Seniors Step Back In Time In Virginia City

The Historic District of Virginia City in northwest Nevada is a National Historic Landmark that includes the former mining villages of Virginia City and Gold Hill in Storey County. Built in 1859, senior visitors will find Virginia City, the largest federally designated Historical District in America, in extreme western Nevada at the base of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, just south of Reno and Interstate 80.

Get your coffee, senior friends and let’s visit a Ghost Town this morning.

Today, Virginia City is only a shadow of its former glory, however it still draws over 2 million visitors a year. Senior visitors will not find big chain superstores or fast food restaurants. Instead you will enjoy streets steeped in the history of the Gold Rush and the birth of the American West. Folklore indicates that the town got its name from a man named James Finney who was nicknamed “Old Virginny”.

Two old prospectors by the name of Peter O’Riley and Patrick McLaughlin are credited with the discovery of the well known Comstock Lode, which was named after Henry Comstock. The once silver and gold lined Comstock Lode drew thousands of miners, including American writer Mark Twain, to its promise of riches.

After the discovery of the famous lode, 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. By 1863 the total production of gold and silver was over twelve million dollars.

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 and destroyed much of Virginia City.

Senior Visitors Enjoy A Living Ghost Town

Today Virginia City is a living ‘Ghost Town’ memorializing the good ole, bad days of the gold and silver rush in Nevada. The plank sidewalks on ‘C’ Street retain the look, feel and sound of former days. For a small city, 1,000+,  visitors come for miles around to take in the past that is preserved.

The Mark Twain Museum is in the basement of the Territorial Enterprise Building, home of Nevada’s first newspaper. Samuel Clemens worked as a reporter for the Enterprise in the 1860s. His office was in the basement, so when Virginia City burned to the ground in 1875, most of his stuff survived.

The Silver Queen Hotel, contains a spacious saloon and offers a second floor of hotel guest rooms, promoted as the location of repeated spirit manifestations (aka ghosts).

 Senior visitors are invited to stroll the authentic boardwalk sidewalks, visit the same historic churches, frequent the old-west saloons and ride a stagecoach just like they would have in the 1800s. 

Many come just for The Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry, the World Championship Outhouse Races and the International Camel & Ostrich Races that take place in this historic setting. Seniors, you are invited to join in the fun.  jeb