Virginia City
After two weeks of a sick family, being ill, and under quarantine, I was ready to get out and explore. Friday, everyone was working or busy, so I headed to Virginia City by myself. My goal was the Chollar Mine, but I thought I should explore as long as I was there.
I photographed the Fourth Ward School Museum and St. Mary’s Art Center. Daughters of Charity opened St. Mary’s in 1876 as a hospital and orphanage. With a population decline, the hospital closed in the 1940s but reopened as an art center in the 1960s.
Virginia City “Spite House”
Before the mine tour, I had some time to kill and debated what to explore. Then, I remembered an article I read about “spite houses .” It took a little searching, but I found the infamous Virginia City spite house.
According to local lore, a miner wanted a house with many windows. After touring the mine, I can see why he wanted good airflow and abundant light. So he built a beautiful white house with windows on all sides.
The man had made at least one enemy in his time in Virginia City. Another miner purchased the adjacent lot moved a house to the property, situating it on the boundary. The home was next to the white house… right next to the white house. The houses were less than twelve inches apart, and at the roofline, the red house surrounds the white house. The placement cut off any light or airflow to the side of the white house.
I rounded out my Virginia City Day with lunch at Cafe del Rio and a treat at the Chocolat Nuggett, just for research purposes, of course.
Chollar Mine
Chollar Mine tour was a great experience. We climbed 400′ into the hillside, ending up under C Street. I learned about Comstock’s history and the mining process over the years. It is a great and informative tour; my only suggestion is to wear waterproof shoes this time of year.
Eagles & Ag
Saturday was the annual Eagles and Agriculture event. I hosted four tour groups with Senator Settlemeyer and his daughter at their family ranch in the morning. That afternoon, I had one group tour our ranch. Thankfully both the great horned and barn owls cooperated, so everyone got to see some of our wildlife. The barn owls put the “prowl” in the Owl Prowl and kept everyone moving, trying to keep up with their movements.
I was pretty worn out and relaxed the rest of the weekend. First, I started Adolph Sutro’s biography, an easy and interesting read. I also started reading a fictional history about a Chollar Mine tour group sent back into the 1800s after experiencing an earthquake while in the tunnel. It is written by my Chollar Mine tour guide’s wife and I am glad I started it after my tour!
1-30-2022
Follow me on social media:
Shawna says
I love that you are sharing the history of the great places to explore! This last weekend while we were out exploring, we came across an old mine out of Nixon on the way to the School Bus Canyon. Do you have any information on the mine? We also found a cave with a ladder in it with an archaeological sign for it, but no name. Do you know what the cave was used for? Keep up the great inspiring work!
Tami says
Are you thinking M.G.L mine? https://nvtami.com/index.php/2021/09/07/m-g-l-mine-nevada/
M.G.L. was Nevada Expeditions guess.
I’m not sure if you can post pictures here, but you can email me at tami@NVTami.com. If I don’t know I’ll check with a few friends.