The Long Way
Nevada City
People dressed in period costume walk near historic log buildings and horse-drawn wagons.
Plate I. Living history at Nevada City Museum. From virginiacitymt.com
Black and white historic photograph of a row of old wooden buildings alongside a road.
Plate II. Historic buildings, Nevada City Museum. From virginiacitymt.com
A yellow house with red trim and a white picket fence.
Plate III. Sedman House, Nevada City Museum. From virginiacitymt.com
Historic wooden buildings and wagons stand in a grassy area under a clear blue sky.
Plate IV. The Gallows Barn, Nevada City Museum. From virginiacitymt.com
An ornate, hand-carved fairground organ inside a wooden room.
Plate V. Music Hall exhibits, Nevada City Museum. From virginiacitymt.com
A collection of old tools hangs on a wooden wall.
Plate VI. Tools on display, Nevada City Museum. From virginiacitymt.com
A decorative facade of a band organ featuring painted roundels and wooden pipes.
Plate VII. Automated music organ, Nevada City Museum. From southwestmt.com

Nevada City Museum Living History

Nevada City, Montana. History Museum.

Details

Where
1578 MT Hwy 287, Nevada City, MT. Directions
When
Every Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day, Sept. 7.
Season
Memorial Day weekend - Labor Day every year.
Getting there
Nevada City is located in southwestern Montana. It is 70 miles southeast of Butte, on Highway 287 in the famous Alder Gulch area.
Fees
Adults (Weekends and Holidays) $12 Adults (Weekdays) $10 Youth (4-11)/Senior(65+) Weekends and Holidays $10 Youth/Senior Weekdays $8 Groups of 6+ Weekends and Holidays $10 each Groups of 6+ Weekdays $8 each Children 3 and Under Free.
Hours
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day.
Access
Schedules are posted weekly on Facebook.
Walk-in or reserve
Call 406-843-5247 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays to make a group reservation or schedule a school field trip.
Phone
(406) 843-5247
Website
facebook.com
Managed by
Montana Heritage Commission.

Come live Montana's history!

Notable Events

  1. 1863A small cabin to the rear of the Byam House was used to jail George Ives during his 1863 trial. npgallery.nps.gov
  2. 1863On May 26, 1863, a prospecting party of six struck gold along the stream fringed with alder trees; the first pan turned up $2.40 and miners covered the hillsides within weeks. virginiacitymt.com
  3. 1865Nevada City held dozens of stores and cabins and had the distinction of becoming the first incorporated town in the Montana Territory. npgallery.nps.gov
  4. 1867Hydraulic mining was introduced to Alder Gulch in 1867; jets of pressurized water washed down the dirt, leaving piles of rocks and hydraulic cuts. virginiacitymt.com
  5. 1869As early as 1869 the population of Nevada City had fallen to just 110 persons; by 1876 the townsite was all but abandoned. npgallery.nps.gov
  6. 1898From 1898 through 1922 large floating dredges chewed up the ground, destroying several communities in their path and leaving distinctive tailings and dredge ponds as far upstream as Virginia City. virginiacitymt.com
  7. 1944The Boveys loved history and in 1944 visited Virginia City and recognized its historic value. virginiacitymt.com
  8. 1997In doing so, the legislature also created the Montana Heritage Commission to manage these properties in a manner that protects them and encourages economic independence. commerce.mt.gov
  9. 1997The Montana legislature passed House Bills 5 and 14 authorizing the purchase of the Bovey Restoration properties in Virginia City and Nevada City for $6.5 million ($5 million for the artifacts and $1.5 million for the buildings and land); the purchase was accomplished on May 16, 1997. commerce.mt.gov

People

  • Dr. Don L. Byam, original inhabitant of the Byam House; politically active, playing a key role in Nevada City's vigilance movement of the 1860s (lived in Madison County working as a doctor and a miner until 1869).
  • Charles Bovey, Preservation pioneer; with his wife Sue Ford Bovey he purchased buildings and property and moved several alongside the twelve existing in Nevada City to save them from destruction (from 1944).
  • Sue Bovey, with Charles Bovey, moved a collection of historic buildings sourced from around Montana to Nevada City.
  • Sue Ford Bovey, Preservation pioneer alongside her husband Charles; the Bovey Visitor Center in Nevada City is a tribute to them both (from 1944).

Sources

  1. virginiacitymt.com/Experience-The-Old-West/Nevada-City-Museum-and-Music-Hall
  2. facebook.com/nevadacitylivinghistory
  3. southwestmt.com/blog/the-nevada-city-museum-music-hall-a-historic-gem
  4. commerce.mt.gov/About/Boards/Montana-Heritage-Commission
  5. southwestmt.com/communities/virginiacity
  6. virginiacitymt.com/Preservation/Area-History
  7. virginiacitymt.com/Preservation/Bovey-Center
  8. npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/199f89b2-99f7-4467-a368-3a32086130de
  9. visitmt.com/listing/nevada-city-6763