Cerro Gordo ghost town was purchased by investor Brent Underwood in June 2018 for $1.4 million. Located in the Inyo Mountains, it is the only ghost town in California that’s been privately owned. Underwood bought the town with the goal of preserving it, and he outbid celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, who he believes was planning to turn the town into a getaway.
In addition to the $1.4 million purchase price, Underwood has made plans to invest an additional $500,000 in the town, spread out over five years. He intends to preserve the 12 buildings that are still left in the town, including the hotel, the general store, and some outlying homes.
He also plans to re-open the old saloon for private events and is even thinking about setting up rooms for rent in the hotel, as well as offering historic tours of the town.
So, if you factor in the initial purchase price and the expected additional $500,000 in investments, it is estimated that Cerro Gordo ghost town will cost around $1.9 million.
Who owns a ghost town?
A ghost town is a community that has been completely abandoned or significantly depopulated. While there are instances of ghost towns that have been recently established, most have been abandoned for decades or centuries.
As such, determining who owns a ghost town is not always a straightforward question, as there may be unclear or missing records regarding land ownership.
In many cases, the land within and around ghost towns is still legally owned by private individuals, municipalities, or state governments. For example, in the United States, ghost towns can be owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), a federal agency responsible for the public lands.
The public lands are managed for multiple use including recreation, livestock grazing, timber harvesting, and other uses.
In other cases, ghost towns may have been public land that reverted to private ownership as a result of the homestead act, or other similar legislation. In some cases, a ghost town may have been sold to a private citizen or company and re-developed for private use, such as vacation homes.
One example of a ghost town owned by a private individual is Calico, California. The town was purchased in the 1950s by Walter Knott, the founder of Knott’s Berry Farm. Knott preserved the town and opened it to the public as a tourist attraction.
Overall, it is difficult to determine who owns a particular ghost town due to complex legal issues and unclear or missing records. In some cases, ghost towns may be owned by private individuals or companies, while in other cases, they may be managed as public land.
Who sold Cerro Gordo?
Cerro Gordo was sold in 1848 by Mexican General Andres Pico to American settlers from Los Angeles. The settlement had been abandoned by Mexican forces in the wake of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War.
American General Stephen W. Kearny had been sent to secure the agreement earlier that same year and had given the settlers a passport to settle the region known as Alta California. The sale was negotiated between General Pico and the settlers and included the entire Cerro Gordo mining claim as well as some additional land.
The transaction was finalized the same day, with Pico receiving $7,000 and numerous supplies, such as blankets and other provisions, in exchange for the claim. The land had previously been used by the Mexican army to store ammunition and supplies, and the settlement was quickly populated by miners, store owners, and ranchers.
Cerro Gordo is now a ghost town in Inyo County, California, with several spirits allegedly still wandering the area.
What is the oldest ghost town?
The oldest ghost town in the world is located in Syria and is called Umm Al-Jimal. It is believed to have been established in the 4th century AD and remained inhabited until the 20th century. The town was built on both sides of the Wadi al-Jareen, an intermittent river that runs through the northern part of modern-day Syria.
Umm Al-Jimal covers an area of approximately 150 hectares and contained seven neighbourhoods that were each centered on a small mosque.
This ancient ghost town was once an important staging post on the caravan route between Damascus and Jordan. Over the centuries a unique style of architecture evolved which featured the use of locally quarried black basalt stones.
Hundreds of homes and public buildings have been discovered at Umm Al-Jimal and the site is an important source of information about Roman and Byzantine times.
Today Umm Al-Jimal stands isolated, surrounded by the desert with its tall castle-like walls still intact. Although it is a shadow of its former self, some sections of Umm Al-Jimal have been restored by Syrian authorities and are made accessible to visitors.
What is America’s largest abandoned city?
America’s largest abandoned city is Bodie, California. Located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Bodie was once a bustling mining town with a population of more than 10,000 during its heyday in the late 19th century.
It has been a California State Historic Park since the 1960s, and it remains one of the most intact ghost towns in the American West. The town was founded in 1859 when a prospector discovered gold. By 1880 it had grown into a prosperous mining camp with a mix of stores, saloons, churches, hotels, and over a hundred mines.
It became one of the most lawless towns in the West, and after a series of major fires in the town, the population began to rapidly decline by the early 1900s. Today, it remains a popular tourist destination and has been designated a National Historic Landmark.
Why is Eagle Mountain California abandoned?
Eagle Mountain California was once a bustling, thriving small town community located approximately 24 miles east of Indio, California in the Coachella Valley. Sadly, the town was abandoned due to a series of unfortunate and devastating circumstances.
The Eagle Mountain Railroad (a branch of the Southern Pacific Railroad) relocated its operations to Joshua Tree National Park in the 1950s, and this left the town without a major source of income and, therefore, unable to survive.
Additionally, the town was unable to secure access to water from the Colorado River, which had been their primary source in the past. With no access to water, the town was unable to sustain its human population or its flora and fauna, and had to be abandoned.
Unfortunately, due to the level of abandonment and disrepair, Eagle Mountain California was declared an EPA Superfund site in 1994 and was placed on the EPA’s National Priorities List. This means that Eagle Mountain California is now permanently off-limits due to the hazardous waste and materials that have been left behind, and that the Preservation Society has urged any attempting visitors not to disturb the area in any way.
Who currently owns Cerro Gordo?
As of May 2020, Cerro Gordo is owned by a group of private investors led by rehabbing entrepreneur and investor Tyler Huang. Huang, a serial fixer-upper, first acquired the ghost town from its previous Salt Lake City-based owner, Stephen Ball.
He subsequently formed the Cerro Gordo Investment Group, LLC (CGIG) to handle the financial and legal aspects of the purchase and to manage the town and its neighboring properties. Huang and his team plan to use their extensive experience in real estate and land management to restore the former silver-mining boomtown.
The investors have already begun a multi-million dollar project to restore the buildings and the grounds surrounding the town to their heyday splendor. Their goal is to eventually turn the place into a destination for tourists, movies, events, and special occasions.
What classifies a town as a ghost town?
A ghost town is a deserted, often abandoned town that once contained a population or active business activity, but has since become a virtually uninhabited area. The reasons why a town can become a ghost town vary, but can include failing to adapt to changes in economics or industry, natural disasters, war, or out-migration in search of better opportunities elsewhere.
Oftentimes, ghost towns are associated with mining and lumber towns, populated by those seeking a fortune or livelihood in a certain activity. Ghost towns can range from an entire settlement that has been abandoned to a much smaller, sparsely populated area.
These towns may retain physical structures such as houses, stores, bars, churches, wells, barns, and even cemeteries. While a ghost town may not have any living inhabitants, it can become a popular tourist destination for visitors hoping to get a glimpse of the past.
How many ghost towns are in America?
The exact number of ghost towns in the United States is unknown, but estimates say there are more than 10,000. Ghost towns are present in every one of the fifty states, including Alaska and Hawaii, and range in size from a single building to entire towns.
The history of how ghost towns come to be is as varied and diverse as the ghost towns themselves. In some instances, ghost towns come to be as the result of economic hardships, geographical inaccessibility, or human tragedy such as war or natural disasters.
Often, these sites are left to the elements and time, fading into history as the years roll by. Despite the decline in population, there are still several communities today that celebrate their rich past and pay homage to the towns’ enduring spirit by preserving their old buildings, streets, and byways.
Are there ghost towns in the US?
Yes, there are ghost towns in the United States. Ghost towns are abandoned settlements, often created as a result of boom towns that succumbed to economic strife or natural disasters. These abandoned cities can be found all over the United States, from the mining towns of the Old West to former mill towns of New England.
The most famous ghost towns in the United States are Bodie, in California’s High Sierra; Calico, in San Bernadino, California; Terlingua, in West Texas; Centralia, in Pennsylvania; and St. Elmo, in Colorado.
There are also lesser-known ghost towns such as Rhyolite and Goldfield in Nevada, Silver City in Idaho, and the Gloomy Sunday Saloon in Oregon.
In addition to the old-time Western ghost towns, there are also many modern ghost towns in the United States. Places such as Picher, Oklahoma; Detroit, Michigan; and Gary, Indiana are just a few of the many cities that were once thriving but have since been left behind and largely forgotten.
Why do ghost cities exist?
Ghost cities are urban centers or large settlements that have been abandoned, are partially completed, or lack permanent occupants and show minimal to no economic activity. They can exist for a variety of reasons, many of which have to do with economics, politics, population shifts and development.
One of the most common reasons for the creation of ghost cities is overbuilding and overdevelopment. For example, during the 2008 Financial Crisis, many Chinese cities were built hastily, with the intention of attracting large numbers of foreign investors.
However, when the market crashed the investment never materialized, resulting in empty cities devoid of people.
Political motivations can also play a role in the creation of ghost cities. For instance, in Soviet-era Russia, remote locations were populated with factories and industrial units as part of government attempts to encourage economic growth in these areas, only to be abandoned when the policies of the Soviet Union changed.
Climate change can also cause ghost cities. As sea levels rise and salinity levels increase, some cities are becoming unlivable, leading to their abandonment by residents.
Finally, population shifts can lead to ghost cities. For example, rural towns that rely on local industry may become ghost cities once those industries are rendered obsolete by advances in technology.
When the industry leaves, so does the population, leaving behind empty buildings, infrastructure, and services.