Historical Markers of Storey County
Location: Virginia City Directions: Located on A Street, 2 blocks south of Taylor Street
N39° 18' 38.0" W119° 39' 03.4"
Date Conquered: 7/7/07 Quick Description: A marker remembering the greatest catastrophe to befall Virginia City Signed: No -- Historically, this marker was never signed. NOTES: Please note that #228 is set in a highly residential section of Virginia City, well away from the tourist row of C Street. You will quickly find that there is no parking for this marker on A Street. Instead, park below in the Courthouse parking lot (only on weekends!) and hike up the hill. The marker sits directly above the courthouse. Either hike up the hill, or walk a few blocks up to A Street. Full Description: Exact description as reads ... 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. Looking down on Virginia City from A Street. What a view! Imagine this same scene ravaged and blackened with fire, smoke and embers rising into the air.
NOTES: Please note that #228 is set in a highly residential section of Virginia City, well away from the tourist row of C Street. You will quickly find that there is no parking for this marker on A Street. Instead, park below in the Courthouse parking lot (only on weekends!) and hike up the hill. The marker sits directly above the courthouse. Either hike up the hill, or walk a few blocks up to A Street. Full Description: Exact description as reads ... 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. Looking down on Virginia City from A Street. What a view! Imagine this same scene ravaged and blackened with fire, smoke and embers rising into the air.
Full Description: Exact description as reads ... 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. Looking down on Virginia City from A Street. What a view! Imagine this same scene ravaged and blackened with fire, smoke and embers rising into the air.
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. Looking down on Virginia City from A Street. What a view! Imagine this same scene ravaged and blackened with fire, smoke and embers rising into the air.
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. Looking down on Virginia City from A Street. What a view! Imagine this same scene ravaged and blackened with fire, smoke and embers rising into the air.
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