Formerly: Sharon House
Virginia City, Nevada · Building: 1864
A Virginia City saloon in a former 1864 bank building, with guided access to the nearby historic Best & Belcher mine.
The Ponderosa Saloon occupies a building reported to date to 1864, including the old Bank of California vault. Its distinctive attraction is a guided underground route that begins at the saloon and reaches the historic Best & Belcher mine through a later connecting tunnel.
A PBS segment identifies the Best & Belcher Mining Company as establishing the mine later reached by the Ponderosa tour.
Source: PBS, "The Ponderosa Saloon: From Bank to Bar to Mine Tour"
Local reporting and Virginia City tourism material date the building to 1864, when it housed Bank of California offices; the old walk-in vault remains part of the site.
Source: Nevada Appeal, "Ponderosa offers glimpse of Virginia City's underground"; Visit Virginia City, "Virginia City Saloons"
Nevada Appeal reports that Ponderosa owners discovered the nearby Best & Belcher shaft and excavated a horizontal tunnel from the rear of the saloon to create an underground mine tour.
Source: Nevada Appeal, "Ponderosa offers glimpse of Virginia City's underground"
A 2018 PBS segment states that guided mine tours had operated from the Ponderosa since 1979.
Source: PBS, "The Ponderosa Saloon: From Bank to Bar to Mine Tour"
Nevada Tourism listed the Ponderosa Saloon and Guided Underground Mine Tours as open year-round, seven days a week, with daily guided tours.
Source: Travel Nevada, "The Ponderosa Saloon and Mine Tour in Virginia City"
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Virginia City tourism, Nevada Appeal, PBS, and other visitor sources consistently identify the building as former Bank of California offices and describe its old walk-in vault. A primary bank property record would be needed for the strongest documentary rating.
Nevada Tourism, Nevada Appeal, PBS, and Atlas Obscura identify the mine as Best & Belcher. The current visitor route is not simply an original shaft within the bar: owners developed a later horizontal tunnel from the saloon to the nearby historic mine.
Multiple sources instead date the historic bank building to 1864. No evidence reviewed supports the candidate's claim that the present structure was erected after the 1875 fire.
The Ponderosa building was built in 1875 after Virginia City's Great Fire.
The available sources consistently date the former Bank of California/Sharon House building to 1864. The reviewed evidence does not support a post-1875 construction date for the present structure.
Source: Nevada Appeal, "Ponderosa offers glimpse of Virginia City's underground"; Visit Virginia City, "Virginia City Saloons"
The mine shaft is inside the Ponderosa Saloon.
The saloon offers a route into the historic Best & Belcher mine, but reporting says Ponderosa owners later excavated a horizontal tunnel from the back of the saloon to a nearby old mine shaft.
Source: Travel Nevada, "The Ponderosa Saloon and Mine Tour in Virginia City"; Nevada Appeal, "Ponderosa offers glimpse of Virginia City's underground"
Bank of California Building was the former name of the Ponderosa Saloon.
Bank of California describes a former building use, not a demonstrated former saloon name. Virginia City tourism identifies the earlier establishment as the Sharon House.
Source: Visit Virginia City, "Virginia City Saloons"; Nevada Appeal, "Ponderosa offers glimpse of Virginia City's underground"
The Ponderosa combines a working C Street saloon with a guided underground experience. The preserved bank vault and access to historic Best & Belcher workings give it a differentiated role among Virginia City visitor businesses.
It combines a working saloon with a preserved old bank vault and a guided underground route to the historic Best & Belcher mine. The mine is reached from the saloon through a later connecting tunnel, not because the original barroom was built inside a mine shaft.
Local reporting and Virginia City tourism material date the historic building to 1864, when it housed Bank of California offices. The date when it became a saloon has not been established in the sources reviewed.
The tour is presented by multiple sources as access to the historic Best & Belcher mine. Ponderosa owners reportedly excavated a later horizontal connection from the rear of the saloon to the nearby old shaft, then opened it for tours.
Yes. Nevada Tourism lists the Ponderosa Saloon and Guided Underground Mine Tours as open year-round, seven days a week. It lists guided tours daily from noon to 5 p.m. and saloon hours from 11 a.m. to midnight, but visitors should verify directly before traveling.
The Genoa Bar & Saloon in Genoa, Nevada, holds the strongest documented claim to being the state's oldest saloon, dating to 1853. The Ponderosa's building is reported to date to 1864 as former Bank of California offices; when the site became a saloon has not been established in the sources reviewed.
106 South C Street, Virginia City, NV 89440
(775) 847-7210
The Ponderosa is on the corner of South C and Taylor streets. Nevada Tourism lists year-round daily operation and guided mine tours; publicly listed phone numbers conflict, so verify tours, hours, prices, and accessibility before visiting.