There is much to do in Virginia City. Visitors can enjoy a variety of restaurants, saloons, and museums. There are Tex-Mex joints, pizza restaurants, and candy stores. Families can find a variety of treats at local businesses such as Barrels O Candy and Grandma’s Fudge Factory. The Bucket of Blood Saloon has live music and is a great place to get a drink.
Many people visit Virginia City because of the gold, silver, and other mineral discoveries that made it famous. This town was a boomtown in the nineteenth century. Men flocked here to make money in the Comstock Lode silver mines. The boomtown quickly surpassed all other Nevada boomtowns, and its rapid growth helped spur Nevada statehood. Afterwards, the gold and silver abounding in the area spurred a rash of silver mining throughout the American West.
If you want to camp nearby, there are a few options in the area. A couple of BLM dispersed camping areas near the Mound House are great choices. They are located near U.S. Highway 50 and offer easy access to local attractions. But these are not very scenic, and the sites can get quite crowded on the weekends. Therefore, you’re likely to find a party scene here! If you’re traveling to Virginia City from another city, make sure to check out one of the many campgrounds in the area.
The Way It Was Museum is a museum that highlights the history of mining in the Comstock area. This museum has the largest collection of Comstock mining artifacts. You’ll also have the chance to see one of the most haunted locations in America: the Washoe Club. Tours take place daily from 11am to 5pm. In addition to museums, the town is known for its ghost tours and has ghosts that haunt it.
After World War II, the area saw a boom in population, with a wealthy socialite named Lucius Beebe moving there. Beebe bought a number of buildings and revived the town’s fame as an artist’s retreat. The new wealth brought by mining made Virginia City a town that rivaled San Francisco in size. President Abraham Lincoln was intrigued by the new wealth. The city was a popular movie shooting location in the 1940s and 1950s, and the popular TV show Bonanza premiered in the area.
The historic downtown of Virginia City is an enchanting place to explore. The city features board sidewalks and restored buildings from the 1860s and 1870s. There are plenty of museums in the area, including the Fourth Ward School Museum. Visitors can step back in time and learn about local history in a fully restored 1876 classroom. It is the only school built entirely of wood in the United States. It’s worth taking a look around the historic district during your visit.
The city’s rich ore body sparked the growth of its industrial core. The mining industry brought new immigrants from all over the world. The British had pioneered hard rock technology to develop tin mines, and many of them immigrated to the Comstock district to make a living. The influx of immigrants brought with them the flavor of the frontier and the culture of the English. In addition to the English, Irish, and German immigrants were prominent in the town’s saloons and mid-merchant levels. The redlight district and saloons were dominated by German and Irish immigrants. Chinese immigrants faced discrimination in employment and were left with niche occupations like selling firewood.