Nevada City

Nevada City, about 1.5 miles down Alder Gulch from Virginia City, was one of the two commercial centres of the 1863 Alder Gulch gold rush. It was here, on 19 December 1863, that a miners' court convicted George Ives of murder, and he was hanged in the middle of town, weeks before the vigilante hangings that followed in January 1864. The town incorporated in 1865 but faded fast: about 100 people were left by 1869 and 50 by 1880. From 1896 to 1922 the Conrey Placer Mining Company dredged the gulch and destroyed many of the remaining buildings.

What you see today is an open-air museum, much of it assembled from elsewhere. Beginning in the 1950s Charles Bovey moved nearly 100 historic buildings from around Montana to the site, adding them to the few originals. The town is now owned by the State of Montana and run by the Montana Heritage Commission; one count gives 108 buildings, 14 of them original to Nevada City. Walk the streets and look into the furnished buildings, filled with what the commission calls one of the largest collections of Old West artefacts outside the Smithsonian. At the entrance, the Nevada City Music Hall holds a collection of mechanical music machines that is described as the largest in North America.

On summer weekends living-history volunteers in period dress work in the buildings. In 2026 they were in town on Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm and Sundays from 10 am to 3 pm, from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. The museum's summer hours are 10 am to 6 pm daily, with last entry at 5 pm. The 2026 season has now ended, and the museum is closed until next Memorial Day weekend.

The most enjoyable way to arrive is on the Alder Gulch Short Line, the narrow-gauge train from the Virginia City depot. In 2026 it ran from 23 May to 7 September, every half hour from 10:30 am, taking about 15 minutes each way. Tickets are sold only in person, first come first served, at the Nevada City museum and the Virginia City depot. Allow two hours for the museum, more on a living-history day.