Thompson-Hickman County Library

Virginia City Thompson-Hickman County Library

Tucked between the Tobacco Root Mountains and Mount Baldy in southwestern Montana, Virginia City began in May 1863, when gold was discovered in Alder Gulch. Some 10,000 fortune seekers arrived, and the days of whiskey, revolvers, road agents, and vigilantes began. Boot Hill, overlooking the town, is a constant reminder of its rough, tough, and unruly past. A great number of mining towns have become ghost towns, but not Virginia City, thanks to the men and women who gave of themselves to establish a permanent town where families, schools, churches, businesses, and organizations would thrive.