Abandoned Towns
C Street’s commercial buildings and boardwalk, August 2010

Silver mining town · Gold mining town

Virginia City

The 1859 Comstock discovery built a city of mines, newspapers and theaters. Virginia City still has residents and a busy historic business district.

39°18′27″N 119°38′54″W · ≈6,120 ft

Photo: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Living community

The tourism commission describes an active community with shops, attractions and residents. Public streets provide a way to see the town; interiors, tours and private lots have their own rules. Do not enter old mine workings. Opening times and admission belong to each attraction, not to the town as a whole.

Overview

The Comstock’s living mining town

C Street’s commercial buildings and boardwalk, August 2010
C Street’s commercial buildings and boardwalk, August 2010 · Photo: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Virginia City developed after the Comstock Lode discovery in 1859. Silver and gold drew workers and investment, while deep mining required new systems for timbering, pumping and ventilation. Wealth from the mines supported schools, theaters, newspapers and a dense commercial district on the hillside.

The Great Fire of October 26, 1875 destroyed much of the city, and rebuilding shaped many of the buildings visitors see today. Mining output declined after the bonanza years, but Virginia City did not disappear. The 2020 census counted 787 residents, and the town remains Storey County’s seat.

Video

Virginia City in 30 seconds

Virginia City rose with Nevada’s Comstock silver boom. Historic photographs and maps are dated on screen; current access is summarized in the guide.

Images and historic maps: inkknife_2000 (7.5 million views +) (CC BY-SA 2.0), Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided (Public domain), Chris M Morris (CC BY 2.0), Loren Kerns from Tigard, Oregon, USA (CC BY 2.0). Cropped, animated and overlaid with text. Video adaptation: CC BY-SA 4.0. Original synthesized music; narration by Google Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS, Charon. English captions included.

History

How Virginia City grew and changed

  1. The Comstock discovery begins Virginia City’s rapid growth.
  2. Samuel Clemens works at the Territorial Enterprise and adopts the name Mark Twain.
  3. The Big Bonanza discovery extends the mining boom.
  4. The Great Fire destroys much of the town on October 26.
  5. Rebuilding continues as the great mining boom fades.
  6. The census counts 787 residents.

On the ground

What remains at Virginia City

C Street retains a commercial streetscape of historic buildings and active businesses. The Fourth Ward School and Piper’s Opera House survive as separate attractions. Cemeteries and mining features extend beyond the main street. Check individual operators for building access rather than assuming the whole historic district is one museum.

Before you go

Access and current conditions

The tourism commission describes an active community with shops, attractions and residents. Public streets provide a way to see the town; interiors, tours and private lots have their own rules. Do not enter old mine workings. Opening times and admission belong to each attraction, not to the town as a whole.

Reading the maps

The town in its landscape

The sheets show the town’s street grid, Mount Davidson and numerous named mine shafts. The 1974 sheet adds an aerial view of the same landscape.

Historic maps

Virginia City on USGS maps, 1891–1994

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Virginia City, 1891
Carson sheet, 1891, 1:125,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

The routes below use OSRM on OpenStreetMap data. Follow the access notes above and confirm current conditions before traveling.

USGS topographic location map of Virginia City

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From Carson City15.4 miabout 25 min
  1. Start on South Carson Street (US 395 BUS)0.1 mi
  2. Turn right onto East Musser Street0.1 mi
  3. Turn left onto North Stewart Street0.4 mi
  4. Turn right onto East William Street1.3 mi
  5. On ramp slight left onto the connecting road0.0 mi
  6. Turn right onto the connecting road0.0 mi
  7. Continue straight onto East William Street0.1 mi
  8. Continue straight onto Lincoln Highway (US 50)5.9 mi
  9. Off ramp slight left onto the connecting road0.1 mi
  10. Turn left onto Comstock Highway (SR 341)2.9 mi
  11. Continue straight onto Main Street (SR 342)3.1 mi
  12. Continue slight right onto South C Street (SR 342)1.1 mi
  13. Turn right onto Taylor Street0.1 mi
  14. Turn right onto South G Street0.1 mi
  15. Arrive at the routed road endpoint0.0 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • The tourism commission describes an active community with shops, attractions and residents. Public streets provide a way to see the town; interiors, tours and private lots have their own rules. Do not enter old mine workings. Opening times and admission belong to each attraction, not to the town as a whole.

Photos

Virginia City in photos

Visitor reports

Been to Virginia City?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Virginia City

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Nevada index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. Virginia City, Nevada - Wikipedia: historical chronology, identity and location; read October 25, 2026.
  2. Virginia City - Nevada Ghost Town: historical fact sheet and town history; read October 25, 2026.
  3. History - Virginia City, Nevada - Historic Comstock Mining Town: history, surviving features and visitor information; read October 25, 2026.
  4. Virginia City Nevada - Virginia City: history, surviving features and visitor information; read October 25, 2026.
  5. Elevation at the mapped point: USGS 3D Elevation Program query, October 25, 2026. Historical topographic sheets: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).
  6. Road routes and step distances: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), October 25, 2026. Route endpoints are shown separately where they do not reach the town point; estimates do not confirm current road access.
  7. Wikimedia Commons, "C" Street, Virginia City, NV (5836974572).jpg: C Street’s commercial buildings and boardwalk, August 2010; CC BY-SA 2.0. File description and image checked October 25, 2026.
  8. Wikimedia Commons, Virginia City, Nevada.jpg: Virginia City across the hillside, July 2016; CC BY 2.0. File description and image checked October 25, 2026.
  9. Wikimedia Commons, Fourth Ward School (10314807305).jpg: The Fourth Ward School, October 2013; CC BY 2.0. File description and image checked October 25, 2026.
  10. Wikimedia Commons, The Way It Was Museum, Virginia City, Nevada (22665601546).jpg: The Way It Was Museum’s outdoor mining displays, October 2015; CC BY 2.0. File description and image checked October 25, 2026.
  11. Wikimedia Commons, View of Virginia City, Nev., from a nearby hillside, 1867-68. By O'Sullivan - NARA - 519490.jpg: Virginia City from a hillside, photographed by Timothy O’Sullivan in 1867–1868; Public domain. File description and image checked October 25, 2026.

Photo and map credits