Historic Fourth Ward School Museum

The Historic Fourth Ward School located in Virginia City, Nevada, is the Last-One-Standing. It is the only four-story, Victorian Era, Second Empire, wood school building remaining in existence in the United States. This state-of-the-art building was completed in November 1876. It is home to the first two senior graduates from a Nevada school, both women, in the class of 1878. The doors to this 24,000 square foot school closed in 1936. Although attempts at restoration began in the 1960s, the building remained vacant and deteriorating until it became a museum in 1986. The Fourth Ward School building has been recognized by the state and local community as a significant historic site. The non-profit Historic Fourth Ward School Foundation has overseen the preservation of the building and operated the museum and gift shop since 2000.