Virginia City, Nevada

From Reno,
I made a day trip to Virginia City. Driving south,
Rt. 395 connects with 341. The Geiger Lookout Wayside Park is a nice place to stop and take-in the Washoe Valley.

Virginia City is a historic mining town in Nevada. Silver was discovered here in 1859--the first and most famous strike being the Comstock Lode. Hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars of ore was rapidly extracted from Virginia City mines in the 1860s.

Lincoln and the US Congress were quick to put this newfound wealth to good use. Much of Virginia City's silver helped fund the Union Army during the American Civil War. This portion of the Utah Territory was thus admitted as a full state--Nevada--in 1864. (The state motto of Nevada is "Battle Born".)



Virginia City sits at an elevation 6,200 feet. Although it snows heavily in winter, geothermal activity makes the deep underground mines extremely hot.

The 19th century working conditions were harsh: temperatures in the silver mines were well over 100 degrees F! The crumbly nature of the hardpack caused cave-ins. To combat this miners worked in short, ten-minute shifts while being hosed-down. Large blocks of ice were also brough into the mine shafts.

Perhaps the most important innovation used in Virginia City was square-set timbering. Lumber from the Tahoe Basin was floated over-the-mountains on a network of flumes to silver mines in Nevada.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Deidesheimer

The square-set utilized a post-and-lintel system to form 3-dimensional cubes; this reinforced the silver mines against cave-in from all sides. Hundreds of miles of tunnel were constructed in this way. [For more, see my previous post on Empire Mine, CA.]

It was Veteran's Day in Virginia City. I missed the morning parade. But there were still plenty of characters walking around in Civil War-era costume. This added significantly to the charm of what otherwise might have been a crowded tourist-trap. I strolled the boardwalk sidewalks and popped in-and-out of Virginia City's numerous casino-saloons.

There are several boutique museums in Virginia City, some of which were closed for the season. I was able to visit the Way it Was Museum and Mark Twain Museum.

Samuel Longhorn Clemens failed as a silver miner in Virginia City. He reported for the local Territorial Enterprise, sometimes making up the news! It was in Virginia City that he first used the pen-name Mark Twain. His time in Nevada also brought him his first commercial success: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.



The trolley-bus tour of Virginia City elaborated on the town's history:



I explored some more on foot. Virginia City has been well preserved and reconstructed. Many period Victorians line the streets. Notable buildings include:

Storey County Courthouse (with one of the few "scales of justice " not blindfolded)

Piper's Opera House

And several Churches

Much of Virginia City is actually designated a National Historic Landmark. Most of the buildings still contain shops, saloons, and restaurants.

Good thing this rescue dog was around ---->