Jack Taylor house, Virginia City, Montana, built in 1864.
Submitted by Karen Johnson
EUGENE, Ore. — (August 5, 2009) –Digging into the history of one of the West’s most celebrated mining towns, Virginia City, Montana, UO students and faculty members laid the groundwork for research and documentation on African-American pioneers. The focus of the six-month project is the Jack Taylor house and store, built in 1864. From the 1860s until the 1920s these buildings were occupied by African-Americans who ran businesses in Virginia City. Taylor owned the property around 1894 and worked as a miner, laborer, and teamster. He also owned commercial property and homesteaded a land claim.
Historic preservation program director, Professor Kingston Heath, and two graduate students, Chrisanne Beckner and Lisa Berenschot, examined the Taylor buildings to learn more about the role of African-Americans on the mining frontier. Others on the team included adjunct instructors, Dr. Kirk Ranzetta and Shannon Bell, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukie professor and UO visiting professor, Tom Hubka, and researcher Randall Heath.
The team prepared analysis of the buildings’ condition, documented the construction and building details, researched the historic dates and families who lived on the site. This data will contribute to a historic structures report for these two buildings for the Montana Heritage Commission.
Virginia City is a living town of 150 year round residents and an active tourist attraction as the best preserved gold mining town from the 1860s. Virginia City has over 100 historic buildings with artifacts and furnishings.
“Our research and graphic documentation is part of the efforts to demonstrate the cultural diversity that existed in this mining frontier and unique National Historic Landmark,” says Professor Heath. “At present, such a nuanced history of underrepresented groups is absent from the historic interpretation narrative.”
The UO’s involvement with Virginia City is captured in an upcoming television production. The broadcast on Montana Public Broadcasting is called “Virginia City…Where History Lives” and will be aired in Montana on August 20, 29 and 30. In the film, Heath is interviewed and there is footage of the students working on last summer’s documentation of the Frank Finney cabin.
