Exploring Our Backyard, Nevada Sports Net’s summer adventure series, will run weekly features on activities in and around Northern Nevada. Today’s feature is on the National Automobile Museum in downtown Reno. This series is present in sponsorship with LT Automotive and Maverik.
The historic town of Virginia City is just a 40-minute drive from the Reno-Tahoe airport. After the “Silver Boom” in the late 1800s, Virginia City became one of the largest cities in the western United States with more than 25,000 residents during its peak. Seven million tons of silver ores were produced, which is more than $600 million in gold and silver in today’s currency.
While the boom eventually dissipated, curtailing the town’s population, Virginia City’s ties to its historic past are still evident in the city and U.S. history as the money produced from mining silver helped build San Francisco and finance the Civil War. Virginia City still has plenty to offer, including touring haunted locations and visiting the saloons, which were a major part of the Gambling Era…