Virginia City’s legendary 1876 drinking parlor on C Street, known for its Comstock Lode history, continuous family ownership, and live country music.
The Bucket of Blood Saloon has anchored Virginia City’s wooden boardwalks at 1 South C Street since 1876, standing as one of the most enduring symbols of the Comstock Lode silver boom. Constructed immediately after the Great Fire of 1875 leveled most of the town, this historic drinking parlor replaced an earlier structure that had served miners during the initial rush of the 1850s. In June 1931, just before the onset of the Great Depression, a local named Versal McBride purchased the establishment. The saloon has remained under the continuous ownership and operation of the McBride family ever since, evolving from a modest watering hole with only twelve bar stools into Nevada's most famous historic bar.
The interior of the saloon functions as a preservation site for Comstock history, illuminated by hanging chandeliers and historic oil lamps. Red-cushioned bar stools line the long, polished wood counter, where patrons can look closely at framed relics of the 19th century. Among the most prized displays are original portraits of Comstock mining pioneers Mr. and Mrs. Sandy Bowers, alongside the personal pocket watch of Hank Monk, the legendary stagecoach driver who famously drove Horace Greeley over the Sierra Nevada. Large picture windows at the back of the room frame a vast, 100-mile view of the rugged Nevada desert and Six Mile Canyon, offering a stark visual contrast to the dark, memorabilia-lined walls.
Directly beneath the saloon lies a separate layer of history. The property sits over the archaeological remains of the Boston Saloon, an upscale drinking house operated from 1864 to 1875 by William A.G. Brown, a free-born Black man from Massachusetts. Excavated by archaeologists in 2000, the site yielded high-end crystal glassware, tobacco pipes, and delicate dress beads, revealing a sophisticated gathering place for the town’s African American community during the peak of the silver rush. Today, a state historical marker on the south wall of the Bucket of Blood honors this shared heritage, linking the two historic establishments. Visitors today gather at the bar for the saloon’s signature specialty Bloody Mary, served with fresh popcorn, while listening to live country and western music from David John and the Comstock Cowboys, the official house band that regularly fills the room with the sounds of the old frontier.
Grab a seat by the back picture windows for a view of the canyon, order the signature Bloody Mary, and look for the historical marker on the south wall detailing the excavated Boston Saloon.
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