Virginia City

History On 26 May 1863 Bill Fairweather and Henry Edgar found gold near Alder Creek. A township was laid out on 16 June 1863 under the name "Verina", after Varina Davis, the Confederate first lady; a Connecticut judge registering the name wrote it down as Virginia City instead. With no law beyond miners' courts, robberies and murders along the trails led to the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch, which hanged up to 15 alleged road agents in December 1863 and January 1864, including Henry Plummer, the sheriff of Bannack. Montana Territory was created on 26 May 1864, and the capital moved here from Bannack on 7 February 1865, staying until it went to Helena on 19 April 1875. Montana's first newspaper, the Montana Post, was printed here from 27 August 1864, and the first public school opened in March 1866. After the easy placer gold ran out the population fell, and by the 1940s buildings were being abandoned. Charles and Sue Bovey bought much of the town and restored it for visitors from the 1950s; the State of Montana later bought the Bovey properties.

What to See Wallace Street is the core of the historic district, with buildings such as the Gilbert Brewery, founded in 1866; the Thomas Francis Meagher House also survives in town. Boot Hill holds the graves of Jack Gallagher, Boone Helm, "Clubfoot" George Lane, Hayes Lyons and Frank Parrish, road agents killed in the vigilante era. The Bale of Hay Saloon appeared in the bar scenes of the film Little Big Man (1970). Nevada City, about 1.5 miles down the gulch, is an open-air museum of relocated buildings with the Nevada City Music Hall. The Montana Heritage Commission, with technical help from the National Park Service, also runs gold panning in Alder Gulch.

Outdoors The Alder Gulch Short Line, a narrow-gauge tourist railway owned by the State of Montana, links the Virginia City depot with Nevada City. The town sits in the Ruby River watershed, and the Madison River at Ennis, about 14 miles east, is one of Montana's best-known trout rivers. The Madison Trifecta duathlon runs between Ennis and Virginia City on the Fourth of July weekend.

Getting There Virginia City is on Montana Highway 287, about 14 miles west of Ennis. Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport is about 69 miles away, roughly an hour and three-quarters by car, and Butte about 90 miles. Yellowstone's West Entrance is about 86 miles away. There is no public transport.

When to Go Visit between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day, when lodging, shops, the railway and the Nevada City museum are all open. Nevada City runs from Memorial Day weekend through September, but most attractions wind down after Labor Day. Virginia City itself is open all year, though in winter most of its businesses are closed.