VIRGINIA CITY — "In many ways, the Virginia City that we know and love today, from a tourism perspective, started a hundred years ago," says Jim Jarvis, the author of "Virginia City, Montana: 100 Years of Keeping Time."

A gold rush first brought people to the town in 1863, but by the 1920s, mining began to fade away. Jarvis says that if it were not for philanthropy and the town’s status as the county seat, Virginia City may have faded away altogether.

WATCH: Unveiling the Past: Discovering the Stories Behind Virginia City’s Enduring Appeal

Jim’s story begins in 1920 with the gift to the community of a library and museum.

"That was the era of the Andrew Carnegies and the Andrew Melons who were building libraries. So I guess Bill Thompson decided, well, heck, we’ll build a library in our hometown," says Jarvis.

For 100 years, the tiny mining town has attracted curious visitors looking to get a peek into the old American West.

In the 1940s, another wealthy family stepped up to save the old wooden buildings in town. Eventually, ownership shifted to the state of Montana.

"It took the work of a lot of different individuals and organizations and a couple of very wealthy families to make it all happen, and certainly now the state of Montana is keeping it going," says Jarvis.

He says he hopes his book will give some insight into how the town’s past can keep Virginia City a thriving place.

"My hope was to kind of connect the dots and make it so people can understand how it has managed to survive and what it’s going to take to keep it surviving for the next hundred years."