African Americans and the Boston Saloon – NSHM #266 is a Nevada State Historic Marker Located in Virginia City, Storey County, Nevada. Virginia City has eight Nevada State Historic Markers and a wonderful location to visit and dive deep into history.
Nevada State Historical Markers identify significant places of interest in Nevada’s history. The Nevada State Legislature started the program in 1967 to bring the state’s heritage to the public’s attention with on-site markers. Budget cuts to the program caused the program to become dormant in 2009. Many of the markers are lost of damaged.
William A G Brown, a freeman, moved to Nevada and started the Boston Saloon. The Boston Saloon was located at the intersection of D and Union Streets . The Virginia City newspaper, the Territorial Enterprise called the saloon a “popular resort for many of the colored population”
The saloon building is lost the great fire of 1875. The site of the saloon was subject of an archeological excavation in the year 2000.
NSHM #266 Text
Between 1866 and 1875, a remarkable business thrived in Virginia City. Free-born William A.G. Brown operated the Boston Saloon, serving Virginia City’s African Americans. Archaeologists have revealed that Brown offered his customers finely prepared meals with the best cuts of meat. Shortly after Brown sold his business, the great fire of 1875 swept through town and destroyed the building.
There were rarely more than one hundred African Americans living in Virginia City during its height in the 1860s, but they played varied and important roles in the community. Some African Americans pursued work as laborers, porters, and barbers. Others became affluent business owners, and a prominent doctor won widespread respect. By the 1870’s, African American children attended integrated schools. However, the decline of mining by 1880 sent many Nevadans, including African Americans, elsewhere. When mining in the state revived in the early 1900s, a shift at the federal, state, and local levels that implemented segregation via law or practice kept most African American families from returning to communities like Virginia City.
The site of the Boston Saloon is located uphill and to the left of this location at the corner of Union and D Streets now occupied by the Bucket of Blood Saloon parking lot.
STATE HISTORIC PRESERVATION OFFICE
DON MCBRIDE AND THE BUCKET OF BLOOD SALOON
RENO-SPARKS BRANCH OF THE NAACP, UNIT #1112
STATE HISTORICAL MARKER No. 266
Nevada State History Marker Summary
| Nevada State Historic Marker | 266 |
| Name | African Americans and the Boston Saloon |
| Location | Virginia City, Storey County, Nevada |
| Latitude, Longitude | 39.3105, -119.6494 |