The Virginia City Historic District is a National Historic Landmark encompassing the entire town centre — some 67 buildings representing the commercial and civic life of a Montana gold rush town in its prime. Unlike reconstructed frontier towns, Virginia City's buildings are original structures, many still holding period contents. The effect is genuinely eerie: walking the main street feels less like a museum visit than a time-slip.
The district includes the original Wells Fargo office, the Masonic Lodge (one of the first in Montana), several original saloons, a printing shop with type still set in the press, and the remains of the gallows where the Vigilance Committee carried out its justice. The whole town can be walked in an hour but deserves more time than that. The most interesting buildings have interpretive signs, and guided tours are available in summer.