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Virginia City: Before Nevada became a state

On October 31, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the order making Nevada the 36th state.  But long before that, the territory was an integral part of the gold and silver rush.  Famous for its bountiful mineral deposits, Virginia City was a booming mining town and was the place to be in the mid-nineteenth century.  It’s a city shrouded in legend and folklore.  It attracted, presidents, famous entertainers and it even spawned a television show.  This is a special sesquicentennial report on the town that put Nevada on the map, Virginia City.
 

Tucked away behind a large mountain range south east of Reno is historic Virginia City, Nevada.  It’s been described as the town that time forgot.

Wooden planks make up the uneven sidewalks on either side of C Street, the city’s main drag. The historic Victorian-era buildings have been maintained to look as they did when they were first constructed in the mid-1800s, allowing tourists to feel as if they’ve been transported back to the Wild West.  You can almost hear the “honky tonk” piano playing as you pass by the old Bucket of Blood Saloon, a bar so named for the bloody brawls that would take place almost nightly in Virginia City’s mining heyday.  The city is mainly a tourist attraction now, but as Deny Dotson, director of tourism says its character remains intact.

“This place is not Disneyland, it’s not fake. It’s the real thing and we’ve worked real hard on maintaining our colors, our architecture. There’s no neon lights her in VC, there’s no franchises.  It really is a place where you can step back in time.”

Before Nevada earned its star and became the 36th state, Virginia City was a successful mining town.  What made this Western wonderland famous were large deposits of gold and silver that lined the hills, wrapping the town in a giant mineral-rich embrace.  The daily trolley tour helps curious visitors learn more about this historic city.

It all began in June of “…in 1859, right above the houses here. Patrick McLaughlin and Peter O’Riley went up there to clean out a spring. They washed some dirt and found some gold right there on the surface.  They called it the Ophir Mine and on their first day, Henry Comstock rode up…”

Henry Comstock saw the gold McLaughlin and O’Riley had found and told them they were mining on his land. In order to avoid a fight, the men decided the best thing to do was to make Comstock a full partner.  Local historians say the truths behind Comstock’s actions are unclear. We may never know if that land actually did belong to him.  What we do know is that Comstock was a fast talker with a lot of friends. Because of that, the people started calling it Comstock’s Gold. The name stuck and thus the whole area is known as the Comstock.

People from all over descended upon the Comstock in search of their fortune.  Miners worked day and night picking through the rock and dirt to get to the large amounts of gold that lay hidden in the earth. Their work was made difficult by thick globs of blue and purple mud that stuck to their pickaxes.  One day, a miner decided to have that clay examined.  As it turns out, that mud was actually silver, and the hills were overflowing with it.  That was the start of the Big Bonanza, and Nevada would forever be known as the “Silver State.”

The word Bonanza would again become synonymous with Virginia City one hundred years later, when, in 1959, a show by that name premiered on television.

It was a fictitious chronicle of the Cartwright family, owners of the Ponderosa Ranch, but the setting itself was practically a main character, one whose name was mentioned in almost every episode.

”Under the ground of Virginia City lies the greatest silver bonanza known to man….And how much are you willing to give for this fine old Virginia City Brandy… I think you’re gonna like Virginia City.”

Tourism officials get a lot of questions about the Cartwrights and the show that made them famous.  Diamond Jim works at the Virginia City Visitors Center. He says most people are dying to know…

“Where are the Cartwrights buried? (Laughs) I get a lot of questions but mostly about Bonanza from the older folks that remember Bonanza.  We get a lot of young people who don’t even know what Bonanza is.”

The Cartwright’s aren’t buried in Virginia City and the Ponderosa Ranch never really existed. Still, Bonanza would make the city famous long after its gold and silver glory days.  It also helped tell the story of some of the more famous people to call Virginia City home including a budding writer who showed up in September of 1862.  

“…You’re looking at the most unsuccessful prospector who ever blistered his hands on a pick handle….And what brings you to a newspaper office?...Your letter offering me a job…..What’s your name friend?....Sam Clemens…..Sam Clemens!”

Clemens took that job at the local newspaper – The Territorial Enterprise.  He was a remarkable storyteller and he put his abilities to good use when he was introduced to a western tradition called the “tall tale,” a story with exaggerated elements.  It was in Virginia City where the young writer Sam Clemens would transform to the quintessential American author with a name we all know.  Virginia City historian Ron James.

“Sam Clemens was born in Missouri, but Mark Twain was born in Nevada, and without Nevada, Mark Twain wouldn't have existed.”

Twain spent just under two years in Virginia City, leaving in 1864. He was challenged to a dual, but fled to California before it took place.  It’s a good thing he did, according to legend, Twain was a terrible shot.  

One of the sights on the trolley tour is the Silver Terrace Cemetery.  This is the final resting place of Virginia City residents.  There was however one resident whose grave is missing from this cemetery.

“Julia Bulette, Virginia City’s number one red light lady during the 1860s, was not allowed to be buried in the Silver Terrace Cemetery. The ladies in town didn’t want her out there. The firemen did and they wanted her in their section.”

Julia Bulette was a freelancer, meaning she didn’t work in one of the brothels that required women to surrender some of their profits to the house.  On a cold night in January, 1867, Julia was brutally robbed and murdered.  Her death was not taken lightly, least of all by the firemen, who were frequent customers.  Because they couldn’t bury Julia in their section of the cemetery, they constructed a special grave for her over a canyon east of the city. But they didn’t take Julia out of town quietly.  
All the firemen arranged a grandiose funeral precession that included a marching band and sixteen carriages.

After that, life on the Comstock continued as usual until one tragic night in October of 1875.  A drunken miner returned to his hotel room in the early hours of the morning. He lit a kerosene lamp and knocked it over starting the Great Fire.  The wind howled fiercely blowing fiery embers all over Virginia City. Historian Bert Bedeau says the flames quickly engulfed the town destroying almost every structure including Piper’s Opera House.

”It took out a good amount of housing in town. It took out a better part of the commercial district. It destroyed a couple of pretty significant industrial complexes. We lost all but one church. It was a big deal.”

Like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, residents quickly rebuilt Virginia City.  Tourists who visit now are seeing it as it was after the rebirth of 1876. The city remains a sight to behold. This charming historic town provides a place to escape the busy modern way of life, if only for a little while.  It serves as a reminder of the way it was 150 plus years ago, before Nevada won its star.

 

 

Esther Ciammachilli is a former part-time broadcaster at KUNR Public Radio.
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