Travelogue

Virginia CityOn our way to Bishop, we decided to take a slight detour to go through Virginia City, a place I have always been interested in visiting. In fact, if I knew how cool it was, I would have suggested driving an extra half hour last night, rather than staying in Reno. It would have been much more fun to eat in a saloon and stay in an old period house.

But at least we were here now, so I intended to enjoy it. Since we moved out West, we’ve been to many ghost towns and mining sites. Virginia City is not by any means a ghost town, but rather a boom and bust town that rediscovered itself as a valuable, tastefully done, tourist attraction.

But first, a little bit of its history...

Virginia CityIn 1859, just a decade after the California Gold Rush, an incredible amount of silver was discovered along the eastern slope of Mt. Davidson near Virginia City. Named the Comstock Lode, after Henry Comstock, the part-owner of the property it was discovered on, was one of the most important mining discoveries in American History and virtually ended the California Gold Rush.

This was the first major silver strike in the U.S. and one of the richest in the country's history. From 1860 to 1889 , almost seven million tons of ore were extracted and milled, producing what today would equal approximately $700 million in profits.

This wealth came to the attention of President Lincoln and was used to help finance the Union war effort to defeat the southern states during the Civil War.

Virginia CityThe population of Virginia City and nearby Gold Hill grew from 4,000 in 1862 to a thriving metropolis of 25,000 residents in 1874. In the 1870s, Virginia City was one of the most important cities between Chicago and the West Coast, and even rivaled San Francisco. At its peak it had 25 theaters, over 100 saloons, five police precincts, a lively red-light district, and multiple newspapers. One of those newspapers, the Territorial Enterprise, hired a young reporter named Samuel Clemens. It was while working in Virginia City that he first called himself Mark Twain.

Virginia CityAs happens with most boomtowns, bust followed boom, and by 1881, the Comstock Lode was exhausted. Then the next shiny object (literally) was discovered in Bodie, CA (which we have also visited), and thousands of people in the District began to leave for better opportunities there and elsewhere.

Virginia City’s population shrank to a few hundred people, who, fortunately for us, became the custodians for hundreds of 19th-century buildings, abandoned mine shafts and tunnels and countless documents and photographs pertaining to the Comstock District's boom period.

Today, the Virginia City Historic District is a remarkable collection of over 400 buildings – most dating from the 19th-century and abandoned mine shafts, and still retains the feel of a 19th century western mining town.

Out beautiful ammoniteI love history and had totally absorbed myself in Colonial American history when we lived on the East Coast. Now, I am very much enjoying learning the very different history of the settlement and growth of the West.

On the main drag, we were attracted to the window display of rocks and minerals in the front window of a store right on the main drag called Stone Age Quarry. In particular, we were both drawn to a beautiful pair of spiral shells, sort of like a nautilus, but more colorful.

My sensitive cowboyNow, Herb and I are not big shoppers, so it was a bit surprising to both of us that we went inside to inquire about what it was. The very friendly and informative owner of the store said that the pair were the shells from an organism called an Ammonite, which died out about 66 million years ago. Fossils of them are found all around the world. This particular pair came from Madagascar.

The lines on the shell are called “sutured patterns” and they became increasingly complex as the organism evolved. They were absolutely beautiful.

$48 for the pair seemed reasonable, so the pair is now proudly displayed in my bookcase.

Oh, and kudos to Herb for being brave enough to strut past the saloons on Main Street with his very colorful rock climbing shorts and Chaco sandals, rather than jeans and cowboy boots, clutching our beautiful ammonite.