This building is the original stone and brick edifice erected on the site of the first recorded claim on what became the Comstock Lode May 1, 1859. One of the earliest hotels it housed miners and notables offering lodging, tavern and barbershop.
First hotel on the Comstock built. 1859. Early transient shelter was taken in dugouts and tents. Some of these were called hotels. Boarding and rooming houses sprang up with population. This is the first edifice known to Nevada, to be worthy the name of hotel.
The 1866 State Seal Provision reads, in part:
Foreground, two mountains, at their right base, a quartz mill. On the left, a tunnel penetrating the silver leads, with a miner running out a carload of ore, and a team with ore for the mill.
Immediate foreground, emblems of agriculture, as follows: A plow, sheaf and sickle.
Middle ground, A railroad train passing a gorge and a telegraph line along the rail line.
Extreme background, a range of snowclad mountains, and the sun rising in the east. The inner circle shall be engraved “All for our Country”, our state motto, and thirty-six stars. Within the outer circle, the words “The Great State of Nevada”.
The first boarding house – a classic flop house. David Belasco lived here.
Location. 39° 17.52′ N, 119° 39.42′ W. Click for map. 1540 Main Street, Gold Hill, Virginia City NV 89440, United States of America.
Gold Hill Hotel & Saloon
A few miles out of Virginia City is the little town of Gold Hill. This is the town where the actual gold strikes began just prior to the biggest gold and silver strike ever (called the Comstock Lode) occurred in Virginia City.
The hotel is quaint, beautiful and reminiscent of what old town living was like back in the 1850’s. The old artifacts combined with the lush living inside the hotel tells of a bygone era, yet comfortable living. The rooms are gorgeously decorated, elegant, clean and comfortable.