Ghost town and National Historic Landmark preserving Old West period buildings that have been added to the National Register of Historic Places
General Information
From Bozeman, MT (66 miles): Head west on W Olive St toward S 5th Ave. Turn right onto S 8th Ave. Turn left onto US-191 S/W Main St. Continue onto MT-84 W/Norris Rd. Turn left onto US-287 S. Turn right onto MT-287 N/W Main St. Turn right onto Van Buren St.
Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana. In 1961 the town and the surrounding area were designated a National Historic Landmark District, the Virginia City Historic District.
In May 1863, a group of prospectors were headed toward the Yellowstone River and instead came upon a party of the Crow tribe and was forced to return to Bannack. On May 26, 1863, Bill Fairweather and Henry Edgar discovered gold near Alder Creek. The prospectors could not keep the site a secret and were followed on their return to the gold bearing site. A mining district was set up in order to formulate rules about individual gold claims. On June 16, 1863 under the name of "Verina" the township was formed a mile south of the gold fields. The name was intended to honor Varina Howell Davis, the first and only First Lady of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Verina, although in Union territory, was founded by men whose loyalties were thoroughly Confederate. Upon registration of the name, a Connecticut judge, G. G. Bissell, objected to their choice and recorded it as Virginia City.
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In the 1940s, Charles and Sue Bovey began buying the town, putting much needed maintenance into failing structures. The ghost town of Virginia City began to be restored for tourism in the 1950s. The Boveys operated the town as an open-air museum complete with artifacts and living history enactments. Of the nearly three hundred structures in town, almost half were built prior to 1900. Buildings in their original condition with Old West period displays and information plaques stand next to presently active restaurants, gift shops, and other businesses. The town received National Historic Landmark status in 1962, and many of its buildings have been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Virginia City also has a Boothill Cemetery. The 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge Alder Gulch Short Line Railroad transports passengers by rail to the nearby ghost town of Nevada City, Montana, and back.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Virginia City, Montana", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0