Changing exhibit features Virginia City’s rich theatre history at the Fourth Ward School Museum

The Fourth Ward School Museum proudly announces the opening of their annual changing exhibit. 

This year’s exhibit focuses on the dynamic theater history of Virginia City, Nevada from 1859 to 1900. Wall displays take the visitor through the town’s theater history chronologically while centrally located panels discuss important topics and stars of the wild west time period.

The exhibit was researched and designed by author Carolyn Grattan Eichin, an historian and previous resident.

In 2004, Carolyn and her husband Chris purchased a derelict house in Virginia City located on B Street. After three years of restoration work, the house was opened as a bed and breakfast which they ran in the summer months for about eight years.

During that time, it was discovered that the first homeowner was Henry Piper, the brother of John Piper of Piper’s Opera House fame. Investigating the history of the home led to research that has been incorporated into two books written by Carolyn.

She previously resided in Nevada for more than 34 years, attaining both a B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as well as completed the coursework for a Ph.D in the history of the American West.

From San Francisco Eastward: Victorian Theater in the American West was her first book published in 2020 by the University of Nevada Press. The book was a finalist in the scholarly non-fiction category for the Willa Literary Award from Women Writing the West, and was also a finalist for the Will Rogers Medallion Award in Western non-fiction.

The book is on sale at the Fourth Ward School Museum gift shop. Carolyn’s second book, The Infamous Theaters of Virginia City, Nevada, is scheduled for publication in June by History Press and will be for sale at the museum.

Virginia City’s theater business was a dynamic reflection upon the audiences and the fortuitous location of Virginia City near the overland passages from San Francisco to the eastern states.

Many of the nation’s best and foremost actors and actresses appeared on Virginia City’s theater stages in plays that were enjoyed by prominent elites of the eastern states’ finest theaters.

The exhibit considers the ways theater shaped culture and society in Virginia City, and elevated Piper’s Opera House to be considered one of the best in the country.

Exhibit location: 537 S. C Street, Virginia City, NV

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily

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