In the mid-1940s, after more than 80 years, Alder Gulch's legendary gold deposits were finally playing out, gold mining was declared a non-essential industry during WWII, and Virginia City's population dwindled as able-bodied people were drafted into the war and families moved to West Coast factories for work. Although a few businesses remained active near the courthouse, most buildings on the lower end of Wallace Street, once the community's commercial core, were abandoned or barely functioning, and much of the town was slowly sinking into the ground after years of neglect. When Charlie and Sue Bovey came through in 1944 during one of their drives through rural Montana, they saw in this almost ghost-town setting authentic remnants of Montana's frontier past and recognized that without quick action those fragments and their stories would be lost. Their more than 50-year relationship with Virginia City transformed much of the place as it is known today through restored and reconstructed storefronts, wooden boardwalks, interpretive exhibits, and a functioning railroad. Where necessary, entire buildings were reconstructed from historic photos to fill gaps in the streetscape, and period-correct businesses were furnished from the Boveys' large collection of 19th-century merchandise, furnishings, and equipment. Though many people once considered them eccentric for valuing buildings others thought fit only for firewood, they persisted, and as the lower end of Wallace Street revived, their work earned recognition including National Historic Landmark status in 1961 and state ownership in 1997; since the 1950s, their work in Virginia City and nearby Nevada City has been enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year.