DescriptionNevada City likely takes its name from veteran prospectors who came up from the gold camps in Nevada, a territory created in 1861. Nevada City and Virginia City were the largest of the 9 booming gold camps that sprawled along Alder Gulch in the months following the May 1863 gold strike. In December 1863, Nevada City’s main street was the scene of the miners’ court trial and hanging of George Ives. This event catalyzed people into forming Montana’s first vigilance committee, on December 23, 1863, 2 days after Ives’s hanging. Between 1863 and 1866, Nevada City vied with Virginia City as the largest of the Alder Gulch camps. Dozens of stores and cabins were spread out in a 6-block radius. Nevada City was the first Montana town to incorporate, on February 9, 1865, but its fame quickly faded. By 1876, only a few residents remained. MT 287, then called the Vigilante Trail, had cut the town in half by 1920. By the 1950s, Cora and Alfred Finney were the only residents. In the meantime, Great Falls legislator Charles Bovey and his wife, Sue, had begun collecting endangered historic buildings, placing them at their “Old Town” at the Great Falls fairgrounds. When the fairgrounds asked Bovey to remove his collection in 1959, he acquired the Nevada City property and moved the buildings there. Nevada City became the Boveys’ haven for endangered structures, and today more than 90 buildings from across Montana line the streets. The State of Montana purchased the Bovey properties in 1997 and today maintains the historical resources at Nevada City. Buildings original to Nevada City include the Byam House and the Finney Homestead, both listed in the National Register.Personal NamesIves, GeorgeFinney, AlfredFinney, CoraBovey, CharlesBovey, SueOther Name(s)Alder GulchContributing InstitutionMontana Historical Society Library and ArchivesGeolocation[1] Elevation5604 ft.CountyMadison County
