Virginia City, Nevada is the largest federally designated Historical District in America. It is maintained in its original condition, as it was in the boom days of the 1870s, wood sidewalks and all. At its height, the Comstock Lode yielded more than $400 million in gold and silver ($6 billion in today’s prices), making it the richest known U.S. silver deposit. It was home to 30,000 people. Mining went on 24 hours per day.

Investments made in mining on the Comstock from the 1860s through the 1880s financed the building of San Francisco. President Lincoln realized its importance and named Nevada a state in 1864. He needed the gold and silver to keep the Union solvent during the Civil War.

A young journalist, Mark Twain, got his start in Virginia City as did George Hearst, the father of newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. People became instant millionaires and the town needed to reflect its opulence. Opera houses, railroads, grand hotels and huge mansions were erected. Most of these structures still stand and offer tours.

The Virginia City mines began to play out in the 1880’s but mining continued through WWII. Tourism is now the main industry attracting 1.5 million visitors a year (boosted partly through reruns of the TV series Bonanza). People come for its rich history and to see a living time capsule. Everything is as it was in the 1880s except for the mandatory slot machines (remember, we are in Nevada).

For us the tours were the draw. Tours are available throughout the city… from mansions to mines (as of this writing the old Opera House was about to be reopened). There are several museums and the train ride aboard the old Virginia City & Truckee railroad is a must for the kids.

Filled with a ménage of restaurants, curio shops and bars, the main street is the hub; everyone converges here, from trikers to bikers.

Strolling this boardwalk, bathing in the history and scenery, lured by so many stores, one might come to believe that life is not complete unless one owns a velvet portrait of Elvis or an ashtray from the “World Famous Mustang Ranch.” For fulfillment I settled on a bag of polished rocks. Might be time for the train ride...

Is it a tourist trap? Yeah. Is it hoakie? A bit. Historical value? Tons. Worth the trip? Definitely!