Welcome to Virginia City, Montana
This section of Gold West Country offers many opportunities to relive the adventure of gold rush days. Many of the towns were founded during that famous era and are rich with history and lore. Virginia City in particular is known for the notorious sheriff and highwayman, Henry Plummer. Visit the surrounding towns to get a well-rounded vision of early pioneer life, and be sure to take in all of the local attractions.
The restoration of these towns began decades ago, and the state of Montana recently purchased both Virginia City and Nevada City so that the preservation can continue.
Some interesting things to do in Virginia City include:
Heritage Days & Victorian Ball: a celebration of the Victorian era held in August. Events include a Grand Ball where guests attend in period costume. Classes on customs and the dances will be provided the afternoon of the Ball.
Opera House: the Virginia City Players' variety productions in the style of 19th-century entertainment amuse and delight visitors. Virginia City offers the oldest continuously operating summer stock theater west of the Mississippi. Check with the Chamber of Commerce for a schedule of shows.
Brewery Follies: relax with a libation at Montana's first brewery, the H. S. Gilbert Brewery, and enjoy a performance of the Brewery Follies Players.
Museums, shops, accommodations; in Virginia City, you can shop, dine and sleep without leaving the atmosphere of the 1860s. Dine in the Wells Fargo Coffee House or the Star Bakery and bend an elbow in the Bale of Hay Saloon or Gilbert's Brewery. Modern, overnight accommodations in a charming, 19th-century atmosphere are available. You will find fascinating nuggets of history and memories to treasure.
Alder Gulch Short Line: take the train to Nevada City on an authentic narrow-gauge railroad. Travel between the two mining camps on the Alder Gulch Short Line Railroad. At the Nevada City end of the line, visit the Alder Gulch Short Line Steam Railroad Museum with its collection of equipment and stock from railroading's gold rush era.
Virginia City was born with the discovery of gold in Alder Gulch in 1863. A 'boom town' of the post Civil War era, Virginia City served as the Montana Territorial Capital for 10 years, until the gold ran out. Just a mile away lies Nevada City, a western town created from a collection of buildings from other ghost towns. Both towns have been largely restored and preserved as they once stood; living examples of the real Old West. One hundred fifty buildings have been certified authentic by the Montana Historical Society. Original buildings, dating from the Territorial days, are filled with merchandise and implements used when gold camps flourished in the West. Boardwalks, mechanical music machines, a penny arcade, antique automobiles and even a two-story outhouse add to the Old West atmosphere.
The majestic Madison River Valley, just west of Virginia City, features some of the world's finest trout streams, as well as a beautiful mountain backdrop.
Elevation: 5,882 feet
View Travel Related Businesses and Events in Virginia City
Related LinksAlder Gulch Accommodations (Virginia City)
http://www.aldergulchaccommodations.com
Fairweather Inn (Virginia City)
http://www.aldergulchaccommodations.com
Situated in the heart of Virginia City, the Fairweather Inn is a stately Victorian hotel. The lobby offers a warm atmosphere complemented with period furniture and western flavor. Rooms on the second floor have private baths. All rooms on the main floor have Victorian furnishings and shared-bath facilities
Frontier House Museum (Virginia City)
http://www.frontierhousemuseum.com
The crew and cast of Frontier House spent most of 2001 in Montana filming the series in which three modern day families time-travel back to live as they would have on the 1883 Rocky Mountain frontier. Composed of seven adults and six children, these adventurous families resided in 'Frontier Valley', an isolated mountain location in south central Montana. Reliving an era coincident with the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the Montana Territory, they endured the hardships and privations of pioneer life for six months.
Nevada City Hotel and Cabins (Virginia City)
http://aldergulchaccommodations.com/
Once a bustling stage-stop along the gold trail, today the Nevada City Hotel and Cabins offer western style rooms with private baths. The hotel is a two-story log structure with a sitting parlor and early-day saloon in the main lobby.
Stonehouse Inn Bed & Breakfast (Virginia City)
http://www.stonehouseinnbb.com/
The Stonehouse Inn is located in Virginia City, the cradle of Montana history. As the first Capitol of the Territory, it is famous for the Vigilantes and the Road Agents they hung. Join us and relive the history of this famous ghost town in southwest Montana.
Virginia City Chamber (Virginia City)
http://www.virginiacitychamber.com
The very much alive ghost town, Virginia City, Montana, is frozen in time. It is a remarkably well preserved old west Victorian gold mining town. It is the true and original Old West.
Virginia City Montana (Virginia City)
http://www.virginiacitymt.com
Virginia City is a living town of 150 year round residents who host the West's best preserved gold mining town from the 1860s. Visitors walk the same boardwalks that desperate Vigilantes once patrolled. Guests are transported to a time when rowdy miners mingled in saloons and restaurants with women of negotiable affection
Virginia City Overland Stage & Horseback (Virginia City)
http://www.virginiacitystagecoach.com
PO Box 215 Alder MT 59710
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