Virginia City Historic District (Virginia City, Nevada)

Virginia City Historic District is a National Historic Landmark District encompassing the former mining villages of Virginia City and Gold Hill, both in Storey County, as well as Dayton and Silver City, both to the south in adjacent Lyon County, Nevada, United States. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961, the district is one of only six in the state of Nevada.[2][3]

This article is about the district in Nevada. For the district in Montana, see Virginia City Historic District (Virginia City, Montana).

Virginia City Historic District
LocationVirginia City, Nevada, United States
Area14,750 acres (59.7 km2)
Built1859
Architectural styleBungalow/craftsman, Late Victorian
NRHP reference No.66000458
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]
Designated NHLDJuly 4, 1961[2]

Virginia City was the prototype for future frontier mining boom towns, with its industrialization and urbanization.[4] It owed its success to the 1859 discovery of the Comstock Lode. The town is laid out in a grid pattern 1,500 feet below the top of Mount Davidson. Most of the buildings are two to three story brick buildings, with the first floors used for saloons and shops. Virginia City was the first silver rush town, and the first to intensely apply large-scale industrial mining methods.[4][5]

After a year in existence, the boomtown had 42 saloons, 42 stores, 6 restaurants, 3 hotels, and 868 dwellings to house a town residency of 2,345. At its height in 1863, the town had 15,000 residents. From its creation in 1859 to 1875, there were five widespread fires. The 1875 fire, dubbed the Great Fire of 1875, caused $12,000,000 in damages.[6]

Virginia City continues to attract over 2 million visitors per year. In 2004, the historic buildings were considered to be in a "threatened" state. An inactive mining pit may subside, causing some of the buildings to slide into the pit. The cemeteries have been, and continue to be, vandalized, while erosion threatens more damage. Continued use of the district for tourism is harming historical buildings that are still in use, while neglect of privately held unused buildings increases the damage to the historic nature of the entire district.[2]

Other NRHP listings within the district

Contributing properties

The National Register of Historic Places inventory nomination form lists 65 contributing properties in the historic district,[7] including:

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "Virginia City Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2007-12-22. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  3. Charles Snell and Marilynn Larew (April 21, 1978), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Virginia City Historic District (pdf), National Park Service and Accompanying 50 or so photos from 1968, 1971, 1978 and other dates. (8.81 MB)
  4. Virginia Historic District -Three Historic Nevada Cities: Carson City, Reno and Virginia City-A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary
  5. Snell and Larew, pg.2, 5, 7
  6. Snell and Larew, pg.2, 8, 9
  7. "National Register of Historic Places inventory nomination form". pp 13–14. nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  8. "Historic Virginia City Walking Tour". (archive). visitvirginiacitynv.com. Virginia City Tourism Commission. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  9. Bernadette Franke and Andria S. Daley (April 1993). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: C.J. Prescott House". National Park Service. and accompanying photo from 1993
  10. "Storey County Courthouse". (archive). nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  11. Snell and Larew, pgs 2-4
  12. "Storey County Courthouse". nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved March 2, 2017. The first county courthouse was destroyed in the Great Fire of October 1875. Reconstruction began in 1876 and the present building...was completed in February 1877.

Located in Virginia City, Storey County, Nevada:

Located in other villages in the district:

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