Virginia City soon became the transportation and communication hub of the region. The Wells Fargo, Holladay and Overland Mail stagecoach lines connected the boom town with Salt Lake City, Utah, and other destinations. In 1866 the stage lines consolidated under the Wells Fargo name. A horse-drawn stagecoach still rolls through town, giving visitors a 25-minute narrated tour of Alder Gulch that includes the site of William Fairweather’s gold strike.
Gold brought riches to Virginia City -- and highway robbers, or “road agents.” The townspeople formed a “vigilance committee” to capture and punish members of Henry Plummer’s infamous gang of road agents. In 1864 the vigilantes hanged 24 men in the space of two months, including Plummer.
