Filed Under Virginia City
Moritz House (Alderine Hancock House)
Virginia City National Historic Landmark District
This modest Greek Revival style dwelling, probably one of the first houses built here in the mid-1860s, features the classic elements of Virginia City’s earliest “high style” residences. Decorative pediments above the windows, clapboard siding, cornerboards, and flat vergeboards characterize this style. Popular before the Civil War, frequent use of Greek Revival on the Western frontier was a throw-back to that earlier period. Sawn lumber and glass transported overland by freight wagon were expensive commodities, and their use reflects the wealth of first owner Elmer F. Johnson. Owned by the Moritz family between 1888 and 1934, the home represents elegance on the early frontier.
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