VUCOVICH CLAN

Adam S. Eterovich

Spiro Vucovich was an old timer and well known personality in Virginia City. He was from Boka. He was in grocery business at the corner of C and Sutton Avenue in 1862 and had the Adriatic Saloon at 8 So. C in 1867. He also operated Spiro’s Saloon for many years during the 1870’s and 1880’s. Spiro was an American citizen and had a young wife, aged 22, born in Massachusetts, in 1875. She was of Irish extraction.

ADVERTISEMENT ADRIATIC SALOON

A well known writer of pioneer Nevada mentions Spiro: (1)

By authentic count in 1876 there were exactly 100 retail liquor dealers in Virginia City; 37 in Gold Hill; 7 in Silver City-- a grand total of 144 in the Comstock sector. Ten wholesale liquor dealers and 5 breweries helped out. The Delta, the Silver Palace, El Dorado, Palace Capitol, the Sawdust Corner-- these were among the best-known of the places of refreshment in Virginia. Spiro’s, with ancient Spiro Vucovich as proprietor, was another pioneer place.

Spiro was very civic minded and belonged to the Masons and was a member of the Virginia Exempt Fire Association, Engine Company Number 5. He also served on the Italian Benevolent Society Invitation Committee in 1876.

There were many other Vucovich’s in Nevada during the 1860’s and 1870’s. Christopher Vucovich had a chop house at Virginia City in 1863. Edward Vucovich had a saloon and clubroom in 1868 and owned the Adriatic Saloon in Virginia City in 1878. He owned the Virginia Saloon at Benson, Arizona in 1883. F. Vucovich was a silverminer in 1875 at Virginia City. George Vucovich had a saloon in Virginia City in 1875. John Vucovich was a worker at the Virginia City Gas Works in 1878. Joseph Vukovich was a barkeeper at Virginia City in 1873. M. Vucovich was a merchant with Vidovich at Lida Valley in 1880. Marco Vucovich was a pioneer silverminer at Austin in 1866. He had a fruit business in Virginia City in 1875. Nicholas Vucovich was a barkeeper for Edward at the San Francisco Chop House at Virginia City in 1863. He later mined at Sierra County, California and Amador County, California. P. Vucovich was a merchant at Virginia in 1875.

The Vucovich’s were well represented in Nevada and especially at Virginia city in the wild 1860’s and 1870’s. It didn’t pay to pick a fight with a Vucovich at Virginia City. Not in the Adriatic Saloon under any conditions!

1. Wells Drury, An Editor of the Comstock Lode (Farrar & Rinehart, New York, 1936).