Famed Territorial Enterprise newspaper building in Virginia City for sale
It was at one time the mightiest voice in Nevada journalism, and could make or break powerful men with just one sentence printed on a Hoe steam press, located in the basement of the Territorial Enterprise building. After a long and distinguished career the T.E. building is being sold once again.
The original T.E. was built on this present site in 1863, but burned in the Great Fire of 1875 that destroyed a major portion of Virginia City. The new T.E. was rebuilt on the same site and in operation by the end of 1875, and continued publishing until it suspended operations in May, 1916.
The T.E. lay dormant for the next 36 years until Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg resurrected the paper on May 2, 1952. Beebe sold the paper in 1960, and the paper changed hands several times until the Schafer family of Virginia City bought it in 1968.
By now the paper was no longer being printed by letterpress in the T.E. building, but was being printed by offset in Sparks. In 1985 the Schafer family sold the printing rights of the T.E. to Thomas Muzzio, but kept the T.E. building along with printing artifacts, some going back to when the T.E. was rebuilt in 1875. The newspaper and the building have been separate entities ever since.
The story of Mark Twain being associated with the Territorial Enterprise is part truth and part myth. Samuel Clemens began writing for the T.E. in September of 1862. At that time, the T.E. was located where the Silver Queen Saloon stands today. In August, 1863, the T.E. and Clemens moved to its new location on South “C” St., and as we now know that building burned in 1875, along with anything Twain might have left behind when he left Virginia City for good in May of 1864.
The asking price for the T.E. building is $750,000, that includes a two bedroom upstairs apartment, warehouse and museum containing printing artifacts dating back to the 19th century.
So is this building worth three quarters of a million dollars? Price be damned, for me it would be an honor and privilage to own this historical building that once housed the most iconic newspaper in Nevada history.
— Writer Chic DiFrancia is a long-time Virginia City resident, freelance writer, historian and letterpress printer. In his youth he once was a typesetter at the Territorial Enterprise in Virginia City.