The Washoe Club: History & Haunts

The History of the Washoe Club

In the booming days of the Old West, the Washoe Club reigned as Virginia City’s most elite hangout for rich and the obnoxiously important. A membership-only organization born out of Nevada’s fabled Comstock Lode, this “Millionaire’s Club” attracted a mix of mining tycoons, artists, and intellectuals who sought a place to congratulate each other with cigars and brandy while ignoring the regular folk.

The club opened its doors on B Street on June 1st, 1875, with stunning plate glass windows, upholstered furniture, and a mantle brimming with beautiful bronze statuettes. Its first 60 charter members included Comstock and Pacific coast royalty, including Tahoe timber baron D.L. Bliss and Virginia and Truckee Railroad officers F.A. Tritle and H.M. Yerington. The club’s guest register was peppered with prestigious names like General Ulysses S. Grant and actor Edwin Booth, who is unfortunately the brother of John Wilkes Booth.

Less than five months after opening, a fire ripped through town. It destroyed the bulk of Virginia City’s business district, including the Reynolds Building, where the Washoe Club was originally located. Despite the unfortunate setback, the club’s trustee board quickly set to work on finding a new space to house their lavish activities and settled on a three-story brick building on C Street with a saloon on the bottom floor. Honestly, in a very mega-rich-person fashion, they took over the space and forced out the "lower class" folks. The club was outfitted as their new headquarters with eight apartments, a billiard parlor, private poker rooms, secret bars, and a beautiful ballroom. This new location was even more elegant than the last and even featured a reporting telegraph that provided the latest stock market updates to club members.

While the Washoe Club was thriving, the local mines were experiencing a decline in productivity. As the city’s population dwindled, so did the club’s membership, and it was finally closed in 1897. Since the pretentious (sorry, "prestigious") club closed, the building has had various uses from business offices to apartments. Unusual and unfortunate deaths occurred during the building’s time, no matter what was inside. From people passing away in the doctor’s office to unusual deaths and suicides while they were in apartments, the Washoe Club is a hot spot for paranormal activity.

For a deeper dive into the history of the Washoe Club, head to their website and brush up on their past: The Washoe Club's History

Famous Haunts of the Washoe Club

The Ballroom

In modern times, the Washoe Club was coined as “one of the most haunted locations in the West,” and was even the building that kicked off the popularity of Zak Bagan’s Ghost Adventures! Ghost Adventures got its start by not only investigating the Washoe Club, but also the Silver Queen and Gold Hill in Virginia City, NV. They famously got seven seconds of a full-bodied apparition following Nick out of the second-floor ballroom. The floor is marked where the camera was set and where the apparition appeared. Check out the clip here: Ghost Adventures "Full Body Apparition"

One playful spirit of a little girl can be heard and seen throughout the 2nd floor of the Washoe Club but most commonly in the ballroom. When the building held various business offices after the Washoe Club closed, the second-floor ballroom turned into a doctor’s office. The story goes that a little girl was playing in the street in front of the building when she was run over by a horse and wagon and unfortunately passed away after being taken to the doctor’s office.

Below are two photos I took in the ballroom:

1. Image one, facing the windows, you can vaguely see the marker for the Ghost Adventure's camera.

2. Image two, facing the doorways, you can see the door on the very right where Nick was walking towards when the apparition followed him out of the room.

The Lady in Blue

The most famous of spirits is the friendly “Lady in Blue” often seen at the top of the spiral staircase that’s now in the back room/museum of the present-day Washoe Club. There also seems to be a mischievous spirit of an old prospector who frequents the bar, stealing drinks, moving stools, and swinging doors open as ladies enter the bar.

Below are two images of the museum in the back of the saloon:

1. Image one, with the giant skeleton, features an old carriage, displays of items found and images taken throughout the years and memories from Ghost Adventures' time in the building. One the wall, you can see various images of the staircase with a beautiful blue "dust" that is believed to be the Lady in Blue in another form. Another image features a partial apparition of the Lady in Blue.

2. Image two features the famous staircase. You can't walk up there as they're unstable and the top was blocked off. The entrance to the museum from the saloon is seen on the right below the staircase.

   
   

I highly recommend taking visiting the saloon and taking the tour! It really is a unique experience and is probably one of my favorite visits throughout my haunted road trip. In my next blog, I’ll share my a few less known spirit stories and my fun experience during my solo tour at the Washoe Club!