Cats and Trails and Garden Tales
Musings on cats, travel, gardens and life
Scenes from Nevada City, Ghost Town of the Old West
On our recent trip to Yellowstone we took the road less traveled to visit the ghost town of Nevada City.
We left Missoula, passed through Butte then turned south onto country roads lined with arrowleaf balsamroot. There was not another soul in sight for miles.
After an hour or two off the grid we arrived.
“Alder Gulch was the scene of Montana’s greatest placer gold rush in the spring of 1863. By the fall of 1864 nearly ten thousand people crowded the surrounding hillsides. Small settlements were so numerous and so scattered that contemporaries called the area, ‘Fourteen-mile City.’ Virginia City and its near neighbor, Nevada City, were the main centers of commerce.” Montana Heritage Commission
The Star Bakery can be seen from the highway and is one of the original Nevada City Buildings still standing.
To see more of the old town we entered through the Living History Museum for a small fee, where we were free to wander under the hot sun.
Many of the buildings are originals from Nevada City or were moved here from nearby towns. There are also a few reconstructions. The Barber shop is from 1870’s Elkhorn, a booming silver town south of Butte where you could get a bath for 75 cents on a Saturday, with free towels and soap.
Miners would take their ore samples to the Assay Office on Brewery Street to see if what they had was worth the cost of mining. The Sedman House at the end of the street was built in 1873 in nearby Junction City.
The school below is reputed to be Montana’s oldest standing public school and served nearby Twin Bridges from 1867 until 1873.
The Dimsdale School built in 1863 served as Virginia City’s first school. Older than the one above, I was puzzled until I read the fine print – Dimsdale’s school was privately operated, he charged $1.75 per week.
The Richards Cabin was built in 1863 and is original to this site. Alcide Richard came from Canada and became a successful miner. He raised 7 children in this cabin, living here until his death in 1907.
Criterion Hall, one of many notorious dance hills, is a reconstruction and appeared in the movie Missouri Breaks, filmed here in 1975.
In fact, many movies and TV Shows were filmed in Nevada City and Virginia City.
The Applebound and Crabb Store was featured in Little Big Man in 1970. Dustin Hoffman was ‘Crabb.’
I can’t think of a better place to film a Western than in an authentic Old West Town, can you? It’s all here.
After our tour we headed up the road to Virginia City and stopped for lunch – it was the best burger I’ve had in years. It’s cowboy country, after all.
That’s all for now.
~ Susanne
Cats and Trails and Garden Tales 
What fun. I’ve never been there but have gone to a couple of other old mining towns and they’re so interesting. A pretty hard life there I think, but not unusual for the time.
I’d heard of Virginia City but not Nevada City. It was so fun to discover! But it couldn’t have been easy to live there. Lots of trouble with outlaws!
Love this! What a classic “Wild West town” – really gives you an idea of what life would have been like in those days…one small note: you can’t tell us it was the best burger you’ve ever had and not show it to us! Great pics as always, and thanks for the history that went along with it!
Thanks John! It was such a fun discovery! I guess I didn’t think to take a picture of the burger🍔, but the meat was so smooth and delicious!! You’ll have to travel to Virginia City and see for yourself! 😁
Very nice reminders of our history. Thanks, Susanne
Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for the interesting tour, Susanne. You can see why it is so popular with film-makers for Westerns as it has that stamp of authenticity.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thanks Pete! I’ve been to a few of these old ghost towns and this was one of the best. I’m glad you enjoyed the tour. 🙂
I love Ghost Towns, thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
They sure knew how to build a log cabin to withstand time!
Right? Maybe helped along by climate, too. 😊
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I would love this! I’ve been to similar places and always been fascinated by the stories behind the old buildings and enjoyed the photo opportunities they offer 🙂
Thanks Sarah. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! We’ve been to a few ghost towns before but I think Nevada City was one of the best! I loved wandering through the old buildings with my camera.! 🙂