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Virginia City Historic DistrictVirginia City Historic District · Photo: alvito · CC BY 2.0
–Not graded
History · Virginia City

Virginia City’s historic district, a National Historic Landmark, takes in 382 buildings

9 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Virginia City Historic District, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 382 buildings.

1859first post office
9on the National Register
43%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Virginia City began

When was Virginia City founded?

1859

The Virginia City post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 787167 years
Founding year: the first Virginia City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
On the National Register

9 listings protect 386 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.

places listed
9
National Historic Landmark
1
Virginia City Historic District
historic buildings protected
386
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Virginia City Historic District
C. J. Prescott House, built 1864Parish HousePiper-Beebe HouseMcCarthy House, built 1875Piper's Opera HouseKing-McBride MansionHenry Piper HouseChollar MansionVirginia City Historic District★
BuildingsDistricts★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Late Victorian7
Italianate7
Bungalow1
Craftsman1
Vernacular Commercial1
★ Landmark
Virginia City Historic DistrictLate Victorian
C. J. Prescott HouseLate Victorian · Built 1864
Parish HouseLate Victorian
Piper-Beebe HouseLate Victorian
McCarthy HouseLate Victorian · Built 1875
Piper's Opera HouseVernacular Commercial
King-McBride MansionLate Victorian
Henry Piper HouseItalianate
All 9 listings
Chollar MansionBuilding · listed 1993

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Virginia City’s post office has been open since 1859.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Divide
Gone or out of use
Andes MinemineBattery MilllocaleBest and Belcher MinemineBullion ShaftmineC and C ShaftmineCalifornia MilllocaleCalifornia MinemineCedar Hill MilllocaleCentral Companys MilllocaleCentral Comstock MinemineChollar MinemineChollar Potosi MinemineClark MilllocaleConsolidated Virginia MilllocaleConsolidated Virginia ShaftmineFort RileymilitaryGould and Carvers MilllocaleGould and Curry Minemine
1cemetery inside Virginia City
Fireman

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Virginia City’s history

What year was Virginia City founded?

The Virginia City post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Virginia City?

9 listings: 8 buildings and 1 historic district, the Virginia City Historic District, with 382 contributing buildings. 386 historic buildings in all.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From the National Register of Historic Places (9), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.