PRESERVATION EFFORTS

Major Contributor to Comstock Historic District

The FWS is considered a major contributing aspect of the Comstock Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The FWS was built in 1876 when the population of Virginia City numbered 25,000 residents. The building is an excellent example of Second Empire architecture, popular during the Victorian era in the United States. The four-story, sixteen room school was built to accommodate 1,000 students at a reported cost of $100,000. The school was designed to honor the nation's Centennial and was given to the state of Nevada as a birthday present in celebration of the nation's 100th birthday.

The Fourth Ward School (FWS) has been ranked the number one preservation project in Nevada consistently for six years by the Nevada Commission for Cultural Affairs (CCA) in cooperation with the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office. More than $2.75 million has been spent directly on the building in restoration efforts, funded by grants, private business, foundations, and individual donations.

December 2009

The former Home Economics room and primary classroom has been transformed into the Public Research Room for the archives. A historically accurate fresh coat of paint(s), a refinished floor, wiring for computer stations and a service counter have helped to create the adaptive reuse. Underneath the surface finishes is a structural retrofit of concrete, rebar, and gunnite. The building is definitely earthquake stable.

January 2008

One primary classroom on the bottom floor later used as a Home Economics storage area has been restored for adaptive reuse as an archives. The windows, which at one time were converted to window wells and cemented over, have been reinstalled at their original ground level. The archives storage area will eventually hold an climatically controlled fire-proof walk-in vault covering one-half of the room. The other half will house space saving storage shelving.

May 2007

The east side retaining walls and railing fence on D Street have been restored and the steps have been replicated that originally accessed the rear doors to the primary level classes. A boardwalk running from the parking lot to the front steps and one connecting to the south side boardwalk have been installed. These boardwalks are in the approximate location of similar ones depicted in historic photographs.

January 2007

Miscellaneous interior woodwork trim and 1st floor coat hook racks have been replicated, faux painted and restored.

October 2006

The windows rattle with such fierceness they may break. Washoe zephyrs blow dirt and sand in a pelting storm that pits the building's surfaces and infiltrates into every nook and cranny. The breeze inside the classrooms blows the green oil-cloth shades. Through a generous grant from a private foundation, the windows are now securely preserved behind custom ordered storm windows.

May 1, 2005

The restoration of the north bottom floor has opened two primary classrooms for use. Reinstalled windows allow light to once again brighten the room that served the second and third grades. The janitor later used this room to chop wood and store coal for the 16 pot bellied stoves that heated the school. The other room is still remembered as Katie Quirk's first and second grade class. The classrooms will house museum offices, archival research, a small meeting area, and archival work area.

October 4, 2003

The reconstructed North Tower water closets were inaugurated with a first flushing. Plus, for the first time in the history of the school, hot water flowed from a faucet. The beautiful historic-styled restrooms and the modern catering kitchen were celebrated with a ceremonial speech by Ron James, State Historic Preservation Officer, and a reception followed in the E. L. Wiegand Great Room.

The reconstructed tower contains a men's (boys') restroom on the main floor (2nd floor), a women's (girls') restroom on the 3rd floor, and a catering kitchen and a staff restroom on the bottom floor. The new tower reflects the original use of the north side and the museum can more adequately attend to the comfort of its visitors and expand rental capabilities.

The original tower was described in the October 15, 1876 Territorial Enterprise "... The closets of the building are on the north side. There will be twenty-four in all, each of the most approved Philadelphia pattern, with spring seats admitting water when in use and shutting it off when closed."

The decaying tower of the abandoned school was torn down by volunteers from the Association of General Contractors and the Building Trades Unions in 1966 because it was unsafe. After the school building was opened in 1986, two single restrooms were installed on the bottom floor. The small restrooms and lack of hot water have hindered the development of museum programs and activities.

The reconstruction of the North Tower was made possible with funding from the Nevada Commission for Cultural Affairs, Storey County, E.L. Cord Foundation, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation, National Park Service, and members of the Historic Fourth Ward School. Reconstruction was conducted by Milford Wayne Donaldson Architect and Reyman Brothers Construction. The balcony walkways that were used by the female students to access the water closets are currently under construction.

November 2000

The FWS began an extensive $414,000 rehabilitation of the third floor assembly/performance space. With CCA awards and matching funds including a generous donation from the E.L. Wiegand Foundation, the hall was completed in time for the season opening in May 2001. This project allows activities to be scheduled on a year-round basis and increase FWS revenues.

1999

FWS was one of 62 projects in 24 states that received a grant award from the new millennium initiative "Save America's Treasures (SAT)," administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior. Of the 62 projects nationwide, the FWS restoration project was the first project in Nevada so honored by the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. With this $639,271 award and matching funds, the FWS completed the rehabilitation of the entire exterior fabric of the structure and, after paint analysis, returned the FWS to its original color scheme.

ARCHIVES

The current collections and records housed in the Fourth Ward School Museum document life on the Comstock from 1875 to the present. Included in this information are photos, correspondence, artifacts, and other documents significant to the FWS and life on the Comstock and to its relationship to the nation. Volunteers are in the process of finishing the inventory and preserving the materials on a collection management software program for future public exhibitions, interactive kiosks, research, and enjoyment.

The story of the FWS, its role as a public school in the West, its closure, the years of neglect and the public process of its preservation are records that are vital to the heritage of Nevada. This history is important to all that visit and want to learn about the West. (The FWS was featured in the Sierra Nevada Cable Access Television documentary "Preserving Nevada's Heritage".)

Through a Nevada State Historic Records Advisory Board (SHRAB) grant, the FWS Board, Virginia City Alumni Association and other volunteers from Carson City, Virginia City, Fallon and Reno have inventoried

• more than 4,000 books located in the FWS,
• 1,000 photographs from our collections, and
• 640 desks (many original to the building).
• Volunteers continue to record and store these materials for the FWS archives and resource center.

We are currently pursuing fund raising efforts for the implementation of a collections management program to facilitate access, exhibit tracking, customize reporting, recording of volunteer hours, and membership coordination. This archives and public resource center will occupy 3,600 square feet on the first floor of FWS.

Historic Fourth Ward School Archives and Research Center

The Historic Fourth Ward School connects people to the relevance and importance of the Comstock story through its authentic preservation, interactive exhibitions, interpretive programs, and archival research. The current collections and records held in the school document life on the Comstock from 1875 to current day. The collection includes photographs; correspondence; newspapers; memorabilia; artifacts; maps; books; school registers; oral histories from local residents; mining documents; and the Gold Hill Virginia City Water System collection; and genealogical information significant to the Fourth Ward School, life on the Comstock, and their relationship to the nation.

ARCHIVES ACCESS Access to the archives is restricted to staff and qualified volunteers until the collection is searchable online and the public room completed. You may make an appointment for assistance in obtaining information from our archives. All materials must remain at the Fourth Ward School. Copies of most items are available.

REQUESTING INFORMATION

The Historic Fourth Ward School Museum (HFWSM) welcomes inquires regarding Comstock history and former students , teachers or principals. However, as a not-for-profit, small museum, the archives and research center charges a fee for inquiries that require response by phone, e-mail, mail or fax. Please be as specific as possible about what you want to find including names. dates, and locations. Indicate any particular interest such as photographs, maps, manuscripts. If you have already conducted any research, list the sources you have investigated.

Requests are answered in the ordered received. Please allow 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. Remember to include your name, address, phone number, fax number and/or email with each request.

RESEARCH FEES

Research requests and assistance is $50.00 per hour, with a minimum charge of $30.00. Inquiries requiring only a nominal assistance may be free of charge depending on the time required of the staff and volunteer research associates to respond to the request. Please call if you think you have a simple request.

Payment is required in advance with your request for the minimum fee of $30. Please send a check or credit card information. When your request has been evaluated, you will be contacted to discuss the extent of research required, our ability to fulfill your request, expected number of hours to gather materials, and estimated expense commensurate with the amount of work required. We make no guarantees that we will find the information being requested, especially for elementary school students prior to 1910.

Fees are used to fund the operation of the archives including staff, supplies, and future acquisitions of research materials. We depend on public generosity to assist us in maintaining the archival collection and making it available for research.

MEMBERS DISCOUNT

Members receive a 10% discount on research requests and all associated fees.

PHOTOCOPYING FEES

Photocopying damages original documents physically and chemically. Therefore, photocopying is at the discretion of the archivist and performed by staff only. Some materials may not be copied due to their condition, age, size, binding, or legal restrictions. Self copying, scanning, or photographing of materials is not allowed. Entire works, collections, oral history transcripts, etc. will not be photocopied.

Black and White

$0.50 per page for photos, manuscripts, and oral histories $0.25 per page for photocopies of copies Postage plus a minimum of $1.50 in handling fees is added to all orders mailed in the US. Additional charges will be added for bulky orders, express or international delivery.

PHOTOGRAPH DUPLICATION FEES

The Museum does have the bulk of its photographs digitized. These digital records are used as finding aids and are not of a high resolution but for many purposes, they are just fine. These digital images will be printed on photo paper, with a watermark credit line to identify the image as belonging to the Museum. The fee for these is $5.00 per image. The $50.00 per hour research fee will apply if staff must conduct a photo search.

PUBLICATION FEE

There is a publication/video fee of $20.00 (North American publication), $30.00 (world wide publication) per picture or image used from the HFWSM archival collection. This applies if the image is for use in any book, pamphlet, poster, film, slide presentation, exhibit, and/or any other form of ‘publication’. This fee is a one-time use only. All HFWSM property and materials are copyrighted for the Museum’s use. Any other public use for profit must be discussed with the Museum’s Board of Directors. Use of any image requires that credit be given to the Historic Fourth Ward School Museum unless otherwise specified.

DONATION OF MATERIALS

The Museum encourages donations. Items must be relevant to the Fourth Ward School, education on the Comstock, and the history of the Comstock. The determination of items to be added to the collections is the responsibility of the Board of Directors.

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