Virginia City, MT Photos

The gold rush town of Virginia City once rated being the capital of Montana, but lost that status when the wealth ended. During its heyday, the town was controlled by a notorious vigilante committee who executed anyone they considered undesirable, without benefit of the niceties of the law. Some of the businesses in town hung on for a while, but after a while several simple shuttered their doors, even abandoning merchandise as a time capsule for the future. Today Virginia City exists on tourism as a living ghost town. Most of the town is a district on the National Register.

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Overview of Virginia City. Virginia City, MT.	Heritage buildings of Virginia City as they stood when gold rush ended & capital moved to Helena. Virginia City, MT.	Madison County Courthouse (1876). Virginia City, MT. Style: Italianate. Architect: Loren B. Olds.	Entrance of Madison County Courthouse. Virginia City, MT.

Model T Ford & Wallace Streetscape. Virginia City, MT.	Antique fire engine tour vehicle. Virginia City, MT.	Cowboy riding through town. Virginia City, MT.	Young lady riding sidesaddle in long gown. Virginia City, MT.

Hangman's Building (1864) where vigilantes hanged road agents from rafter while building under construction. It later served druggists then as post office. Virginia City, MT.	Elling Bank (1864). Virginia City, MT.	Wallace streetscape with Metropolitan Meat Market, Cousins Candy Shop, Rank's Drugstore & Masonic Temple. Virginia City, MT.	Masonic Temple (1865) in stone building built by Paris Pfouts (vigilante president) & Samuel Russel. Virginia City, MT.

Details of Masonic Temple with adobe mortar since lime was not available in this gold rush town. Virginia City, MT.	Rank's Drugstore (1865) in stone building built by Paris Pfouts & Samuel Russel. Virginia City, MT.	Cousins Candy Shop (series of former stores) in 1888 brick building. Virginia City, MT.	Array of candy in Cousins Candy Shop. Virginia City, MT.

Bear bench at Cousins Candy Shop. Virginia City, MT.	Saltwater taffy pulling at Cousins Candy Shop. Virginia City, MT.	Metropolitan Meat Market & Cousins Candy Shop. Virginia City, MT.	Metropolitan Meat Market (1888) with cast iron storefront. Virginia City, MT.

Cast iron storefront details of Metropolitan Meat Market. Virginia City, MT.	Cast iron leaf details of Metropolitan Meat Market. Virginia City, MT.	Makers nameplate of Geo. L. Mesker & Co. Architectural Iron Works, Evansville, Ind. on Metropolitan Meat Market building. Virginia City, MT.	Gold Shop frame building in style of the frontier. Virginia City, MT.

Historical Museum in frontier board & batten building. Virginia City, MT.	Montana Post & Historical Museum on Wallace Street. Virginia City, MT.	Montana Post (1863, reconstructed 1946) built by D.W. Tilton. Virginia City, MT.	Anaconda Hotel (now Fairweather Inn) (1863). Virginia City, MT.

Grocer William Kiskadden's Stone Block (Vigilante Barn) (1863) where the Vigilantes were said to meet. Later it became a blacksmith's shop. Virginia City, MT.	Blacksmith & Wagon Shop in former Kiskadden's Stone Block. Virginia City, MT.	Buggies in Blacksmith & Wagon Shop. Virginia City, MT.	City Bakery Building. Virginia City, MT.

Frontier store on Wallace Street. Virginia City, MT.	False-fronted wooden shop on Wallace Street. Virginia City, MT.	Typical goods sold in frontier shop of gold rush town of Virginia City. Virginia City, MT.	G. Goldberg dry goods & notions store (1863). Virginia City, MT.

Interior of G. Goldberg (later McGovern) dry goods & notions store exactly as it was in 1945 when the McGovern Sisters locked the door & quit business. Virginia City, MT.	Kramer Building (dress shop) (1863). Virginia City, MT.	Wooden buildings in Virginia City landscape. Virginia City, MT.	Former Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone office in wooden shack. Virginia City, MT.

Dance & Stuart Store (1863, replica 1950 of original logs). Virginia City, MT.	Dance & Stuart Store. Virginia City, MT.	The Chas. Parker Co., Meriden, Conn., coffee grinder in Dance & Stuart Store. Virginia City, MT.	Interior of Dance & Stuart Mercantile Store. Virginia City, MT.

Julius Kohls House (1878). Virginia City, MT.	Log cabin with sod roof. Virginia City, MT.	Alder Gulch Short Line Depot of Northern Pacific Railroad (c1895) (moved to Virginia City from Harrison, MT). Virginia City, MT.	Alder Gulch Short Line Depot detail. Virginia City, MT.

Alder Gulch narrow gauge railroad to Nevada City. Virginia City, MT.	Alder Gulch narrow gauge railroad locomotive. Virginia City, MT.	Alder Gulch narrow gauge railroad tourist car. Virginia City, MT.	Green Front Boarding House (1860s) originally a brothel (female boarding houses) then part of Chinatown. Virginia City, MT.

Smith & Boyd Livery Stable (c1900) converted to a theater in 1949. Virginia City, MT.	Classic car passes Theater in Smith & Boyd Livery Stable. Virginia City, MT.	J.F. Stoer Saloon (Bale of Hay Saloon) (1863). Virginia City, MT.	Tourist stagecoach passes before Sauerbier Blacksmith Shop (1863). Virginia City, MT.

Interior of Sauerbier Blacksmith Shop. Virginia City, MT.	S.L. Simpson Building (Barber Shop) (1863). Virginia City, MT.	Montana Picture Gallery (established 1864). Virginia City, MT.	Coffee House next to Buford Block. Virginia City, MT.

Buford Block (1899) was largest mercantile store in Montana when built. Virginia City, MT.	Interior of S.R. Buford Store with original inventory from when store closed. Virginia City, MT.	Groceries in interior of S.R. Buford Store. Virginia City, MT.	Wells Fargo Express Office with wooden drain pipe crossing sidewalk. Virginia City, MT.

Interior of Wells Fargo Express Office. Virginia City, MT.	E.L. Smith Store (1863) with Montana's first show windows. Virginia City, MT.	Actual inventory within E.L. Smith Store. Virginia City, MT.	Actual inventory within E.L. Smith Store. Virginia City, MT.

Painting of Turkish Potentate on store front on Wallace Street. Virginia City, MT.	Contents Store (1864) where second floor held Territorial Government Office (1865-75). Virginia City, MT.	Creighton Stone Block (1860s). Virginia City, MT.	C.L. Dahler House (1866, converted to Gothic c1875). Virginia City, MT.

Bargeboard of C.L. Dahler House. Virginia City, MT.	McKay / McNulty House (1884). Virginia City, MT.	Territorial Governor's Mansion (1864) occupied by Governor Benjamin F. Potts (1870-3) for first three years of his 12-year term. Virginia City, MT.	Gohn House (1892) & Lewis/Gohn House (1864) on Wallace Street. Virginia City, MT.

Virginia City Thompson-Hickman Museum (1918). Virginia City, MT. Architect: Frank A. Colby.	Etching of view of Virginia City (1875) at town Museum. Virginia City, MT.	Virginia City Museum displays. Virginia City, MT.	Chinese artifacts of town's Chinese community at Virginia City Museum. Virginia City, MT.

Carved chair (c1893) which was displayed at Columbia Exposition in Chicago now at Virginia City Museum. Virginia City, MT.	Madison Co., Montana scroll on carved chair at Virginia City Museum. Virginia City, MT.	Gun collection at Virginia City Museum. Virginia City, MT.	Photos of Vigilantes who tried & hanged people they deemed undesirable at Virginia City Museum. Virginia City, MT.

Wooden tombstones of some men hanged by Virginia City Vigilantes at Virginia City Museum. Virginia City, MT.	Boot hill cemetery where Vigilantes victims were buried. Virginia City, MT.	Abandoned gas station on Wallace Street. Virginia City, MT.	George Thaxton House (1884). Virginia City, MT. Style: Gothic Revival.

Gothic details of George Thaxton House. Virginia City, MT.	St Paul's Episcopal Church (1902-4). Virginia City, MT. Style: Gothic Revival. Architect: Fennel & Grove.	Nevada City Rail Depot (1964 replica of Great Northern plans). Nevada City, MT.	Log & wooden buildings of open air museum. Nevada City, MT.

Criterion Dance Hall at Nevada City open air museum. Nevada City, MT.	Log store at Nevada City open air museum. Nevada City, MT.	Nevada City Hotel. Nevada City, MT.


See Also:	Montana