America's coolest towns

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Ghost towns are an intriguing and mysterious part of the American past In the Old West these towns often sprung up in response to rumors of mining riches or job opportunities along the expanding railroad And sometimes just as quickly as they appeared the towns faded back into oblivion as resources disappeared or jobs moved on Although the ghost towns of California Arizona New Mexico Nevada and Colorado are too numerous to mention there are a few standouts that remain popular with tourists and some that even house a few inhabitants Whatever the case tourists are charged with being respectful of these landscapes whether inhabited or not

Bodie CAThis former gold town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains along the California-Nevada border had nearly 10000 residents in the late 1870s as well as saloons a red-light district and possibly even opium dens Its slow decline lasted well into the 20th century with its post office finally closing in 1942 Today Bodie is in ldquoarrested decayrdquo but still has stocked stores Just be sure not to shoplift bad luck supposedly bafalls anyone who makes off with anything from the site

Glenrio TX and NMThis little town straddling the TexasndashNew Mexico border was a busy road stop during the heyday of Route 66mdashoffering gas restaurants motelsmdashwith a few newer buildings such as a Texaco reflecting the Art Moderne style The movie crew for The Grapes of Wrath even spent some time filming here in 1939 But in the 1970s business came to a halt when I-40 was built and literally passed by Glenrio There are supposedly a few people who live in Glenrio now but otherwise the empty largely intact little town is part of the National Register of Historic Places

Thurmond WVThis coal town from the late 1800s went from several hundred residents to 7 by the year 2000 Once a big stop on the Chesapeake amp Ohio Railway its depot has been turned into a museum and the town is now part of the New River Gorge National River You can check out the restored train depot and museum but most people come here for river rafting

Calico CAThis former silver-mining town in Southern California peaked in the 1880s but started declining when the price of silver dropped in the 1890s It was a ghost town by 1907 The townrsquos restoration began in the 1950s under the direction of Walter Knott of Knottrsquos Berry Farm fame Today you can still see one-third of Calicoacutes original buildings you can tour a mine or wander the old port office and school house

Virginia City MTFounded on gold mining in 1863 this town once had about 10000 residentsmdashincluding Calamity Janemdashand was even briefly the capital of the Montana Territory Maybe it was bad karma having your capital share the name of another state or just the fact that gold ran out but the city has been frozen in time since the late 19th century

Rhyolite NVNamed for the local silica-rich volcanic rock this town near Death Valley National Park sprang up in 1905 with the promise of goldmdashso much promise that a guy named Charles M Schwab sank a lot of money into the town Rhyolite had a school a hospital and a stock exchange by 1907mdashas well as a bustling society that included a symphony Sunday school andhellip lots of prostitutes

Goldfield AZThis gold town thrived in the 1890s then died and was reborn a number of times between 1910 and 1926 In the 1960s it was reconstructed as a tourist stop

Gleeson Courtland and Pearce AZThis trio of towns just west of Tombstone had ups and downs and intertwined fates Gleeson used to be called Turquoise when the stone was its main draw but everyone left when gold was found in Pearce Pancho Villa is said to have fought in Courtland Much of these three towns are now on private land but you can wander the cemeteries or visit the Gleeson Jail where on the first weekend of each month you can take a tour Up the road you can also see the ldquojail treerdquo where they used to tie up unsavory types before the jail was built

Deadwood South DakotaWyatt Earp ldquoWild Billrdquo Hickock and Calamity Jane mdash these names are synonymous with the Old West and they all have ties to Deadwood Founded in 1876 the former gold rush town of about 2300 located in western South Dakotarsquos Black Hills is back to what it was thanks in part to the legalization of gambling in 1989 Best of all the timeless cowboy spirit has survived as well

Sheridan WyomingWyoming and cowboys are synonymous The state has a cowboy on its license plate for crying out loud Whatrsquos more Sheridan was named the No 1 Western Town in the US by True West Magazine in 2006 So was it without merit Of course not this north-central Wyoming town of 16000 is full of the cowboy spirit

White Oaks New MexicoIf you check out White Oaksrsquo Cedarvale Cemetery yoursquoll see the tombstone of James Bell which states ldquoMurdered by William Bonney aka Billy the Kid Back in the day Billy the Kid hung out in this central New Mexico spot which was founded in 1869 Today you can hear tales of his exploits at the No Scum Allowed Saloon one of the few businesses left in this former gold rush town Technically this is a former gold rush town turned ghost town

Elisabeth Town New MexicoOne of the most fascinating ghost towns in New Mexico Elizabethtown was settled by gold diggers in 1866 and grew to support 7000 residents at its peak Its decline started in the early 1900s and the final residents left in the 1920s There are plenty of ghostly abandoned structures for visitors to explore as well as a museum opened by a descendant of a former Elizabethtown resident

Gold Point NevadaOriginally named Hornsilver because it was a silver mining camp but it never became the boomtown its founders had hoped Most of the town is now owned by Herb Robbins otherwise known as Sheriff Stone Here you can stay in a rustic cabin tour the towns abandoned buildings and hear stories about the towns history from the sheriff himself

Silver City NevadaSilver City a silver mining town in the 1860s is one ghost town that remains marginally populated In fact only 170 people still inhabit this former railroad and mining town Visitors are welcomed to experience the historic buildings of the area

Tombstone ArizonaAny good cowboy town should have a motto and The town too tough to die is more than fitting for Tombstone Arizona and is the ultimate cowboy-town slogan From its founding in 1879 shortly after silver was discovered there the population quickly grew along with the crime rate

Tombstone Arizona

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Ghost towns are an intriguing and mysterious part of the American past In the Old West these towns often sprung up in response to rumors of mining riches or job opportunities along the expanding railroad And sometimes just as quickly as they appeared the towns faded back into oblivion as resources disappeared or jobs moved on Although the ghost towns of California Arizona New Mexico Nevada and Colorado are too numerous to mention there are a few standouts that remain popular with tourists and some that even house a few inhabitants Whatever the case tourists are charged with being respectful of these landscapes whether inhabited or not
















Tombstone Arizona

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Tombstone Arizona

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America's coolest towns

Education

Transcript of America's coolest towns

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