PROGRAMS AT THE HISTORIC FOURTH WARD SCHOOL

Designed to increase the enjoyment and awareness of history for people of all ages. Preserving history is important as a connection with others and as a gift for the future. History is our shared heritage and helps us understand the present.

THE HISTORIC FOURTH WARD SCHOOL PRESENTS

Featuring a year of programs designed to tell the real story of the American West. Dedicated to connecting people to the relevance and importance of the Comstock story through its authentic preservation, interpretive programs and exhibits, and archival resources.

EXHIBITS

Permanent exhibits include the Fourth Ward School building, a historical overview of the Comstock, a newly renovated Comstock mining overview funded by the Commission of Mineral Resources , 1870's classroom, Virginia City Alumni photographs and memorabilia, and Mark Twain. A new exhibit is featured each season.

The Changing Galley Exhibit for 2008 is "Out of the Closet: Comstock Discoveries". The Exhibit opens on May 16th featuring the Kaitty Holland clothing collection. The Kaitty Holland Collection includes her mother's 1870 wedding dress, day dress and numerous ensembles demonstrating the importance of clothing and style of an 1870-1890 Costock miner's wife.

ORAL HISTORY

Trained volunteers are continuing the collection of oral history from graduates of the Fourth Ward School and local residents. University of Nevada, Reno, has conducted a number of interviews since the 1980s.

SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE

With funding from the Nevada Humanities Committee, our scholar-in-residence has researched the story of the Virginia City's Fourth Ward School. The story is told in a booklet, traveling exhibit, student docent manual, web site, annotated bibliography, and lectures.

STUDENT DOCENT

Seventh and eighth grade students at Virginia City Middle School provide tours for school groups from all over Nevada and parts of California. The program began in 1998 to encourage an interest by local students in the history of their town and to provide experience in public speaking, research, and community involvement.

TEACHING RESOURCES
On Silver Mountain: Chinese on the Comstock - Text and Pictures from the Exhibit

"Virginia City was one of the largest communities west of the Mississippi. People settled there from all over the world, but we do not always give enough credit to each of the various groups as we form our image of the Old West. Among the people who helped build Virginia City were Chinese immigrants, arriving with the dream of improving their lives. Virginia City in its heyday had one of the largest concentrations of Chinese in Nevada, and their many crucial contributions continue to echo to this day. Without them, the Comstock would have been a very different place. This exhibit honors all of the Chinese who struggled to make a better life for themselves, leaving indelible footprints in the sands of Nevada history."

From Rags to Riches to Rags: The Exhibit and Related Activities
Susan James and Summer Kay

The following text is from the Rags to Riches to Rags exhibit on display at the Historic Fourth Ward School Museum in Virginia City, Nevada, during it’s 2004 open season. Click on the title above for the complete text.

"The gold and silver discoveries of the American West captivated those who dreamed of fabulous wealth. A timely mineral strike might turn a poor prospector into a millionaire. A twist of fate could replace affluence with poverty. Mining, with its opportunity for immense prosperity or complete ruin, was the nineteenth-century version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

In Nevada, the familiar rags to riches stories found a home on the Comstock Lode, where fortunes were made ~ and lost ~ overnight."

Overview - Craig Rock

The Comstock: A Historic Overview - Ron James

"In 1859, placer miners and prospectors in the western Great Basin made two remarkable strikes of gold and silver ore breaching a mountain’s slope. It was the culmination of regional discoveries and excitement that began a decade before with the famed California Gold Rush of 1849. That earlier phenomenon transformed North American society and politics, forever changing the center of gravity of the maturing nation."

Lessons

Teaching English in the 19th Century - Christine Prater

Steam Power - Camille Stegman (with intro by Ron James)

Sierra Timber on the Comstock - Craig Rock

Medical Practices in the late 19th Century - Christy Ann Strange

Geology, Discovery and Development of the Comstock - Bernard Young

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