stories and preserving the history of the men
and women patrolling the streets of America.
• On the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend,
the Celebration Of Heroes Parade honors
America’s veterans, especially those who have
given the ultimate sacrifice.
• The Red White and Blue is also prominent for
the annual Fourth of July Parade, held at noon
on the holiday each year. The day’s celebration
also includes the Comstock Cowboys Second
Amendment Concert, featuring a free concert at
6 p.m. by the popular country western band and
fireworks at sundown.
• The Labor Day Parade, runs at noon on
Labor Day Monday, Sept. 1 for 2014. Labor
Day weekend-long, the Virginia City is home to
Comstock Civil War Days, with encampments,
train robberies and battle re-enactments during
the Labor Day Parade.
While the holiday closes out the summer
season, it’s not the last of Virginia City’s
celebrations.
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Virginia City World Championship Outhouse
Races Parade takes place in early October.
The rolling outhouses, designed to race — and
entertain — during the weekend competitions, are
the featured entrants of the parade. Get an early
look and pick out favorites. The 2014 Outhouse
Races Parade takes place Oct. 5, with races on
both Saturday and Sunday.
• Virginia City’s Veteran’s Day Parade takes
place on the Nov. 11 holiday each year with the
parade beginning at 11 a.m.
• Closing out the parade year in Virginia City
is the Christmas on the Comstock Parade of
Lights. The parade starts at 5 p.m. for maximum
enjoyment of the brightly lighted floats and
vehicles. Generally scheduled for the first
Saturday of December, the 2014 parade will take
place on Dec. 6.
History and good times combine in
many parades each year in Virginia City.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
by Sally Roberts
UNIQUE SHOPPING STYLE
Visiting a memorable location like Virginia City
calls for a memorable shopping trip. As unique as
the community itself, the retail venues along South C
Street feature unusual ways to bring home a memory
of the Comstock.
You can still contribute to a collection of T-shirts,
coffee mugs and refrigerator magnets -- including
many selections with a distinctly Comstock style. But
be sure to browse the dozens of shops to pick up a
one-of-a-kind memento of the Old West.
Several Virginia City venues offer sepia-toned
photographs resembling photos from great-grandma’s
album.
“Dressing up for the photo is part of the fun. You
can be a cowboy, sheriff or Civil War soldier; bar maid,
schoolmarm or Victorian lady. With costumes that
tie in the back, everything fits everyone,” said Becky
Hoffman, manager at Old Time Photos.
“The most popular style is the saloon girl and
cowboy poses,” she said, “and young boys love
handling the prop guns and playing cowboy.”
“Every little boy and girl deserves to dress up,” she
said. “Virginia City is a happy place to be, to step back
into the West.”
Old West costumes and accessories can be
purchased from other shops along Virginia City’s
shopping district, and you can even take home actual
pieces of history.
Colorful glass and silver antique pickle castors are
popular souvenirs at the Delta Gift Shop.
“In the 1800s, it was a sign of wealth if you had
pickle castors instead of digging into a pickle jar,”
Delta’s Jett Aguilar said.
The shop also carries a large variety of items
excavated at Virginia City, including old bottles,
silverware, keys, and railroad spikes, plus estate jewelry
from the 1920s and later.
“If you can think of it, it’s here” Aguilar said.
When it comes to jewelry, nothing says western
like turquoise and Nevada has its own unique western
jewelry made of precious and semi-precious stones.
Varied colors of turquoise mined in Nevada —
from bright green, blue-green, and even white — can
be found in Virginia City jewelry stores and some
carry Nevada opals. Shaws, a jewelry and gifts shop,
provides a map of where the various colored turquoise
is mined.
Virginia City is a happy place for rock collectors,
too, with several rock shops to dazzle both serious
rock collectors and the curious.
At the Comstock Rock Shop and its sister store,
Stone Age, rock enthusiasts can find geodes and
fossils — including shark teeth — and colorful rocks in
every hue. Several shelves feature rocks from Nevada;
other sections offer rocks and fossils from all over the
world.
Some of the most amazing finds in Virginia City’s
shopping district are luxury items that are unique in
the world, attracting customers looking for something
different, but not necessarily Old West styled.
Kashmir American Enterprises features finely
crafted scarves, shawls, clothing, rugs, hand-painted
boxes, swords, jewelry and more; resembling a grand
bazaar in Istanbul.
The products “take lots and lots of work,”
said shop owner Firdous Ahmad, pointing out the
delicate weave and embroidery of a shawl. “They are
considered a piece of jewelry.”
People from around the world seek out the
products he offers. Many heading to Burning Man
make a detour for Kashmir’s selection of hookahs,
costumes and jewelry.
“My customers are looking for something special,”
he said. “They come here and see quality and like to
invest in quality they can’t find it at home.”
Jay Nguyen’s customers at Rainbow Wooden Art
also are looking for unique handcrafted items. They
consider his carved statues, wall art, and metal art
worth a trip to the Comstock.
“I sell a lot of statues and ships,” he said, pointing
to a carved ship that would sell in other cities for
several times more than what’s on the price tag. Doing
business in Virginia City instead of the big city helps
him keep prices low.
“It’s all handmade. I have the biggest collection,
and you can find unique art.”
Whether looking for a special souvenir, a gift, or
just a day of shopping, Virginia City offers a unique
shopping experience.
The streets of Virginia City are lined
with unique shopping opportunities.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
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Palace Restaurant, Pioneer
Emporium, Ponderosa
Saloon, Rainbow Wooden
Art, Red Dog Saloon & Pizza
Parlor, Red’s Old Fashioned
Candies, Southwest
Designs, Virginia Hill
Mercantile, Virginia City Visitors
Center, Washoe Club and Haunted
Museum.
Tickets are available online at VisitVirginiaCityNV.com
or at the Virginia City Visitors Center the day of the event.
The Virginia City Wine Tour Series is made possible
in part by sponsors that include Virginia City’s Mustang
Ranch Steakhouse, the Bucket of Blood Saloon, Camelot
Party Rentals, Edible Reno-Tahoe Magazine, Coors Light
and Reno Media Group.
THE WINE-RUT CURE
Symptoms of a wine rut are: finding yourself ordering
only the house wine because it is cheap; not stepping out
of a wine comfort zone; sticking with the tried and true.
If this sounds like you, a Virginia City Wine Tour is the
cure. Explore the history and shops rooted in Comstock
lore dating back to the late 1800s while sampling “wines
of the West” along the way.
The Virginia City Wine Tour is scheduled the first
Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through
Aug. 2. Advance purchase tickets are available for $15 or
$20 the week of the event. Admission includes access to
18 merchants, a commemorative stemless wine glass and
a map.
Participating merchants include Delta Gift Shop, Café
Del Rio, Comstock Creamery & Firehouse BBQ, Comstock
Corner Café, Core at Cider Factory, Marshall Mint, Mustang
Ranch Steakhouse & Hunters Lounge, Old Red Garter,
The many saloons in Virginia City reflect
its rip-roaring history as a mining town.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
Stay and Play
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
at the Silverland Inn &Suites in Virginia City
Homemade Pies
Homemade Biscuits & Gravy
The Silverland Inn & Suites is the most modern 65 room Victorian-style hotel on the
Comstock with 9 suites with jacuzzis and banquet facilities and meeting rooms
Soups • Fresh Salads
Steaks • Chicken • Fish
Indoor Pool & Jacuzzi • Fitness Center • Business Center • Free Parking
Gift Shop • Free WiFi • Guest Laundry Facilities • Snack & Beverage Machines
Meetings • Conventions • Weddings • Special Events
Non-smoking
Pet-Friendly
Rooms
ATM
Machine
okin
ok
ingg • 9 Pe
in
Pett-t-Fr
Frie
Fr
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ie
ndly
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ly R
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Home of the famous
Mucker Melt
109 S. C Street
& The Duke Burger
775-847-7300
Wine • Beer • Espresso
Open at 7am Daily
Smoothies • Milkshakes
RJ-0000478690
Corner of C & Taylor
100 North E Street, Virginia City, NV 89440 • For Reservations: (775) 847-4484
www.silverlandusa.com
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
15
Wild Horse
Central.
Help Save
The Virginia
Range!
See the
Silver Queen
with 3,261
real
silver
dollars
Come by and
try our Fresh
Homemade
Baked
Goods!
Zac with Ghost
Adventures had
his first
paranormal
experience here
in 2004.
Ghost Hunter’s Delight!
Silver Queen
Hotel &Wedding
Chapel
28 N C Street,Virginia City,NV 89440
(775) 847-0440 •www.silverqueenhotel.net
Samuel
Clemens
first signed
his name as
Mark Twain
here 150
years ago
A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF
2014 E DI TI ON
MARSHALL
96 North C Street, Virginia City, Nevada 89440
MINT
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Come See the
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Rare Comstock & Museum
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“Big Bonanza”
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Obverse
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COUPON
50% OFF
Navajo Turquoise Jewelry
40% OFF
Black Hills Gold
25% OFF
Silver Gemstone Jewelry
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2
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Basics of Virginia City
Virginia City Mobile App
Major Annual Events
Old West History
Virginia City Map
Visiting Historic Sites
Visitor Tour Options
Virginia City Parades
Unique Shopping Style
The Wine-Rut Cure
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A special publication of the Sierra Nevada Media Group
Publisher – Mark Raymond
Section Editor – John Seelmeyer
Advertising Sales – Brad Bancroft, Tonya Champa
Art Direction/Layout – Rob Fair
FREEBOTTLE
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Virginia City, NV 89440
775-771-2606
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THE LAST ONE STANDING
OF ITS KIND
IN THE UNITED STATES
Follow students’ footsteps through
the original 1876 four-storied, school
building built for 1000 students in the
finest Victorian style.
Sit in the same wooden desks as they
did from 1876 to 1936.
Explore the Cornstock story, Mark
Twain’s life, letter press printing,
alumni’s lives, early Nevada education,
Cornstock mining, abandoned mine issues, modern mining, and new exhibits
in the other classrooms.
Ask the museum store if you can pull
on the rope to hear the 1876 school bell.
VISIT THE HISTORIC FOURTH WARD SCHOOL
MUSEUM AND GIFT SHOP
2 for 1 admission when you show us this ad.
On your next visit take “ Time Out for Tea”
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• Birthdays
• Meetings
• Special Occasions
72 Hour Reser vation Required
May 1st - October 31st • Dail y 10am-5pm
537 S outh “C ” S treet P.O. Box 4 • V irginia Cit y, NV 80440
www.four thwardschool.org • (775) 847-0975
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
3
The TNT Stageline provides a thrilling ride for Virginia City visitors. Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
THE BASICS
MAJOR ANNUAL EVENTS
March:
Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry
& St. Patrick’s Day Parade,
Leprechaun Bar Crawl
April:
Virginia City Wine Tour Series
May:
Chili on the Comstock, Memorial Day
Weekend Celebration of Heroes Parade
June:
Comstock Muckfest & Heritage Wine
Tour, Street Vibrations Spring Rally
July:
Virginia City 4th of July Parade
& Fireworks Spectacular,
Rock the Comstock
August:
Hot August Nights VC Run
Virginia City brings its rich Comstock heritage to life
for visitors traveling with smartphone’s. The mobile app
provides visitors with information on this historic town’s
saloons and restaurants, its quirky special events, lodging,
a historical audio tour and the ability to check-in on social
networking sites.
September: Comstock Civil War Days & Labor
Day Parade, Virginia City International
Camel & Ostrich Races, Camel Hump
on C Street, Victorian Steampunk Ball
& Parade, Taste of the Comstock,
Street Vibrations Fall Rally
With tourism and special events being the primary
focus, the Virginia City mobile app features include:
October:
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•
Attractions
Adventure Pass ticket details
Special event ticket purchases
Audio tour of 32 historical attractions
Webcam of C Street
Area map and weather
Facebook check-in and access to Twitter,
YouTube and Instagram
Virginia City World Championship
Outhouse Races, Redrun II,
Nevada 150 Masquerade Ball
November: Virginia City Veteran’s Day Parade
December: Christmas on the Comstock & Parade of
Lights, Wild West New Year’s Eve Party
Ongoing:
May - October: Friday Free Museum
Day the first Friday of the month and
the Virginia City Wine Tour Series the
first Saturday of the month
SICS ABOUT
LOCATION
At 6,200 feet on Mount Davidson, historic
Virginia City is 25 miles from Reno and 45 miles
from Lake Tahoe. Like many cities in Nevada,
Virginia City was a mining “boomtown” with more
than $400 million in gold and silver mined. In
today’s prices, that’s more than $20 billion.
COMSTOCK ADVENTURE PASS
Available year round, just one admission price
provides access to numerous attractions. Comstock
Adventure Passes provide the opportunity to visit
museums, mine tours, historic buildings, a thrilling
stagecoach ride, the famous Virginia & Truckee train
ride, and more at discounted prices.
Visitors can choose from four Comstock
Adventure Passes. Or they can build their own
package and choose from 16 exciting attractions.
Comstock Adventure Passes and discounted
individual attraction tickets may be purchased at
the Visitor Center, 86 South C St. It’s open from
9-5 Monday through Saturday and from 10-4 on
Sunday.
For more information, call 775-847-7500 or
800-718-7587.
LODGING
Spend the night in modern lodging or one of
several quaint bed and breakfast inns. Virginia City
and Gold Hill, the area known as the Comstock, has
more than 200 rooms.
Clean and comfortable with a Victorian flavor,
hotels offer modern and historic Comstock flair.
Properties include Virginia City Motel, Tahoe House
Hotel, Gold Hill Hotel, Silver Queen Hotel, Silverland
Inn and Suites, Sugarloaf Mountain Motel & Market
and Comstock Lodge.
Bed and Breakfasts include: The “B” Street
House Inn, originally built in 1875, underwent an
award-winning restoration in 2007 and is now a
three-bedroom guest inn. Edith Palmer’s Country
Inn was established in a Victorian home built in
1863. Originally, the rock building to the rear of
Edith Palmer’s was used as a cider factory. After
the Great Fire of 1875 burned down most of Virginia
City, Herman J. Harris bought the lots on where the
Cobb Mansion is located, and built a home that now
serves as the property.
SALOONS
No other type of business dominates the
landscape of this historic mining town like Virginia
City’s saloons and restaurants. Many date back to
the Comstock period including maintaining the 19th
century look and antiques. 13 bars and 21 eateries
are located primarily on C Street.
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
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LIVES OLD WEST HISTORY
There’s a lot of history going on in Virginia City.
You can spend a lifetime studying all its nuances. Or
get a quick overview of the historic town via one of
three tour groups.
Virginia City Tours offers a 20-minute narrated
tour of Virginia City, perfect for an easy-on-the
budget, quick view of the interesting sites in
Virginia City. The town’s only year-round tour
company offers either a closed trolley or an openair tram pulled by a tractor, depending on weather
conditions.
“I’m in awe of how much history I give (the tour
passengers) in such a short time,” said Jack Bellesi,
who’s been giving tours of Virginia City for six
years. Among the perks: “I get to meet people from
all over the world,” he said.
Those interested in a more intimate tour of
Virginia City can find it on the horse-drawn carriage
tours offered by Happy Hoofers. The tours are
perfect for smaller groups of family and friends.
Happy Hoofers operates May through October
and reservations are required with a choice of a
30-minute or one-hour tour.
For a fast, heart-in-your-throat ride, the TNT
Stagelines offers a high-speed ride in a full-sized
Concord stagecoach — the type of ride Old West
travelers might receive while being chased by
bandits. The tour makes up in excitement what it
lacks in history narration.
M
TNT operates spring through fall. Rides fill up
fast, so early booking is recommended.
While guided tours are a great way to see the
sites of Virginia City, walking tours allow you to
choose your own pace and to see inside the sites.
The only walking tour is the new mobile app audio
tour; there is no brochure.
The mission of the tours, visitors information,
and museums is to leave guests with a taste of
the history of Virginia City, the largest federally
designated Historic District in the United States.
In 1859, Mount Davidson was just a desolate
mountain until miners Pat McLaughlin and Peter
O’Reilly discovered gold at the head of Six-Mile
Canyon. The Comstock Lode was named after
Henry Comstock, who falsely claimed the property
was his.
Soon miners flocked to the mountain, and
Virginia City was born.
Early miners were hampered by sticky blue-gray
mud. Someone took it to an assayer, who found it
was silver ore worth more than $2,000 a ton. The
frustrating mud became a new bonanza strike,
increasing the influx to the region.
Through Virginia City’s hay-day, miners
bored an estimated 800 miles of tunnels into the
mountain producing about $700 million in gold
and silver — an amount that would equal billions of
dollars in today’s economy.
President Abraham Lincoln quickly made
Nevada a state, giving the North access to the
wealth and helping win the Civil War.
In the West, Virginia City gold and silver fueled
the building of San Francisco.
Timber used to shore up Virginia City mines
came from the forests of Lake Tahoe, where the
timber industry swelled the population around the
lake.
To handle the riches, the Carson Mint was
constructed in Carson City, striking the first coin in
1870 and fueling the commerce in the West.
To carry the gold and silver out of Virginia
City and timbers and supplies to the boomtown,
the Virginia & Truckee Railroad was laid. The V&T,
which made its first run in 1870, connected to the
transcontinental railroad line that ran through Reno,
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The Mackay Mansion was built in 1860
as the headquarters of a mining company.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
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thus connecting the reach of the Comstock to the
world.
In 1886, 200 millionaires lived in Virginia City.
Many went on to powerful positions in West.
Two of them were George Hearst and John
Mackay, whose stories are told on the narrated
tours along with their connection to the Virginia
City landmark, the Mackay Mansion.
In 1874, Hearst was superintendent of Virginia
City’s Gould & Curry Mining Company and lived in
its office building, which was later purchased by
Silver King John Mackay.
Hearst earned a fortune in mining in several
western mines and later purchased the San
Francisco Examiner. His son, William Randolph
Hearst used that start to create a publishing
empire and eventually to build Hearst Castle on the
California coast.
Mackay came to Virginia City to work in the
mines. By 1864, he owned one. His silver helped lay
the first transatlantic cable and establish the School
of Mines at the University of Nevada, Reno, which is
named after him.
At its peak, Virginia City was the major town
between Denver and San Francisco. It had 110
saloons, 35 hotels, 22 restaurants, 17 breweries and
six churches.
Another landmark, Piper’s Opera House, drew
entertainers and luminaries such as President
Grant, Buffalo Bill, and Al Jolson. San Clemens,
better known as Mark Twain, found his writing voice
working for Virginia City’s Territorial Enterprise, the
first newspaper in Nevada. Clemens left town after a
fight, but returned to speak at the Opera House.
Through the decades from the late 1800s
through early 1900s, Virginia City went through a
series of booms and busts, construction and fires,
which continually changed the face of the town.
As gold and silver deposits became more
difficult to mine, and the price of precious minerals
dropped, Virginia City declined and its historic
building began to crumble. Instead of fading into
a ghost town, the popularity of the TV western
“Bonanza” changed its fortune.
Virginia City’s new boom became tourism,
beginning with the search for the town where the
Cartwrights did business.
When visitors come to Virginia City looking for
the flat streets and short distances portrayed by
Hollywood, the can be dismayed by the differences,
said Bellesi from Virginia City Tours.
When Hoss and Little Joe get on their horses in
the morning at the Bonanza Ranch at Lake Tahoe
to go to Virginia City, in television version, they can
get back home by dinner.
In reality “the horses would have had to be jet
propelled,” he said.
Visitors may not find much of the Virginia City
of Bonanza, but what they can find is much richer.
OUT WEST cuisine
Traditional Enchiladas • Steak or Mahi Tacos
BBQ Chicken Quesadillas • Vegetarian Options
Creative Salads • Great Burgers
Homemade Desserts • Beer, Wine & Spirits
Wednesday–Saturday 11:30-8
Sunday 10–7
Sunday Brunch 10–2
394 South C Street • Virginia City
775.847.5151 • cafedelriovc.com
Great Pizza,
Salads,
Sandwiches
& More!
live
jazz
SUNDAYS
AT 5PM
Reserve Space for your Group Function
Rock the
Comstock
July 18-20
76 N. C Street
Virginia City, NV
2 FREE
Sodas
with purchase of a
large pizza
775.847.7474
reddogvc.com
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
7
775-847-0332
1 “C” Street
Virginia
city
www.bucketofbloodsaloon.com
Home of David John and
the Comstock Cowboys
Say Cheese!
Present this ad & recieve
a free mat with minimum purchase
Priscilla Pennyworth’s
Old Time Photos
56 N. “C” St. • Virginia City
775.847.0333
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
9
St. Mary in the Mountains Church is a cornerstone of Virginia City.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
VISITING HISTORIC SITES
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Walking or riding, these are some of the major historic sites
in Virginia City:
At the Comstock History Center see one of the Virginia &
Truckee Railroad’s original steam locomotives, No. 18 Dayton.
For those looking for more detailed history of the Comstock, the
center also houses the Comstock Historical District Commission
and the Comstock Cemetery Foundation.
The center is located at the corner of E and Union streets.
Call 775-847-0419.
Open year round from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursdays-Sundays.
Fourth Ward School Cultural Center is the site of the historic
Fourth Ward School.
Constructed in 1876 in Second Empire style, the four-storied
wooden school was built to accommodate more than 1,000
students. Its 16 classrooms retain original patina, desks, maps and
books.
The state-of-the-art school was the first building west of the
Mississippi River to have drinking fountains on every floor plus
central heat.
The Fourth Ward School Cultural Center, located at 537 S. C
Street, is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily from May-October. For more
information, go to www.fourthwardschool.org
The Comstock Firemen’s Museum/NV State Firemen’s
Museum displays 19th-century firefighting equipment with
artifacts relating to the history of fire fighting on both the
Comstock and throughout Nevada.
Liberty Engine Company No. 1 is still an operating volunteer
firefighting unit.
Located at 117 S. C St., the museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
daily from Memorial Day-Labor Day. For more information, call
775-847-0717 or go to comstockfiremuseum.com
The Mackay Mansion was built in 1860 by George Hearst as
the headquarters of the Gould & Curry Mining Company Office
and later purchased by silver king John Mackay.
Between 1860 and 1950, bars of gold bullion were sold
directly from the vault. Tour highlights include mining artifacts,
original furnishings and Tiffany silver.
Located at 291 South D St., the mansion is open 10 a.m.-5
p.m. daily during the summer. For winter hours, call the visitor
center at 775-847-7500.
For more information, call 775-847-0373 or go to
mackaymansion.com
Virginia City is the sight of Nevada’s first newspaper, the
Territorial Enterprise, which is also where Sam Clemens discovered
a knack for writing before taking the pen name of Mark Twain.
The Mark Twain Museum at the Territorial Enterprise
displays Mark Twain’s desk, chair, books and most of the original
furnishings and equipment of the pressroom.
Located at 53 South C St., the museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
year round.
For information, call Sandy or John Bouie at 775-847-0525.
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Pipers Opera House was built in the 1880s and is listed by
the League of Historic Theaters. One of the most significant
vintage theaters on the West Coast, this stage once welcomed
President Grant, Buffalo Bill, Al Jolson and Mark Twain, as well as
other famous performers from across the U.S. and Europe and
continues to be open for performances and special events.
Today’s guests at Piper’s Opera House can keep their eye out
for the ghosts who are said to attend many of the performances.
Piper’s Opera House has recently undergone extensive
restoration, so please check the website for upcoming events.
Located at B and Union streets, the opera house is open 11
a.m.-4 p.m. daily during the summer. For information on guided
tours or other details, call 775-847-0433 or toll free 888-422-1956
or go to PipersLiveVC.com.
Built in 1876, the St. Mary’s Art Center was originally
established as the St. Mary Louise Hospital by the Sisters
of Charity and Bishop Patrick Manogue. The 36-room could
accommodate more than 70 patients.
Since 1964, the 14,000-square-foot hospital has been
operating continuously as a creative retreat center for business
meetings, family reunions, artist and writers workshops and more.
The National Historic Landmark is considered the Grand
Dame of Virginia City.
Glimpse into history and the lives of individuals who stayed
at the hospital; wander through galleries and experience original
works of art which are also for sale.
Located at 55 North R St. Open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursdays
through Sundays from May through October; 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Thursdays and Fridays from November through April; or by
appointment. For information on creative center retreats
and events, or paranormal tours, call 775-847-7774 or go to
stmarysartcenter.org.
St. Mary in the Mountains Catholic Church is arguably the
most prominent historical structure and institution in Virginia City.
Nevada’s oldest Catholic Church was built by “Paddy” Manogue,
who ministered to the hard-working Irish-Catholic miners for
almost 20 years and then became the first Bishop of Sacramento,
Calif.
The site offers a free tour of the museum and wine cellar.
Numerous church artifacts and photographs are on display and
St. Mary’s also has an extensive gift shop that supports the small
parish and restoration project.
Located at Taylor and E streets, the church is open 10 a.m.-5
p.m. daily and is open for Mass at 4 p.m. Saturdays and 11:30
a.m. Sundays. For more information, call 775-847-9099 or email
[email protected]
Silver State National Peace Officers Museum is dedicated to
sharing the rich history of law enforcement nationwide. Located
in the Storey County Courthouse 1876 jail, the museum boasts the
Nevada Peace Officers Memorial Room, a children’s interactive
room and an old time law enforcement themed photo studio.
Located at 26 South B St., the museum is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
daily from May-October. For more information, call
775-847-7800, email infopeaceofficersmuseum.org or visit
www.peacofficersmuseum.org
The Storey County Courthouse, built in 1876 after
being destroyed in the great fire of 1875, is the state’s oldest
continuously operating courthouse. Built in the Italianate style, the
two-story seat of government houses a two-tier jail, courtroom
and large iron-lined record vaults. The exterior facade is brick
with details of ornate iron. The Victorian-era courthouse boasts a
Lady of Justice statue without her blindfold. The story is that the
county chose to not blindfold her to express that here justice was,
and continues to be, not blind.
Located at 26 South B St., hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. MondayFriday year round except holidays. For more information, go to
www.nps.gov/nr/travel/nevada/sto.htm
The Way It Was Museum displays the most complete
collection of Comstock mining artifacts in the world as well as
rare photos, lithographs and maps of the “Bonanza” period.
Located at 113 North C St., and is open 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
daily, year round except Christmas.
For more information, call 775-847-0766 or go to www.
museumsusa.org/museums/info/13263
The Washoe Club Haunted Museum. The Washoe Club
has been called one of the most haunted locations in the west.
Featured on the Travel Channel’s “Ghost Adventures” as well as
SyFy’s “Ghost Hunters”, the building has earned its place among
the elite haunted locations.
Memberships start at $20 per year and provide access to the
Crypt as well as the infamous Spiral Staircase.
Located at 112 South C St., the museum is open year-round
but hours and tour times vary. Call 775-847-4467. For more
information, go to http://www.thewashoeclub.com/.
With its riches first located in1859, Virginia City’s Chollar
Mine (later the Chollar-Potosi) was one of the leading producers
on the Comstock. Today the mine is open for visitors. A guided
tour lasts a half hour and is a 400-foot, level walk. Visitors see
square-set timbering, silver ore, rock drills, as well as displays of
old equipment.
The mine entrance is located at 615 South F Street. It’s open
1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday-Thursday, Easter through October.
For more information, call 775-847-0155.
Ponderosa Mine Tour begins in the Ponderosa Saloon and
goes through The Best and Belcher Mine. The 25 minute guided
tour shows more than 300 pieces of antique mining equipment,
plus underground mine workings — tunnels, crosscuts, drifts,
stopes, raises, winzes and shafts.
The mine is located at 106 South C St. and is open daily
11 a.m.-5 p.m. in summer and noon-5 p.m. in winter. For more
information, call 775-847-7210
The 1860s Joshua Hendy (built in San Francisco) two-stamp
Gold Mill is still operating at the Comstock Gold Mill. The narrated
tour shows how gold was processed from ore to recovery and
explains the history of mining equipment.
Open daily from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Mondays, May
14-Labor Day. For more information, email [email protected].
Bring the family and pan for gold like the miners once did on
the Comstock at the Virginia City Mining Company.
Located 171 South C St., the company is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday through Monday. For more information, call 775-847-7744
The Silver Terrace and Gold Hill Cemeteries are a series
of terraces dramatically located on a steep, windswept hillside
of Virginia City. As this boomtown became a more permanent
settlement, there was a need for a cemetery. Beginning in the
1860s, a variety of fraternal, civic and religious groups established
burial yards on the hillside.
The inscriptions on the markers give silent testimony to the
social and economic fabric of both Virginia City and Gold Hill.
For more information about these Comstock Cemeteries,
visit comstockcemetery.com.
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
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VISITOR TOUR OPTIONS
The V&T Railroad is among the most popular attractions in Virginia City.
Tours provide
overview,
perspective
These tours help visitors understand
the rich history of Virginia City.
Happy Hoofers,
Historic Virginia City Horse Drawn Carriage Tour
C Street in Front of the Palace Saloon
30 minute or 1 hour tours
noon- 6 p.m., daily, May through October
For special events, call for reservations
Virginia City Trolley
A 2.5-mile, 20-minute narrated tour of Virginia City
on a trolley or tram.
10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., daily, year-round
12
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
TDT Stagelines
Next to the Comstock Gold Mill on F Street at the
railroad crossing. Ride the last full size Concord
stagecoach, that runs full speed like they did in the
1800s.
11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily except Tuesday,
spring through fall
Book early 775-721-1496 or 775-230-1786
V&T Railroad
Virginia City Depot is located at 166 F St.
775-847-0380
The Carson City Eastgate Depot is located on
Flint Drive, off U.S. Highway 50, six miles east of
downtown Carson City
The scenic railroad offers summertime tours from
Carson City to Virginia City using century old,
ornate, open and closed passenger cars- powered
by hard working steam and heritage diesel
locomotives. The Virginia & Truckee Railroad is the
most famous of all American Short Line railroads.
For train schedules visit VirginaTruckee.com
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by Sally Roberts
LOVES A PARADE
Virginia City could be the parade capital of
America.
And who, after all, doesn’t love a parade?
A dozen times a year, locals and visitors line
the wooden sidewalks of C Street to enjoy an
exciting old-fashioned, western-themed, often
patriotic and sometimes humorous, parade.
Hundreds of entrants participate, including
civic and youth organizations, politicians, VIPs,
bands and dancers. Old West and Civil War reenactors tote guns to match their historic garb,
firing into action at specific spots along the
parade route.
Virginia City features a parade for most major
holidays, plus a few other events.
• The parade calendar starts out with the St.
Patrick’s Day Parade, beginning at noon on the
Saturday before day that celebrates all things
Irish. The parade held in conjunction with the
Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry, also known as the
Testicle Festival, in which cooks compete and
guests taste this ranching delicacy.
• The Easter Bonnet and Pet Parade, usually
the Saturday before Easter Sunday, is an annual
celebration of spring with kids, parents and pets
all decked out in their Easter finery.
• National Police Memorial Parade is sponsored
by Virginia City’s Silver State National Peace
Officers Museum, which is dedicated to sharing
the stories and preserving the history of the men
and women patrolling the streets of America.
• On the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend,
the Celebration Of Heroes Parade honors
America’s veterans, especially those who have
given the ultimate sacrifice.
• The Red White and Blue is also prominent for
the annual Fourth of July Parade, held at noon
on the holiday each year. The day’s celebration
also includes the Comstock Cowboys Second
Amendment Concert, featuring a free concert at
6 p.m. by the popular country western band and
fireworks at sundown.
• The Labor Day Parade, runs at noon on
Labor Day Monday, Sept. 1 for 2014. Labor
Day weekend-long, the Virginia City is home to
Comstock Civil War Days, with encampments,
train robberies and battle re-enactments during
the Labor Day Parade.
While the holiday closes out the summer
season, it’s not the last of Virginia City’s
celebrations.
•
Virginia City World Championship Outhouse
Races Parade takes place in early October.
The rolling outhouses, designed to race — and
entertain — during the weekend competitions, are
the featured entrants of the parade. Get an early
look and pick out favorites. The 2014 Outhouse
Races Parade takes place Oct. 5, with races on
both Saturday and Sunday.
• Virginia City’s Veteran’s Day Parade takes
place on the Nov. 11 holiday each year with the
parade beginning at 11 a.m.
• Closing out the parade year in Virginia City
is the Christmas on the Comstock Parade of
Lights. The parade starts at 5 p.m. for maximum
enjoyment of the brightly lighted floats and
vehicles. Generally scheduled for the first
Saturday of December, the 2014 parade will take
place on Dec. 6.
History and good times combine in
many parades each year in Virginia City.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
by Sally Roberts
UNIQUE SHOPPING STYLE
Visiting a memorable location like Virginia City
calls for a memorable shopping trip. As unique as
the community itself, the retail venues along South C
Street feature unusual ways to bring home a memory
of the Comstock.
You can still contribute to a collection of T-shirts,
coffee mugs and refrigerator magnets -- including
many selections with a distinctly Comstock style. But
be sure to browse the dozens of shops to pick up a
one-of-a-kind memento of the Old West.
Several Virginia City venues offer sepia-toned
photographs resembling photos from great-grandma’s
album.
“Dressing up for the photo is part of the fun. You
can be a cowboy, sheriff or Civil War soldier; bar maid,
schoolmarm or Victorian lady. With costumes that
tie in the back, everything fits everyone,” said Becky
Hoffman, manager at Old Time Photos.
“The most popular style is the saloon girl and
cowboy poses,” she said, “and young boys love
handling the prop guns and playing cowboy.”
“Every little boy and girl deserves to dress up,” she
said. “Virginia City is a happy place to be, to step back
into the West.”
Old West costumes and accessories can be
purchased from other shops along Virginia City’s
shopping district, and you can even take home actual
pieces of history.
Colorful glass and silver antique pickle castors are
popular souvenirs at the Delta Gift Shop.
“In the 1800s, it was a sign of wealth if you had
pickle castors instead of digging into a pickle jar,”
Delta’s Jett Aguilar said.
The shop also carries a large variety of items
excavated at Virginia City, including old bottles,
silverware, keys, and railroad spikes, plus estate jewelry
from the 1920s and later.
“If you can think of it, it’s here” Aguilar said.
When it comes to jewelry, nothing says western
like turquoise and Nevada has its own unique western
jewelry made of precious and semi-precious stones.
Varied colors of turquoise mined in Nevada —
from bright green, blue-green, and even white — can
be found in Virginia City jewelry stores and some
carry Nevada opals. Shaws, a jewelry and gifts shop,
provides a map of where the various colored turquoise
is mined.
Virginia City is a happy place for rock collectors,
too, with several rock shops to dazzle both serious
rock collectors and the curious.
At the Comstock Rock Shop and its sister store,
Stone Age, rock enthusiasts can find geodes and
fossils — including shark teeth — and colorful rocks in
every hue. Several shelves feature rocks from Nevada;
other sections offer rocks and fossils from all over the
world.
Some of the most amazing finds in Virginia City’s
shopping district are luxury items that are unique in
the world, attracting customers looking for something
different, but not necessarily Old West styled.
Kashmir American Enterprises features finely
crafted scarves, shawls, clothing, rugs, hand-painted
boxes, swords, jewelry and more; resembling a grand
bazaar in Istanbul.
The products “take lots and lots of work,”
said shop owner Firdous Ahmad, pointing out the
delicate weave and embroidery of a shawl. “They are
considered a piece of jewelry.”
People from around the world seek out the
products he offers. Many heading to Burning Man
make a detour for Kashmir’s selection of hookahs,
costumes and jewelry.
“My customers are looking for something special,”
he said. “They come here and see quality and like to
invest in quality they can’t find it at home.”
Jay Nguyen’s customers at Rainbow Wooden Art
also are looking for unique handcrafted items. They
consider his carved statues, wall art, and metal art
worth a trip to the Comstock.
“I sell a lot of statues and ships,” he said, pointing
to a carved ship that would sell in other cities for
several times more than what’s on the price tag. Doing
business in Virginia City instead of the big city helps
him keep prices low.
“It’s all handmade. I have the biggest collection,
and you can find unique art.”
Whether looking for a special souvenir, a gift, or
just a day of shopping, Virginia City offers a unique
shopping experience.
The streets of Virginia City are lined
with unique shopping opportunities.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
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Palace Restaurant, Pioneer
Emporium, Ponderosa
Saloon, Rainbow Wooden
Art, Red Dog Saloon & Pizza
Parlor, Red’s Old Fashioned
Candies, Southwest
Designs, Virginia Hill
Mercantile, Virginia City Visitors
Center, Washoe Club and Haunted
Museum.
Tickets are available online at VisitVirginiaCityNV.com
or at the Virginia City Visitors Center the day of the event.
The Virginia City Wine Tour Series is made possible
in part by sponsors that include Virginia City’s Mustang
Ranch Steakhouse, the Bucket of Blood Saloon, Camelot
Party Rentals, Edible Reno-Tahoe Magazine, Coors Light
and Reno Media Group.
THE WINE-RUT CURE
Symptoms of a wine rut are: finding yourself ordering
only the house wine because it is cheap; not stepping out
of a wine comfort zone; sticking with the tried and true.
If this sounds like you, a Virginia City Wine Tour is the
cure. Explore the history and shops rooted in Comstock
lore dating back to the late 1800s while sampling “wines
of the West” along the way.
The Virginia City Wine Tour is scheduled the first
Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through
Aug. 2. Advance purchase tickets are available for $15 or
$20 the week of the event. Admission includes access to
18 merchants, a commemorative stemless wine glass and
a map.
Participating merchants include Delta Gift Shop, Café
Del Rio, Comstock Creamery & Firehouse BBQ, Comstock
Corner Café, Core at Cider Factory, Marshall Mint, Mustang
Ranch Steakhouse & Hunters Lounge, Old Red Garter,
The many saloons in Virginia City reflect
its rip-roaring history as a mining town.
Courtesy of Virginia City Tourism Commission
Stay and Play
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
at the Silverland Inn &Suites in Virginia City
Homemade Pies
Homemade Biscuits & Gravy
The Silverland Inn & Suites is the most modern 65 room Victorian-style hotel on the
Comstock with 9 suites with jacuzzis and banquet facilities and meeting rooms
Soups • Fresh Salads
Steaks • Chicken • Fish
Indoor Pool & Jacuzzi • Fitness Center • Business Center • Free Parking
Gift Shop • Free WiFi • Guest Laundry Facilities • Snack & Beverage Machines
Meetings • Conventions • Weddings • Special Events
Non-smoking
Pet-Friendly
Rooms
ATM
Machine
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Home of the famous
Mucker Melt
109 S. C Street
& The Duke Burger
775-847-7300
Wine • Beer • Espresso
Open at 7am Daily
Smoothies • Milkshakes
RJ-0000478690
Corner of C & Taylor
100 North E Street, Virginia City, NV 89440 • For Reservations: (775) 847-4484
www.silverlandusa.com
VIRGINIA CITY VISITORS GUIDE 2014
15
Wild Horse
Central.
Help Save
The Virginia
Range!
See the
Silver Queen
with 3,261
real
silver
dollars
Come by and
try our Fresh
Homemade
Baked
Goods!
Zac with Ghost
Adventures had
his first
paranormal
experience here
in 2004.
Ghost Hunter’s Delight!
Silver Queen
Hotel &Wedding
Chapel
28 N C Street,Virginia City,NV 89440
(775) 847-0440 •www.silverqueenhotel.net
Samuel
Clemens
first signed
his name as
Mark Twain
here 150
years ago
