Road Trip around Montana – Virginia & Nevada City
 | Author:
Brenda Phillips
Brenda Phillips: MT43 News Office Administrator |
Road Trip around Montana – Virginia & Nevada City
Brenda Phillips
Virginia City is a nice day trip from Townsend. The 90-mile drive (1 1/2 hours) takes you through some very picturesque valleys and farmland. As I travel through Montana, I find my mind wandering to what the landscape looked like when the frontiersmen and pioneers traveled across this land. We are so blessed to have the modern conveniences of automobiles and paved roads.
As you drop down into the Virginia City valley, you see a mix of old rustic cabins and houses along with new modern homes that reflect the characteristics of this historic valley. The main street has some pretty amazingly preserved buildings, both Brick and wood.
My thought is that they need a bypass to take the majority of the highway traffic off the main street. (That’s probably easier said than done.) Cars are parked on Main Street, which really detracts from the authenticity of this historical site and taking pictures of the beautiful buildings.
We were lucky enough to be there when the Stagecoach was running. You can take a ride on the Stagecoach, a trolley tour bus, or a train if you would like (for a fee). All of the storefronts have antiques displayed. Most all the buildings have been listed on the National Historic Registry and contain items that would have been present in these buildings when they were alive and thriving. I was amazed to learn the story of Charles & Sue Bovey.
“Charles was a Montana legislator, Great Falls rancher, and collector of historic artifacts, records, and buildings. His interest in historic preservation eventually led to his ownership and restoration of most of Virginia City, Montana, and the reconstruction of Nevada City” - from the Montana Dept. of Commerce website.
On a visit last year to Virginia City and Nevada City we walked through the Nevada City town site. It took about 2 hours to walk around and I know we didn’t see it all. We came across a building that had a sign to tell us that it was the Jail from Sun River, MT. This caught our eye because we are from the Sun River Valley & Great Falls area. Charles Bovey bought the old jail in the 50s and moved it to a location in Great Falls to display. Charles later moved the jail to Nevada City for display with other historic buildings in his collection.
Last summer we were in Virginia City and attended a theatrical play by the Virginia City Players. It was very entertaining and we decided then that we would have to come back to Virginia City again. This past weekend we took the drive to Virginia City. We bought tickets for the play online for the 2:00 show. We were greeted at the door by the actors in costume and escorted to our reserved seats. The show started with very energetic music played by Errol Koch, a very talented musician who played piano and all the other music and sound effects needed for the entire show.
This year is the 75th Anniversary of the Virginia City Players Theater. This play “Miriam’s Crime” was one of the 1st plays performed in this theater 75 years ago. After a short intermission, the entertainers performed several vaudeville-style numbers. We think it is well worth the trip and the price of the tickets. There is another theatrical group, The Brewery Follies that performs at another venue that we’ll have to go see another time.
There are several restaurants, a couple of pubs, several shops for gifts and souvenirs, a big candy store and a couple of photo studios for memory photos of this historic adventure.
I will tell you there are plenty of things to see in the Virginia City and Nevada City area – way more to see than you can see in one day.
Brenda and Kurt Phillips are from Townsend and enjoy visiting Montana's scenic and historic sites. Written by Brenda Phillips
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 1 Caption: Stagecoach rides
Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 3 Caption: Early phone switch board in Virginia City
Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 4 Caption: Virginia City Players 75th Years
Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
