Virginia City Highlands, Nevada

Last updated

Virginia City Highlands, Nevada
unincorporated community
USA Nevada location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Virginia City Highlands
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Virginia City Highlands
Coordinates: 39°22′51″N119°38′38″W / 39.38083°N 119.64389°W / 39.38083; -119.64389 [1]
CountryUnited States
StateNevada
County Storey
Elevation
[1]
5,984 ft (1,824 m)

Virginia City Highlands is an unincorporated community north of Virginia City, Nevada straddling the Storey County and Washoe County border. The community consists of widely dispersed residences. It can be accessed by Cartwright Road and Lousetown Road off Nevada State Route 341.

History

In 1957, Curtiss-Wright purchased land in Storey and Washoe Counties from the Bureau of Land Management for a rocket testing area. [2] [3] At that time, Curtiss-Wright allowed ranchers to graze horses on the land. Because the land was privately held, it was exempt from the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971.

In 1971, Carlsberg Financial Company purchased 25,000 acres from Curtiss-Wright. At that time, the only development was a wild horse sanctuary. Plans were filed for 426 10 to 15 acre lots. [4]

In January 1972, the Lake Tahoe Recreational Land Company filed a $10 million lawsuit against Joe Conforte (owner of the Mustang Ranch) and the Storey County District Attorney Virgil Bucchianeri. The lawsuit alleged that Conforte had threatened to use his political power to stop the development of 20,000 acres in Storey County unless Conforte was given 300 acres. The lawsuit also alleged that Conforte and Bucchianeri conspired to convince the Storey County Commission to vote against the development. The lawsuit was dismissed in February 1972 and later refiled with an unknown outcome. [5]

In 1972, building in Virginia City Highlands started after a court battle with Storey County changed from 1 acre lots to the current set of lots. At that time, the issue was problems with the aquifer. In 1999, the area consisted of 24 square miles of 40-acre lots, 506 10-acre lots and 1,069 one acre lots. [6]

From 1971 until 1978 horses that had been on the private land were not rounded up. In 1978, the Nevada Brand Inspectors Office decided that some of the horses in the area were owned by the wranglers who had used the area before 1971. In 1978, a controversial roundup occurred, where a helicopter was used by the wranglers to collect 227 branded and unbranded horses on private property. During the roundup, two horses died and another horse died later at the stockyard. An estimated 1500 horses were not rounded up. Some of the rounded up horses were sold to eventually be saddle horses, the culls were sent to an Olympia, Washington slaughterhouse for overseas consumption by humans. In 1980, 37,440 acres were declared to be a wild horse reserve and wildlife sanctuary by the then newly formed Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association, which was founded in part by the homeowners associations in the Virginia City Highlands. In 1980, the wranglers who conducted the 1978 roundup said that they had the right to roundup their horses on private land. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reno, Nevada</span> City in Nevada, United States

Reno is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about 22 miles (35 km) north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County and sits in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, in the Truckee River valley, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. The Reno metro area occupies a valley colloquially known as the Truckee Meadows, it is the 81st most populous city in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washoe County, Nevada</span> County in Nevada, United States

Washoe County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 486,492, making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County is included in the Reno, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparks, Nevada</span> City in Nevada, United States

Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 108,445 residents in the city. It is the fifth most populous city in Nevada. It is named after John Sparks, Nevada Governor (1903–1908), and a member of the Silver Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wadsworth, Nevada</span> CDP in Nevada, United States

Wadsworth is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washoe County, Nevada. The population was 834 at the time of the 2010 census. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area and located entirely within the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation. The town was named for General James S. Wadsworth, a Civil War general killed during the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864. It was given this name by Leland Stanford of the Central Pacific Railroad as a favor to General Irvin McDowell, whom Wadsworth had served under during the Civil War.

The Mustang Ranch is a brothel in Storey County, Nevada, about 20 miles (32 km) east of Reno. It is currently located at 1011 Wild Horse Canyon Drive, Sparks, Nevada, 89434.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Nevada</span> Policies regarding prostitution in the only state where it is permitted in some form

Nevada is the only U.S. state where prostitution is legally permitted in some form. Prostitution is legal in 10 of Nevada's 17 counties, although only six allow it in every municipality. Seven counties have at least one active brothel, which mainly operate in isolated, rural areas. The state's most populated counties, Clark and Washoe, are among those that do not permit prostitution. It is also illegal in Nevada's capital, Carson City, an independent city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno</span> Latin Catholic ecclesiastical jurisdiction in Nevada, USA

The Diocese of Reno is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the northern Nevada region of the United States. It is a suffragan diocese, formerly of the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of San Francisco and, since May 30, 2023, of the Archdiocese of Las Vegas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Register of Historic Places listings in Nevada</span>

This is a list of properties and historic districts in Nevada that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There is at least one listing in each of Nevada's 16 counties and one independent city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washoe Lake State Park</span> State park in Nevada, United States

Washoe Lake State Park is a year-round public recreation area occupying 3,775 acres (1,528 ha) on the southeast shore of Washoe Lake in Washoe County, Nevada. The state park lies to the east of Lake Tahoe, approximately five miles (8.0 km) north of Carson City near U.S. Route 395. The area around the park is known for its high winds making Washoe Lake a popular destination for windsurfers.

The Wild Horse Adult Resort and Spa is an adult entertainment complex about 14 miles (23 km) east of Reno, Nevada, that has been home to two separate legal, licensed brothels: the Wild Horse Ranch and the Mustang Ranch. It opened in 2002 with the Wild Horse Ranch, the Mustang Ranch was added in 2005, and the Wild Horse Ranch closed in 2011. The brothel was the subject of the 2003 BBC TV documentary film Louis and the Brothel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Rock Range</span>

The Black Rock Range is a mountain range in northwestern Nevada. It is named for Black Rock Point, which is located at the southern end of the range. The Black Rock Range divides the Black Rock Desert into eastern and western arms. Pahute Peak, also known as Big Mountain, is the highest point in the range at 8,566 feet (2,611 m) above sea level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reno metropolitan area, Nevada</span>

The Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Western Nevada, anchored by the cities of Reno and Sparks, part of Greater Reno-Tahoe-Fernley CSA. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 490,596.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry R. Hicks</span> American judge

Larry R. Hicks is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Street Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Virginia Street Bridge was a historic concrete double arch bridge in downtown Reno, Nevada, US, carrying Virginia Street across the Truckee River. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The bridge is sometimes referred to as the "Wedding Ring Bridge" or the "Bridge of Sighs".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lockwood, Nevada</span> Unincorporated community in the state of Nevada, United States

Lockwood is an unincorporated community on the northern edge of Storey County, Nevada, United States, about 10 miles (16 km) east of Reno and Sparks. Lockwood is part of the Reno-Sparks Metropolitan Area.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Reno, Nevada, United States.

The Old Bridge Ranch was a legal brothel near Sparks in Washoe County, Nevada, United States that was open from 1967 to the summer of 2008.

Joseph Conforte was a legal brothel owner from Sparks, Nevada, spokesperson for the legal prostitution movement, a professional boxing promoter, restaurateur, philanthropist, and Nevada statesman. He owned the Mustang Ranch brothel, impacted federal law and the laws of Nevada, and was a fixture of pop culture, affecting people's attitudes and opinions about prostitutes and prostitution. He was married to Sally Conforte.

Jessica Elzora Burgess, better known as Sally Conforte, was the first legal brothel owner and the second female boxing manager in U.S. history. She is known as the matriarch of legal prostitution. She is infamous for her role in the murder of boxer Oscar Bonavena from Argentina and for swindling the IRS. She was married to Mustang Ranch owner Joe Conforte.

References

  1. 1 2 U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Virginia City Highlands
  2. 1 2 McMillan, Doug (September 17, 1980). "Wranglers claim Story County wild horses". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 19. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  3. 1 2 Wood, Jim (September 28, 1980). "A showdown on wild horses". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 25. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Curtis-Wright Washoe Storey Land Purchased". Reno Gazette-Journal. August 17, 1971. p. 11. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Storey Conspiracy Suit Dismissed". Reno Gazette-Journal. February 2, 1972. p. 23. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  6. ↑ O'Driscoll, Holly (September 11, 1999). "Virginia City Highlands". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 87. Retrieved May 17, 2020.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.