The 19th century mining boom turned Virginia City into the most important settlement between Denver and San Francisco; and grubby prospectors into instant millionaires.  They built mansions, imported furniture and fashions from Europe and the Orient, and helped finance the Civil War... and then went on to build empires around the world. The finest example being San Francisco.

At the peak of its glory, Virginia City was a boisterous town. There was gold in every hill and millions of dollars were being made. Men came from everywhere.  The spirits of these Comstock characters still inhabit the places they built, and 150 years later romance still thrives in the wondrous place in the shadow of Sun Mountain. Learn of , the "Bonanza Kings" of Irish descent: Mackay, Fair, Flood and O'Brien or Mark Twain and his stint as a reporter for the Territorial Enterprise, and how his writing career began here. Virginia City is for families with a passion for history, imagination and truly unforgettable fun!

Nevada’s Virginia City Named Among Nation’s Top

12 Distinctive Destinations

Historic Town Fights Recession Woes with See-For Free Experience

 Historic Virginia City, NEV/January 13, 2009 – Historic Virginia City, Nevada, site of a world-famous gold and silver mining boom that transformed people from poor to prosperous overnight, was named today as one of America’s 12 most distinctive destinations.

 The National Trust for Historic Preservation will present the Distinctive Destinations Award to Storey County Commissioner Bum Hess, Feb. 8, at Historic Piper’s Opera House, where the celebration will feature champagne and oysters, once the most expensive food in the mountain town 24 miles from Reno.

 “Virginia City is thrilled and gratified that our town is being awarded national recognition as a destination whose colorful, exciting history lives on for everyone to experience” Hess said.  “We are proud to have protected the picturesque buildings and artifacts so we can offer visitors an authentic Victorian-era experience in Nevada’s most famous historic mining town at little to no cost.”

 The event also will kick-off the town’s celebration of its 150^th Anniversary as the one time “richest place on earth” where big-producing gold and silver mines created instant millionaires with $400 million of gold and silver extracted from mines.  Many remnants of the ‘way it was’ give guests the opportunity to “Step Back in Time” at little or no cost.

 Open year-round, Virginia City offers parents, grandparents and singles an interactive learning experience for free.  It is easily accessible by highways from nearby Reno and Carson City, Nevada’s capital.

 Guests can stroll along authentic board sidewalks, view historic churches, scores of 19^th century homes, public buildings and quaint cemeteries.  They also can visit Old West saloons, shops, museums and restaurants for free or nominal costs, ride on a stagecoach, horse-drawn carriage, trolley or the historic steam-engine Virginia and Truckee Railroad that crosses scenic high desert and landscape dotted with old mines

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