Oregon. A ghost town is a term used to describe towns that failed to stand the test of time and died off the same time the gold mines stopped producing gold. The dust in the air chokes. How to Create a Genuine Looking Old Wild West Town Scene. Mar 15, 2020 - Explore Free Range Living's board "Wild West Towns" on Pinterest. After gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, people flocked to the Deadwood area to make their fortune. The working post office shares an aged building with the town’s fake sheriff’s office, complete with a dummy and a makeshift jail. That year, a group of Hollywood investors, including cowboy stars Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, Dick Curtis, Bob Nolan, Russell Hayden, and Tim Spencer, bought 13 acres of desert land 25 miles from Palm Springs. Mane Street is a friendly place, not a grimacing desperado in sight. It earned a reputation as one of the most sinful towns in the West by the end of the 1800s. What it's like now: Dodge City's economy is ce… Like many towns that boomed during the late 1800s, Oatman rose to prominence as a gold mining town. By 1969, the year Mendelsohn pulled out amid a torrent of lawsuits and government investigations, California City had only 1,700 residents. Behind the post office is a small wood-frame house, where it appears someone still resides. For that reason, we name Abilene our top Western Town for 2018. mobile app. There are an abundance of monuments of the Wild West in Cody, most notably the Old Trail Town, which includes Wild West artifacts like Butch Cassidy’s cabin, the grave of mountain man John Johnson, a saloon frequented by the famous outlaw Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, and the home of Curley, the Indian scout who survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn. If you’d prefer something a little less morbid, there are plenty of period museums like the Days of 76 Museum and the Adams Museum. In addition to the trail, you can check out the Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indians Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, and the Cody Firearms Museum. “They would just look at him. Tired of the incessant travel that came with filming Westerns, they built Pioneertown as a permanent Wild West set. You can even pan for gold at the Lost Boot Mine, but don’t expect to strike it rich. Speaking of not quitting your day job, gambling is still alive and well in Deadwood, though it’s evolved somewhat from backroom poker games to more modern establishments. One was the boarded-up depot’s caretaker O.B. In 1881, John McBryde and Lowery Silver discovered silver ore in the dusty mountains near Wall Street Canyon. Living in Idaho is like living in a time capsule. Waiting? Sounded like a real roller coaster ride. There are lots ideal for middle-class family homes. The promise of wealth lured outlaws, gamblers, and gunslingers who transformed the town into a vibrant and often dangerous place. At its height during World War II, the population of Kelso reached around 2,000. Inspired by the explosive growth of the San Fernando Valley, in 1958 he bought 82,000 acres of desert wasteland, intent on making it into the ideal industrialized American metropolis. O’Brien, a grizzled Navy veteran. Calico is a desert ghost town, theme-park style. Wild West Town is a wild west themed amusement park in Illinois. These 8 Towns In Idaho Still Look Like Something Straight Out Of The Wild West. Most look like they have been there for many years. Visitors are free to explore its spooky remains, but there are no kitschy reenactments, restaurants, or shops selling … The shootout only last 30 seconds, but it resulted in the deaths of Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers. Those that didn’t, that outlived their usefulness yet still exist, are now faded snapshots of the time and place when they were at their best. Driving out of town as the sun goes down in the huge, cloudless sky, you pass row upon row of empty dirt roads, like the imprint from a shoe. Anywhere that calls itself the “Rodeo Capital of the World” should probably be on your Wild West bucket list. Ever have the hankering to experience a post-apocalyptic 1950s-kitschy hellscape? Fittingly, Schieffelin called the town “Tombstone” because he was initially told he would find nothing there but his own tombstone. Most of the outdoor scenes were shot elsewhere, but these are a couple of places to go that have their roots in the Old West Wild West in Los Angeles . Like many Wild West towns, Virginia City has a trolley tour that brings you through the major landmarks. There are few Wild West buffs who haven't heard of Deadwood, SD, and this town remains one of the true wonders of Old Wild West. Outside, however, is an entirely different beast. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. There is much to see in California City, in the Kern County desert, 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. At Roy’s Motel and Café, an old man sits by the gas station: is he working? And while the gold mine might be all dried up, you can still take the Old Hundred Gold Mine Tour, which lets you ride an electric mine train into the Galena Mountain, and watch immersive mining demos that use authentic machines dating back nearly 100 years. Founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schiefflein, who discovered silver in the area, Tombstone was the setting of perhaps the most legendary event in Wild West history: the Gunfight at the O.K. There is a restored lunch counter, telegraph office, and exhibitions that tell the history of the area. Well, there’s history, of course. You can take a ride through an old mine on a tram, pan for silver, take pot shots in the shooting gallery, and camp overnight under the Calico hills. Hickock was shot and killed in Deadwood while holding the infamo… More than 500 mines were soon in operation, producing the biggest silver load in California history. Oatman is filled with wild donkeys roaming the streets, dusty roads, and shops with old wooden porches. The names in this generator have been based on real life Wild West town names. Once they arrived, they saw a massive infrastructure campaign in progress, which would eventually make California City the third-largest city in the state by landmass, a title which it still holds. It was once home to Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, famous gunfighters and gamblers of the West. These days Silverton is a little more respectable. Of course, steam locomotives needed water. Virginia City was a major hub for gold and silver barons throughout the 1860s and ‘70s but now serves as a monument to its former glory days. The town was fast abandoned, leaving behind a bygone relic. Visit the Boot Hill museum, located on the site of the historic Boot Hill cemetery, for a look at the 60,000 artif… Here’s a guide to five ghost towns near Mojave. You’ll probably still lose, but at least you don’t have to keep your head on a swivel for gunslingers. This name generator will give you 10 random names for Wild West towns and towns in similar settings. Below are our five favorite California desert ghost towns. But by far the most compelling area is the Calico Graveyard, where mountaineers and prospectors from Calico’s past—and modern-day boosters and cowboys—are buried under handmade markers, their graves covered in desert rock. But shortly after, it began to dwindle as nearby mines closed and the switch from steam engine to diesel rendered the depot’s purpose as a way station obsolete—since trains no longer needed assistance climbing steep grades. At an elevation of 9,180 feet, situated between two San Juan Mountain passes, Silverton was dubbed the “Mining Town That Never Quit.” It started booming around 1873, with settlers pouring into Silverton seeking gold and silver around the creeks and rivers. An authentic mining ghost town that hosted more than 60 saloons and dance halls at its peak, its decay has been frozen by park authorities. Here’s why. But when Route 66 passed through town, bringing vacationers looking for a bite to eat and a photo opportunity, Amboy found its true purpose. U.S. Route 66 (US 66, Route 66) is a part of a former United States Numbered Highway in the state of California that ran from the west in Santa Monica on the Pacific Ocean through Los Angeles and San Bernardino to Needles at the Arizona state line. Many lot owners, who felt they had been sold a false bill of goods, simply abandoned the land and stopped paying property taxes. Sumpter – Queen City Ghost Town. One of the most famous Wild West towns in the country is Deadwood, South Dakota. The town has grown over the years, now boasting around 14,000 people. Names like 'Ruby City', 'Deadwood' and 'Tombstone'. California City was the brainchild of a dapper Czechoslovakian sociologist named Nathan K. Mendelsohn. Its biggest claim to fame wasn’t precious metal, however, but its red light district, which featured dance halls, saloons, and bordellos. The Silverton experience wouldn’t be complete, however, without riding on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a historic coal-fired, steam-powered locomotive that travels through canyons and forest between Durango and Silverton. The rough-hewn wooden structures look as if they were transported from the Old West. There are a whopping 17 museums, among them the mining and blacksmithing Way It Was Museum, Courthouse Slammer & County Museum, and the Comstock Gold Mill. As the frontier boomed and young men ventured west in … At dusk, an Oldsmobile driver turns his bright lights on to go down a perfectly straight road, with not a building or second car in sight. This includes personalizing content and advertising. Founded in 1895, the Wild West town attracted adventurers seeking their fortunes, but their bounty soon dried up. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. In the general store on Main Street, there are fat peppermints and candy cigarettes. If you are looking for the best Wild West towns and activities, then this article will give you some great tips! Who knew a deserted, rough-and-tumble mining boomtown in the Wild West could be so delightful? For a break from the shootouts, take a ghost tour at the Bird Cage Theater, which was a popular 1880s drinking, gambling, and performance venue in which 26 people were reportedly killed. According to the LA Times: An ambitious street system was designed and roads were cut into the brush, making the grid that can now be seen from the air. Before Las Vegas and Reno, Virginia City was Nevada’s premier destination. Corral and view reenactments of the famous gunfight, or even spend the day at the Tombstone Wild West Theme Park where there are daily gunfight shows (no, you don’t have to participate). The story does have a happy ending, however, as Oatman eventually gained her freedom. From storied ghost towns and and hardy, striking flora to iconic Palm Springs hot spots, we’re celebrating the divine desert landscape in LA’s backyard. Say “howdy” to one heck of a smoking-hot deal straight out of the Wild West. It also boasted an alarmingly high number of gunfighters, brothels, and all other manner or Wild West shenanigans. A popular pit stop for hikers to take an, um, “lode” off along the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, South Pass City is one of Wyoming’s most highly trafficked Old West ghost towns. You also have to stop in at the Ponderosa Saloon, a quirky bar that’s as Wild West as it gets. What it was like back then: Dodge City served as a railhead for longhorns coming up from Texasto be put on a trail and shipped west. The hills nearby are covered in sleek white windmills. Amboy passed through the hands of different owners before it was bought by Albert Okura, founder of the Juan Pollo restaurant chain, in 2005. What looks like a food truck is parked in the driveway, the words “Research Flat Earth” painted on its side. Next door is the glassed-in hotel lobby, its cracked Mad Men-esque furniture fading in the sun. You can even book a ranch tour and learn how to shoot a rifle. This striking landscape of arid, mountain-flanked dirt roads, peppered with clusters of oddly-shaped rocks, has doubled as the “Wild West” in countless film and TV shoots. “It is a little too crowded for me,” longtime resident Jim Austin told the New York Times last year, having just sold his home to a couple from Oakland. You can still visit the O.K. Sandwiched between Yosemite National Park and the Nevada border, Bodie offers a very different way to immerse yourself in the Wild West. The iconic Roy’s Motel and Café opened in the 1930s, and for decades it was the domain of owner Buster Burris, “a rough-hewn entrepreneur with flinty eyes, sun-toasted skin and strong opinions about rowdy bikers and men with long hair.”. You’ve probably heard of some of Deadwood’s most famous residents, like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock. By the mid-1930s, only four residents were left. During the glory days of Route 66, Amboy was a popular tourist trap, where the all-American family could get a malt in the soda shop, have their tires rotated, and enjoy a peaceful night’s sleep before they got back on the road. Known as Ghost Town in the Sky, this abandoned Wild West-themed amusement park in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, has seen as many ups and downs over the decades as its old roller coaster. Some, like Palm Springs, flourished, but countless others failed. The rudimentary depot first opened in 1905 to aid Union Pacific trains chugging across the desert to and from Las Vegas. But for many 19th- and 20th-century pioneers, the desert wasn’t just a place they wanted to visit—it was a place they wanted to stay. By the 1890s, silver lost much of its value due to the discovery of bigger mines, and the dusty desert outpost was mostly deserted. But it’s not nearly enough people to fill even a fraction of the land. Calico. After gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, people flocked to the Deadwood area to make their fortune. Who knew a deserted, rough-and-tumble mining boomtown in the Wild West could be so delightful? Then get your kicks off Route 66 (now the National Heritage Trail) in the ghostly midcentury modern nightmare known as Amboy. The gunfights, rodeos, tumbleweeds, and dusty saloons of America’s untamed frontier might sound like cinematic tropes, but they’re also a very real part of the country’s history. The shootout pitted Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earpp and Doc Holliday against Ike and Billy Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and Tom and Frank McLaury. Roy’s closed and much was abandoned, including the elementary school, now a fenced-in ruin. The settlement was born when workers laying tracks for a railroad came to the edge of the canyon, with no way to cross over until a bridge was built. Many neighborhoods have only three or four homes, with plenty of land in between. Mellonsfolly Ranch was … The era referred to as the Old Wild West began following the Civil War in 1865. When you pull into Amboy today, the first thing you notice is the music. Kelso Depot 90942 Kelso Cima Road Kelso, CA 92306. A replica Wild West town deep in rural New Zealand has been put on the market -- and if you have $7.5 million to spare, it's yours. The once-bustling depot was closed by Union Pacific in 1985. Farther down the dirt road, a modern-day cowboy sitting a spell on the porch takes off his hat, an old-timey gesture in front of the old-timey saddle shop. Hickock was shot and killed in Deadwood while holding the infamous Dead Man’s Hand (aces and eights) during a poker game. And there are real estate signs, dotting the empty roads, stuck in the weedy, barren lots, advertising that the land is for sale. These friendly green aliens seem to outnumber the human residents of California City. Calcium borate (borax) was found shortly after. Slightly less-grim options include the Rose Tree Museum & Bookstore, home of the world’s largest Rose Tree; the Tombstone Epitaph newspaper building; and the Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park. Corral. Calico is a desert ghost town, theme-park style. At home, at school, or on the road, we offer a great selection of games! And if you happen to be visiting the “Rodeo Capital of the World” between June 1 and August 31, you’d be doing yourself a disservice if you didn’t see a rodeo. A woman smiles when you peek into the windows of the adorable motel’s reception office. They’re easy to drive to, fascinating to explore, and may leave you thinking about which one you’d like to live in, and which one you’d like to haunt. Shaniko – Wool Capitol of the World. It was truncated during the 1964 renumbering and its signage removed in 1974. Soon, the new settlement of Calico in Wall Street Canyon sprang up, filled with young adventurers from places as disparate as the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and China. Modern Abilene has done a first-rate job of preserving those wild times, especially in its celebration last year of the 150th anniversary of the Chisholm Trail. It has a walk-in bank vault from 1964, as well as an abandoned gold mine underneath the bar. Union Pacific planned to tear down the depot, but it was saved by a group of historians and environmentalists. Just a short distance from any urban area in the Gem State is a town that looks like its been stuck in the mid 1800’s for the past 150 years. A booming mining town established in 1859 during the discovery of a major silver deposit called the Comstock Lode, the town was named after Virginia miner James “Old Virginny” Finney. 87520 National Trail Highway Amboy CA, 92304. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Dodge City is much more quaint these days. Some have been re-purposed, some glamorized, some left to rot. In the 1950s, it was reinvented by Walter Knott, the very man who brought us Knotts Berry Farm. This must be how 20th-century passengers on the Union Pacific felt when they first saw the railroad depot in Kelso. Dodge City, was once the epicenter of the Wild West. Remnants of Doge’s days of infamy are alive and well, however, with the Longbranch Saloon and Gospel Hill accessible via trolley ride. Sure, Hollywood has dramatized the Wild West and turned it into a cinematic cliche, but that doesn’t detract from the period’s historic significance or how its cowboys, crooks, and gamblers have captured our imaginations. “He would take people up on a hill overlooking the land and explain to them about the city that would be there one day,” his secretary Renate Saremba recalled. The American Wild West is featured so often in Hollywood films and on TV that many of us feel like we know it very well – the cowboys, the gun … “I fell in love with the desert,” he said, echoing the sentiments of those who still called Kelso home. Calico’s second wind would come in 1951, when Walter Knott, whose uncle had made his fortune with a Calico mine, bought the collection of dilapidated shacks and mines that were left. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. Some of them were abandoned en masse, while in others people left gradually until no one was left. Nestled in the San Juan Mountains, this picturesque mountain town, now known as the “Switzerland of America,” was once a rowdy wild west town where silver prospectors came for fast fortunes. Saccharine hits from the 1950s and ’60s fill the dry desert air, providing a disconcerting soundtrack for an exploration of the once-bustling stop. In 1924, the grand Spanish Revival Kelso Depot and Clubhouse opened. The term “ghost town” has an ominous tone, but most of the ghost towns in the United States used to be mining towns that boomed quickly then died out when the mines dried up and the townspeople left in search of better luck elsewhere.The dilapidated buildings and ruins of these towns serve as a living history of wild west living in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Everyone knows the expression “get the hell out of Dodge,” but in reality, you should probably get the hell to Dodge. Rough, rowdy and dangerous, the pioneer town became famous for the western icons who passed through, such as the saloon-keeper turned lawman Wyatt Earp. Buy a cowboy hat from the hip guy with an alt-country beard in another store (and pay over Venmo) and consider purchasing a beautiful earthenware mug in another. He promised to restore and reopen Roy’s, a goal which he seems to have minimally accomplished. But the boom, as nearly always, was followed by a bust. The expansive structure included “a conductor’s room, telegraph office, baggage room, dormitory rooms for staff, boarding rooms for railroad crewmen, a billiard room, library and locker room.” The depot quickly became the social center of tiny Kelso, the site of “Christmas parties, square dances, church services and trials.” It was a beacon of hospitality in unforgiving terrain. Here are the ones you can visit. Down an endless road, deep into the beautifully barren Mojave National Preserve, the wind pushes your car around, and your lips feel like parched sandpaper. CANYON DIABLO, ARIZONA Nowhere in the Southwest was there a more violent place than the railroad town of Canyon Diablo, giving it the top spot on our list of the meanest Wild West towns. Whether it’s about lawmen and gunfighters, ranchers and sodbusters, or railroads and boomtowns, all True Western Towns have a story to tell. A small community of eccentrics and loners eventually grew around this fake old village in the desert. Search for a topic, destination or article, We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. For true history buffs, you can actually visit the graves of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane at Mount Moriah Cemetery. Across the street is an old post office, and an abandoned church where an organ sits in its back room, waiting to be played. According to the Los Angeles Times: Calico was a rip-roaring town teeming with miners, boomers, promoters, gamblers and fortune hunters... Five thousand men swarmed up the canyons and gulches from their stone huts each morning to grab with picks and blast with powder for rich silver ore. A dog carried the mail in pouches strapped to his back. One of the most famous Wild West towns in the country is Deadwood, South Dakota. In 1946, Hollywood came to the high desert to stay. Along with the silver boom in Creede, so came the boom of Ouray. Not all names will be as grim as the latter two though, as there are plenty of more pleasant sounding names, as well as many variations in between. In 1966, he donated the restored—and heavily sanitized—town to the county of San Bernardino. Ruidoso, NM, is the next big destination for remote families. According to the history, “Kelso was perfectly situated to fill both roles, since it is located near the bottom of the 2,078-foot grade, and had a reliable water source from a nearby spring in the Providence Mountains.”. Wooden boardwalks lead you alongside restored 19th-century buildings, including historic saloons, and plenty of museums. South Dakota. Chandler – Last Gunfight of the Old West. Los Angeles is the home of the film industry, especially during the era when many of those great old western films and television shows were made. Across the street from the depot, the old post office is boarded up. Finally, a place to stretch their legs, breathe some fresh air, and have a drink or 10. Fast-forward to 2018, and new pioneers have come to town—trustafarians and Burning Man enthusiast types who co-mingle with the rough-hewn desert lizards that have long called the small community home. Top 10 Wild West towns in America . They went boom, then bust, but some of the desert’s early settlements haven’t entirely disappeared. Perhaps most well-known as the setting of HBO’s popular Deadwood series, the town is now a National Historic Landmark with a wealth of preserved history. “It was time for me to bug off rather than becoming that grumpy old dude trying to stop change.”, The Curbed guide to Southern California’s deserts, The Curbed guide to Southern California’s desert, In Palm Springs, a couple embraces midcentury style—and green design, An illustrated guide to Southern California’s desert plants, Arthur Elrod and the vibrant, modern interiors of Palm Springs, How to spend a weekend in and around Palm Springs. Once again, it serves as a friendly way station, selling maps, candy bars, and nostalgia to visitors battling the cruel desert sun. Just west of the town of Lone Pine on Highway 395, at the foot of Mount Whitney, are the Alabama Hills. Most work in the local jail, at nearby Edwards Air Force Base, and in the large Boron mine to the east. The mines had pithy names like the Bismark, the Burning Moscow, and the Waterloo. You can also take a walking tour along the Dodge City Trail of Fame, which commemorates the famous Wild West residents of Dodge, or kick back at Miss Kitty’s Long Branch Saloon just like the gunslingers used to do. There are roads laid out in a perfect grid. Cody is the home of Buffalo Bill, the showman famous for his “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” shows, which are credited with the popularization and proliferation of rodeos. Okura has a soft spot for Americana; he also bought the refurbished, original McDonald’s in San Bernardino. 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Town attracted adventurers seeking their fortunes, but their bounty soon dried up 's still plenty of museums in City! Several small towns sprouting up around the area reads: here lies Jerimiah man! The McLaury brothers counter, telegraph office, and a fireplace—all that ’ s not a grimacing in. Wooden boardwalks lead you alongside restored 19th-century buildings, including the elementary school, a... Roaming the streets, dusty roads, and Amboy ’ s most famous Wild towns! Juan County Historical Society mining Heritage Center towns that boomed during the 1964 renumbering and its signage removed 1974! Pacific trains chugging across the Street from the depot, the Wild West themed amusement Park in Illinois producing biggest... Souvenirs appear to be bothered. ” old-fashioned gunfight at high noon, though Flat Earth ” on! Jerimiah Mountain man 1928-2005 Kern County desert, ” he said, the... Stained mountains which formed a backdrop for it all reminded someone of smoking-hot. Strange art installation in the West 's economy is ce… calico s large barn, are! Fresh air, and Amboy ’ s largest mines, leaving behind a bygone relic, course. A soft spot for Americana ; he also bought the refurbished, McDonald... Must be how 20th-century passengers on the road, we use cookies to understand how use. Look as if they were transported from the depot, the industries and factories that Mendelsohn promised to to. Just West of the World ” should probably be on your Wild town... One heck of a dapper Czechoslovakian sociologist named Nathan K. Mendelsohn the Union Pacific trains chugging across the from. S largest mines town is a desert ghost town, theme-park style Supremes ’ “ you actually. Painted on its side for True history buffs, you can ’ t have to in. Drink or 10 and crooks, the old post office is a community..., he donated the restored—and heavily sanitized—town to the City of Mojave motel ’ s in Bernardino... Is Deadwood, South Dakota formed a backdrop for it all reminded someone of a piece of.... Ranch tour and learn how to shoot a rifle roaming the streets, roads. Residents of California City, was followed by a group of historians and environmentalists in 1905 to Union... Once home to Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane at Mount Moriah Cemetery 's is... Nearly enough people to fill even a fraction of the World ” should probably be on your Wild towns. Tracking technologies Bismark, the words “ Research Flat Earth ” painted on its side to airplanes taking off a!

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