Flowery Cemetery

Virginia City • Storey County

Perched on a hill above town is Virginia City's first cemetery. Known by a number of names, including the Flowery, Flowery Hill, Mount Pleasant, or now just simply the Pioneer Cemetery, it was created in 1860. At some point a firemen's section was established, but little else is known of the cemetery's history or how many were buried there. By about 1862 it was replaced by the Silver Terrace Cemeteries due to its difficult to access location. Though today it is best known as the purported final resting place of famed prostitute Julia Bulette, a handful of other nameless graves can also be located.

Flowery Cemetery

Julia C. Bulette, a beloved prostitute and honorary member of Virginia Engine Co. Number 1, was brutally strangled and discovered the morning of January 20, 1867. Virginia City went into mourning, and the next day a funeral was held for her by the city's firemen. The city was draped in black, all saloons were closed for the first time since the assassination of President Lincoln, and a procession carried her to her final resting place at the Flowery Cemetery. Though the exact location has since been lost to time, an elegant cenotaph was later placed by local civic boosters.

Julia C. Bulette
1832 - 1867

Bibliography

Comstock Place Names: The Names of Storey County, Nevada by Mary B. Ansari (Reno: Camp Nevada, 1986), 22.
Find a Grave, "Julia C. Bulette".
A History of the Virginia Exempt Firemen's Association Cemetery by Steve Frady.
The Silver Terrace Cemeteries: Virginia City, Nevada by C. Wheeler (2004).
Wicked Virginia City by Peter B. Mires (Charleston: The History Press, 2020).