The Great Fire of 1875

"It's easy to see why this view was called Millionaire's Row. I can only imagine this same scene ravaged and blackened with fire with smoke and embers rising into the air. I just find it sad that the pea-sized tourists down below on C Street might never know about this historic calamity." -- July 2007

[228]       

On A Street, 2 blocks south of Taylor Street -- Virginia City

Storey
  39.310577, -119.650962

Original Date Visited: 7/7/07
Signed: No

Notes: From C Street, head west (uphill) on Taylor Street to A Street. Turn left to a small outhouse on the left, directly above the Courthouse. This little bugger may be the most difficult to spot in Storey County. Marker 228 completely blends in with the highly residential section of Virginia City, well away from the main tourist crowd and happenings on C Street. You will quickly find that there is no parking for this marker on A Street either. Instead, park below in the Courthouse parking lot during the weekends and after the hours of 5pm during the week only. From here, you can use the staircase up the hill behind the courthouse for an easy conquering. If you aren't feeling as adventurous, walk around the block up Taylor Street from B Street.

      

Did You Know ...

The Storey County Courthouse, the Fourth Ward School, and St. Mary's Cathedral are the only structures that survived the Great Fire of 1875? To this day, all three of three structures can be seen from this very marker.

See all 274 Nevada Fun Facts here

Street View

Here's what you'll see!

Exact Description:
The most spectacular calamity to befall Virginia City had its origins with fifty feet of the marker. Early on the morning of October 26, 1875, a coal oil lamp was knocked over in a location in a nearby boarding house and burst into flames. Strong winds spread the blaze and thirty-three blocks of structures were leveled. The losses included St. Mary's-in-the-Mountains Catholic Church, the Storey County Courthouse, Piper's Opera House, the International Hotel, City offices and most of Virginia City's business district. The offics and hoisting works of nearby mines were also destroyed and there were several fire-related deaths that day.

A new hydrant system was established after the fire and a number of new hose houses, such as this one, were constructed. This system still serves the community today, together with a volunteer fire department.

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OIL FROM SHALE

Related Links & Markers:

 Comstock Inferno (Old West Magazine) 

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