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Virginia City Institute eyes support from Harvard

Members of the Virginia City Institute may soon travel to Harvard University to bend the ear of Ivy League officials whose school gained millions of dollars off Montana gold more than a century ago.

By MARTIN J. KIDSTON, IR Staff Writer

If successful, the deal could create new field classes in Alder Gulch covering social issues that span prostitution to law as they occurred in the historic mining district.

Virginia City and Nevada City, founded in the gold-rich hills of Alder Gulch in the 1860s, are home to the nation’s single largest collection of territorial buildings. They also house the largest collection of Western Americana outside the Smithsonian Institution with well over a million pieces.

Jeff Tiberi, executive director of the Montana Heritage Commission, said the Virginia City Institute was created in 1997 to preserve the two mining cities. As part of that mission, VCI continues to offer classes in the gulch leading to certification in preserving and maintaining historic buildings.

Last year, course participants began a log-replacement project on an opium den and a lawyer’s office in Nevada City. The courses, which will be held again this year, were developed in conjunction with the National Park Service and are taught by teams specializing in historic preservation.

But with a shoestring budget, VCI depends upon the tuition it receives from the class participants. Tiberi hopes to broaden class topics beyond historic preservation to raise addition funding to preserve Montana’s history.

"You have the whole gamut of social issues that took place there," Tiberi said of Alder Gulch. "We’d be looking at human history."

Tiberi said the new field courses would study women and prostitution in the mining camps, the Chinese role in developing the two cities, and the practice of law in mining courts.

In Colonial Williamsburg, court hearings are reenacted word for word from historic records. Such events serve as a popular attraction and Tiberi hopes to establish something similar in Alder Gulch.

"We’ve got all these social things we could study and offer as courses," Tiberi said. "You name it, we had it."

Tiberi said that Harvard University owned several dredges in Alder Gulch in the 1800s. The prestigious school, located in Massachusetts, profited off Montana gold to the sum of millions of dollars.

Now, members of VCI hope Harvard is willing to reciprocate by offering financial support for the classes at Alder Gulch. Tuition money would be used to preserve the gulch’s two cities.

"We’re thinking of approaching Harvard as a partner," Tiberi said. "We’re going to do the research and try to get a shot at going in front of their board of directors."

Virginia City and Nevada City were the first properties to fall under the management of the Montana Heritage Commission. In May 1997, the state purchased 248 historic buildings in the two cities, 160 acres of land and thousands of artifacts.

More than 70,000 tourists visit the Alder Gulch sites each year. The Alder Gulch Railroad is still in operation.

Courses offered in historic preservation

Applications for the Virginia City Institute’s historic preservation training courses are available online at http://www.virginiacityinstitute.com, or by calling 406-843-5457.

Round and hewn-log structure stabilization and preservation courses will be offered this year, along with a second course in building stabilization techniques.

Anyone interested in historic preservation maintenance is welcome to attend the courses..

Reporter Martin Kidston can be reached at 447-4086, or by e-mail at [email protected]

http://helenair.com/articles/2003/01/29/montana/a09012903_02.txt

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