pogoism

Virginia City is an odd place.

It’s one of the most famous of the mining boomtowns in the Old West, and lies on the site of the Comstock Lode silver deposit – the first major silver deposit found in the US. The deposit, found in 1859, brought the population of the city to 30,000. However, this dropped when the Comstock Lode ended in 1898.

Virginia City itself is a National Historic Landmark, and as such does not have any chain stores or fast food restaurants. It’s pretty much a ghost town. The city manages to draw about 2 million visitors every year. To be honest, if you travelled far to get here, you might be somewhat disappointed.

There isn’t much in the way of things to do in the city, but it’s a fun place to walk around. There are two main attractions:

• The Suicide Table – located in one (of the many) saloons, the Suicide Table is a poker table where supposedly many people have gambled away their fortunes and killed themselves. Nice.
• The Way It Was Museum – which shuts really early, so we didn’t actually get to go round. I’m sure it’s interesting though.
• … and loads of candy shops, souvenir shops, antique shops and saloons.

Oh! And I almost forgot. Mark Twain started his career as a journalist in Virginia City.

As usual, more photos over on the ‘ole Flickr.