Virginia City, Nevada Top Five
How often do you find a whole town listed on the National Register of Historic Places? Virginia City is a designated historic district. We enjoyed visiting this hopping little 19th century gem on a day trip from Lake Tahoe. With the largest silver lode being discovered here in 1859, the town booming almost overnight, the 1875 fire wiping out half the city and then the immediate rebuilding and the preservation of these structures; its no wonder that VC is such a thriving destination. Here are my top picks for Virginia City.
1. VIRGINIA CITY BOARDWALK
Visiting this well preserved town gives the feeling of being transported back to the Wild West (or at least Bonanza-for good reason). Even the characters around town, dressing the part, keep that vibe alive. The Virginia City Boardwalk is their ‘main street’, called C Street, lined with wooden sidewalks and 19th century buildings on either side. These are shops, saloons, restaurants, candy stores, museums and lodging. Some of the businesses here are 150 years old.
2. HISTORIC VIRGINIA CITY CHURCHES
Two of the oldest churches in Nevada are in the historic district of Virginia City. It’s a bit of a steep decline off C Street and back up to visit them, but worth the exercise.
Saint Mary’s in the Mountains
Maybe the oldest Catholic Church in Nevada that is still operating today is Saint Mary’s in the Mountains in Virginia City. It was originally built in 1862 as a small wooden structure. With the town booming and prospering, the beautiful cathedral you see today was built in 1870. It did suffer greatly in the 1875 fire, so much of it was rebuilt in 1877 or has now been restored after a period of neglect and abuse. It’s a beautiful cathedral to visit/attend and you can learn all about the history in the basement museum.
St Paul the Prospector Episcopal Church
Founded in 1861 and a neighbor to St Mary’s is St Paul the Prospector Church. This church is also still in operation in its 1876 built home. The current historic, but not original, church building replaces an earlier casualty of the 1875 fire. We didn’t go inside as they are in a restoration project.
3. VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILROAD
This historic short line railroad was developed to carry the silver ore from the VC mines to the mills along the Carson River. Now the 100+ year old steam engines and diesel locomotives carry visitors on memorable rides thru the mining sites, on Pumpkin Patch rides, on the Candy Cane Express, Murder Mystery Train Rides and others. Up to 7 departures per day. You may even see the wild horses out on your train ride.
4. MUSEUMS
In Virginia City, you will find many interesting museums, including The Way It Was Museum, Mark Twain Museum, and Mackay Mansion built by George Hearst in 1860.
The Way It Was Museum
This museum, located on C Street, covers the mining days of the area. What a great way to gain knowledge and establish a connection to Virginia City during your visit.
Mark Twain Museum
Samuel Clemons lived in Virginia City and was a writer for the local newspaper under pen name Mark Twain. The Mark Twain Museum inside the Territorial Enterprise Newspaper Building is unfortunately closed for now. Hopefully, this is temporary and will reopen one day.
Mackay Mansion
Built in 1859 by George Hearst and originally used as a mining company office, it was purchased by John Mackay in 1871. Located on D Street, it survived the 1875 fire. The Mackay Mansion is now a museum with many original furnishings of the period preserved within.
Being a Designated Historical District, there is no shortage of museums in VC. Check out Historic Fourth Ward School, Comstock Firemen’s Museum, Marshall Mint, Washoe Club Haunted Museum and more.
5. ARCHITECTURE
Due to the Comstock Lode discovery in 1859 and the virtual overnight wealth that was poured into the building of Virginia City, you’ll see century and half old structures up and down the boardwalk. A large part of historic Virginia City was destroyed by fire in 1875, but immediately rebuilt in 1876 during their boom. What an amazing collection of preserved 19th century architecture.
HONORABLE MENTION-VIRGINIA CITY VAULT
Virginia City Vault is actually a gift and souvenir shop on C Street in VC. But, it had this old truck parked out in front of the shop that I thought was cool.
Virginia City is such a cool historical town! One day is really not enough to properly explore it, but enough to thoroughly pique your interest! Would love to go back and visit museums, shops, restaurants and saloons at leisure. We mainly just walked the boardwalk, were lured in the Bucket of Blood Saloon by the huge picture window in back and the live music, walked down to the explore the churches and took lots of photos of this cool place. Next time I want to learn more history, see more antiques and ride the train!
This was a fun day spent near Carson City, NV and Lake Tahoe. We thoroughly enjoyed this entire area. The history is captivating.
