Site of Virginia City

Part of a land promotion scheme begun 1908. Advertised as future metropolis by shrewd dealers, who implied that good rains and bumper crops were typical of region. Naive buyers were treated to tours through town, where they saw shops, a lot reserved for the courthouse, and a roadbed for the railroad. Town was named for wife of an early county landowner. Although a local cowboy had remarked that Virginia City's biggest crop was "suckers", many people bought land, only to face a ruinous drouth, 1909-1912. Most soon moved, leaving site vacant. (1969)