The Wild West Awaits: 13 Ghost Towns in America You Can Still Explore
Bodie, California
Bodie began as a small mining camp in 1859 of little interest; by 1868 two companies had built mills and both had failed. It wasn’t until 1876 and the discovery of profitable gold-bearing ore that Bodie became a booming mining center and home to roughly 7,000 people and nearly 2,000 buildings.
Over the years Bodie’s mines produced roughly $34 million in gold, but the town began to decline in 1880 as miners were lured away to work in other mining booms. There was a short revival of the town in the 1890s, but by 1912 Bodie was printing its last newspaper.
The town was designated a National Historic Landmark in the 1960s which led to the authorization of Bodie State Historic Park. With just over 100 of the town’s original structures remaining, Bodie is preserved in a “state of arrested decay.”
Visitors are welcome to walk the deserted streets of the once-bustling town and explore the remaining structures where they’ll find the interiors left as-is and stocked with goods. Removal of any of these items is prohibited by the park.
There are legends that anyone who takes a bit of Bodie home will quickly come to regret it. Stories report that a string of devastating bad luck comes to those who remove anything from the park, until the property has been returned. Park officials say they receive many parcels with letters of apology and the return of pieces of history.
Terlingua, Texas
It’s reported that a man named Jack Dawson produced the first mercury from Terlingua in 1888, however according to Kenneth Baxter Ragsdale, a historian, the facts around the discovery “are so shrouded in legend and fabrication that it is impossible to cite the date and location of the first quicksilver recovery.”
Although the specific dates are hazy, Terlingua had a slow start as a mining town. By 1903, however, it had become a booming town, with over 3,000 people calling it home.
Today the ghost town is open to the public to be explored. There is no admission but several events, including a chili cook-off, invite visitors to stop by, shop and have a bite to eat at the local dining areas.
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Goldfield, Arizona
Atop a small hill, nestled between the Superstition Mountains and the Goldfield Mountains, sits the town of Goldfield, AZ. Established in 1892 when high-grade gold ore was discovered in the area, many miners and prospectors set up home here, hoping to strike it rich. Before long the town was home to over 1,500 residents as well as a brewery, saloons, a blacksmith, a general store, a post office, a butcher and even a school.
But, as the story goes for many mining towns, once the gold started to deplete the town quickly became deserted. Just five years after the town was established, it had become a ghost town left to decay.
The town and surrounding area were purchased in 1966 by a couple who dreamed of owning their own ghost town. They worked to rebuild the old town and the mill, as well as reconstruct a mining tunnel.
Today, Goldfield is filled with people in period costume, horses and wagons providing a highly sought-after and educational tourist attraction. Attractions include tours and authentic gunfighter presentations.
