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Plan a Road Trip > Explore America > Nevada > Virginia City |
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Time Zone
Pacific
Latitude/Longitude
39.37° /-119.60°
Today's Forecast
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HIGH: 63
LOW: 24
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Virginia City boosters preserve the town's history under the motto "Save Virginia City -- She Saved the Union." The rich Comstock Lode -- the single largest silver and gold strike -- played a vital role in shoring up the federal government's finances. The city was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1966. Old Virginia City had 110 saloons and 6 churches, theaters, and an elegant opera house. During the mining era, it boasted a population of 23,000. Today, visitors step back into the 1870s with authentic boardwalks, saloons, museums, and shops in this once-sophisticated town, called "The Richest Place on Earth," where rough miners, mining millionaires and their belles dwelled. The Territorial Enterprise, through which Mark Twain began his writing career, was first published in 1858. In the summer, Piper's Opera House is open, and the Virginia & Truckee Railroad offers 45-minute rides to Gold Hill. Tour the Mackay Mansion (1860); Gould and Curry Mining Co.; and Chollar silver and gold mine (1861). You can also visit the Nevada Gambling and the Way It Was museums. Many of the city's historic saloons offer slot machines and gaming devices where you can try your luck. Lodging can be found in area bed-and-breakfasts and two hotels.
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