Why this history matters
The present building dates to the rebuilding after the Great Fire of 1875. Its name carries folklore; its deeper significance rests on people, buildings, and evidence that can be traced.
A Town Built Around the Lode
The Comstock discovery in 1859 brought miners, investors, tradespeople, and service businesses to Virginia City. Saloons belonged to a dense commercial world that also included theaters, restaurants, lodging, and gambling rooms.
The Great Fire of 1875 destroyed much of that built environment. The Bucket of Blood's present structure is dated to 1876, although parts of the site's masonry preserve an earlier history.
This distinction between site and standing building matters. A historic address can contain several successive businesses, and the age of one wall does not establish that the modern saloon name has existed continuously for the same span.
William Brown's Business Beneath the Familiar Landmark
William A. G. Brown operated the Boston Saloon from about 1866 until the 1875 fire. A free-born Black entrepreneur from Massachusetts, he served Virginia City's African American community and other patrons.
Archaeological work identified the Boston Saloon behind the present Bucket of Blood. Objects recovered from the site help restore a business and community that were less visible in later popular images of the Comstock.
The Boston Saloon should not be treated simply as an earlier name for the present business. Its distinct ownership and social setting are important in their own right. The connection is geographical and archaeological, not proof of one continuous operator.
The McBrides Rebuild a Local Institution
Versal McBride acquired the Bucket of Blood in 1931, during the Great Depression and the year Nevada restored broad legal gambling. That date precedes national Prohibition repeal; the two milestones should not be conflated.
Family accounts describe a small twelve-stool operation enlarged through work by relatives and friends. Donald and Jeannie McBride later became central to its continuation. The family's role extended beyond serving drinks to promoting Virginia City itself.
Events such as Bonanza Days and the Camel Races helped turn the town's past and public image into reasons to visit. The Bucket participated in that tourism economy while remaining a recognizable local business.
Music, Gaming, and the Old West Image
Visitors encountered a bar, music, gambling machines, and a setting rich in Comstock associations. This is a different gaming model from a hotel-casino: limited gambling can support a historic saloon without defining the whole experience.
The Bucket of Blood name is often explained through tales of violent brawls. Those accounts belong to local tradition unless supported by a specific contemporary naming record. A memorable story is not automatically a documented origin.
Later Nevada licensing records establish the regulated business behind the picturesque surface, including a family-interest transfer in 2019. The saloon's importance lies in that combination: a working enterprise, a tourism landmark, and a site where archaeology reveals a broader past than the famous name alone suggests.
The story in time
- 1859
The Comstock discovery accelerates Virginia City's growth.
- 1866-75
William Brown operates the Boston Saloon.
- 1875
The Great Fire destroys the earlier building.
- 1876
The present saloon structure is built.
- 1931
Versal McBride acquires the business.
- 2019
Nevada records a transfer of family ownership interests.
Sources & further reading
The numbered links in each chapter point to the supporting material below. The wider bibliography also includes archival collections and specialist references. Historical uncertainty is explained where it affects the story; a source link does not grant permission to reproduce its images.
Start with these sources
Nevada Gaming Commission February 2019 dispositionNevada Senate Concurrent Resolution 5National Park Service Virginia City Historic District nominationNevada State Historic Preservation Office marker information for the Boston SaloonNevada Historical Society Quarterly — importance of the Boston SaloonBucket of Blood official history- Research sourceNevada Gaming Control Board historical license report
- Research sourceNevada Gaming Commission February 2019 disposition
- Research sourceNevada Senate Concurrent Resolution 5
- Research sourceNational Park Service Virginia City Historic District nomination
- Research sourceNevada State Historic Preservation Office marker information for the Boston Saloon
- Research sourceOnline Nevada — Virginia City saloon archaeology
- Research sourceNevada Historical Society Quarterly — importance of the Boston Saloon
- Research sourceNevada Historical Society Quarterly — Virginia City tourism revival
- Research sourceArchaeology Magazine — Black Saloon
- Research sourceBucket of Blood official history
- Research sourceBucket of Blood / McBride family history
- Research sourceVirginia City tourism saloon guide
- Research sourceChipGuide — Bucket of Blood
- Research sourceCasino Collectible News, Volume 24, No. 3
- Research sourceNorthern Nevada Business Weekly, Don McBride’s 75th birthday
- Research sourceVirginia City Tourism Commission strategic plan
- Research sourceNational Park Service King–McBride Mansion nomination
- Research sourceNevada Magazine, July/August 1988
- Research sourceCarson Now — Oak Ridge Boys album photographs
- Research sourceWhiskey Lore interview with Ron Gallagher
- Research sourceNevada travel feature, 1981
- Research sourceNevada travel feature, 1990
- Research sourceWestern Nevada Historic Photo Collection / UC Davis, 1947 Bucket photograph
- Research sourceKUNR — Virginia City before Nevada became a state
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