Virginia City, NV, town built by, and on, the Comstock Lode



Gould and Curry Mining offices, now Mackay House, with St. Mary's Church in distance

Fourth Ward School dates to 1875

C Street is Virginia City's main drag, with quaint shops and restaurants

Silver Terrace Cemeteries, just north of town, are a collection of 11 cemeteries

After silver and gold was discovered in 1859, Virginia City, NV (just 30 miles south of Reno) boomed for over 20 years and was vital in bringing Nevada into the Union. The storied Comstock Lode produced gold and silver valued at $400 million in today’s values; its riches also helped build San Francisco through miners who began their fortunes here like George Hearst.

Seven major mines worked the ore deposits during the boom, from both ends of the lode. Today, mining continues, tied to the vacillating price of gold and silver. Virginia City offers a veritable “living history of mining”. The Comstock Keystone Mine Head Frame, once located on Gold Hill, is now part of a Comstock Lode Park on the city’s C Street (Hwy 341). Between 1933 and 1939, the Keystone Mine produced gold and silver valued at $67 and $7 million in today’s prices, respectively. Then the mine was used by Dayton Consolidated to produce millions more, ceasing production in 1942.

Just south on C Street are blocks lined with quaint shops, restaurants and several more museums celebrating the town’s booming and bawdy history! Established 1859, the Gould and Curry Mining Company would produce over $15 million between 1860 and 1881 (Curry relocated to Carson City, where he is considered founding father). The beautiful mining office, built in 1860, was home to the mining superintendant - the first was George Hearst, who soon moved on to other mining interests – the vast Hearst fortune began here! In 1875, Bonanza King John Mackay moved into the building when his home was destroyed in the great fire of 1875. Today the Gould and Curry Mining Company offices, later called the Mackay House, are a museum with tours of the mining offices.

To educate its burgeoning youth, the Fourth Ward School was finished in 1875; with four stories and 14 classrooms it was both a grammar/high-school combination. The stately school graduated its last class in 1936 after educating thousands!

Vast riches brought the appreciation of God to the population and Virginia City blossomed with churches in its boom years. St. Mary’s in the Mountains, known as the “mother church” of the Comstock Lode, traces its history to 1858 when Rev. Gallagher celebrated the first Catholic mass; his brother opened the first Roman Catholic Church nearby in 1860. This stunning church was finished in 1868, damaged in the great 1875 fire and rebuilt in 1876. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church was established 1861, destroyed by fire in 1875 and rebuilt and rededicated in 1876. It was the first congregation in the diocese of Nevada and stands today as a marvelous architectural treasure.

Of course, the miners venerated their dead. Silver Terrace Cemeteries, just north of the city, is a combination of 11 old cemeteries grouped together. The 30 acre grounds were irrigated and sustained a variety of native and imported plants; a walk through the grounds was meant to be a contemplative experience. Today a local foundation works to reestablish the cemeteries’ grandeur.

For more “Weekend Getaways”, see my blog; LittlePlacesIKnow@blogspot.com!