Filed Under Virginia City

Buford Block (Site of Wells Fargo Office)

Virginia City National Historic Landmark District

Ben Holladay’s Overland Stage reached Virginia City in 1864, and from that time until 1899, stages arrived and departed from this site for connections all over the West and the States. Bought out by Wells Fargo and Company in 1866, the office also housed the telegraph. In 1899, S. R. Buford, whose successful grocery and hardware stores were on either side of the older building, tore it down and constructed this building, the Buford Block, to expand his grocery department. The Wells Fargo office then moved to a rented location two doors east. After Buford’s death in 1905, his sons carried on the business until 1926.

Images

Wells Fargo Express Office, Virginia City, Montana
Wells Fargo Express Office, Virginia City, Montana View of the Wells Fargo & Co. Overland Mail and Express Office in Virginia City, Montana with unidentified man at left. The building was demolished in 1899 by S. R. Buford to expand his general store. Charles Bovey added the painted sign reminiscent of the original in the 1950s. Source: PAc 956-222, Montana Legacy Photograph Collection, Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, MT. Creator: Unknown photographer Date: ca. 1880
Buford Block, center and west sections
Buford Block, center and west sections View of building facades Source: Montana Heritage Commission Creator: Kate Steeley, Montana Heritage Commission Date: Oct 2019

Location

300-312 West Wallace Street, Virginia City, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Buford Block (Site of Wells Fargo Office),” Historic Montana, accessed March 29, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/856.