Ghost towns of America
The American landscape is dotted with the remnants of ghost towns - abandoned communities, settlements, or mining camps, like Bodie, Calif. (left), that went from boom to bust, their populations dissipating, until all that is left are ruins.
And even ruins are not permanent. There were once 1,600 ghost towns in Colorado alone, but no more. "Back to prairie, back to the ground," said Kenneth Jessen, who has studied American ghost towns.
Bodie, Calif.
In its heyday, from about 1877-1880, the town of Bodie, Calif., built on a gold mine, boasted 2,000 buildings, including 70 saloons -- and not a single church.
Bodie, Calif.
There was high energy in the town, as everything - from food to wood to mining equipment to animal feed - had to be brought in to supply Bodie's business, including approximately 200 restaurants.
But at least they had their own breweries - three, in fact.
Bodie, Calif.
And then as fast as Bodie grew, when the gold played out, Bodie died.
Unlike so many Wild West towns that have disappeared throughout the years, Bodie is now a National Historic Landmark, and the Bodie Foundation works to preserve the site as it was, so that visitors may have a window on history.
Other ghost towns have been turned into state parks, or as "living history" tourist attractions.
Bodie, Calif.
Terri Geissinger, an historian and guide for the Bodie Foundation, told CBS News' Barry Petersen that in the 1870s, Bodie liked to boast that "it had the widest streets, the wickedest men, the worst climate, but the best beer."
Bodie, Calif.
"There were four roads developed to bring supplies into Bodie," said Geissinger. "Most people came in actually on the Bodie Bridgeport toll road. All roads were toll. They paid to come, and they paid to leave!"
Bodie, Calif.
Geissinger said the town is preserved in "arrested decay."
"Everything is original from Bodie. We don't rebuild anything that wasn't standing in 1962."
Bodie, Calif.
An interior view at Bodie, Calif.
Bodie, Calif.
Signs of domesticity in Bodie, Calif.
Bodie, Calif.
A coffin rests unoccupied in Bodie, Calif.
Courtland, Ariz.
In 1909 Courtland, Ariz., was a booming town built on copper ore.
Today just about the only structure still standing are the remains of a jail, which some miners preferred to sleeping in their tents.
For more info:
Garnet, Mont.
At an elevation of about 6,000 feet, the Montana mountain town of Garnet was the site of mining for semi-previous stones and gold in the 1860s, being being abandoned in the early 20th century.
After a brief revival during World War II when gold prices spiked, prompting prospectors to pick over the mine's remnants, the town was abandoned again.
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Garnet, Mont.
Today, Garnet is overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and a non-profit group, the Garnet Preservation Association.
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Chemung Mine, Calif.
The Chemung Mine, not far from another California ghost town, Masonic, was worked from 1909 until 1938.
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Gleeson, Ariz.
Originally a mining camp called Turquoise, Gleeson, Ariz., has few inhabitants today, decades after the mine ran out and the town's post office was closed.
But the local jail has been refurbished as a museum.
For more info:
Hagan, N.M.
Hagan, N.M., grew with the development of a coal mine in the early 20th century. The mine went bust, the railroad into town stopped running, and the residents moved out. The land is now owned by a private ranch; organized tours are advertised.
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Santa Claus, Ariz.
An homage to a dream: In the 1930s Santa Claus, Ariz., was envisioned as a tourist destination in the middle of the desert. But by the 1970s business died out, and by the mid-'90s the town was effectively shuttered.
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Stiles, Texas
Stiles, Texas, was the county seat of Reagan County, but nonetheless a railroad bypassed the town, which precipitated its decline. The ruins of the Reagan County Courthouse, built in 1911, are still visible off Highway 137.
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Victor, Colo.
At the turn of the century Victor, Colo. (left, in 1900), had about 18,000 residents. Its population in the last census was less than 400, thanks in part to resumed mining activity. But trails through the area show much that once was (right).
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Vulture City, Ariz.
The closing of the mine spelled the demise of Vulture City, Ariz., during World war II. Its buildings are privately owned, and have been opened for tours.
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Animas Forks, Colo.
In the 1870s this mining settlement was established 12 miles northeast of Silverton. By the 1920s it had been abandoned.
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Ardmore, S.D.
In addition to failing mines, the Dust Bowl and Great Depression also spelled the death knell for towns in the Midwest. Even those that barely hung on, such as Ardmore, S.D. (left, pictured in 1936), had difficulty surviving a changing agricultural world. By the 21st century it was deserted.
Tahawus, N.Y.
The Adirondack town of Tahawus in New York State was centered around an iron smelting facility which has since been demolished. The village's 9,646-acre tract was recently purchased by the Open Space Institute. Much of the land is now part of the Adirondack Forest Preserve.
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Ashcroft, Colo.
In the 1950s the remains of the mining town of Ashcroft, Colo. (about 10 miles south of Aspen) were used as a shooting location for the TV series "Sgt. Preston of the Yukon," with false fronts erected to evoke a Canadian town. Today the town is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Derry Ranch, Colo.
In the Colorado Rockies, thousands rushed in to form the Derry Ranch placer mining settlement - and left almost as fast.
"Like that -- with food on the table, that's right," said Kenneth Jessen.
Rhyolite, Nev.
Rhyolite, Nev., had a very brief life. Founded in 1904 after gold was discovered nearby, the population rose and fell from a peak of 5,000 to zero by 1920. It was a shooting location for films in the 1920s.
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Bonanza, Colo.
Bonanza, Colo., has a few summer residents, but in the winter Mark Perkovich is the town's population of one.
Colorado officials are deciding whether to revoke Bonanza's status and declare the town abandoned, since it has no government or even a city council.
In fact, over the past ten years, 43 other Colorado towns have met a similar fate.
Bannack, Mont.
Founded in 1862, the mining town of Bannack, Mont., was for the first Territorial Capital of Montana.
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Bannack, Mont.
A view of Bannack, Mont.'s Main Street.
By the 1950s the mining operations had shuttered and most residents had left. The community was named a State Park.
Bannack, Mont.
The Masonic Hall in Bannack, Mont.
Bannack, Mont.
Remnants of what was a successful mining town.
Bannack, Mont.
Sixty structures remain standing in Bannack, Mont.
Bannack, Mont.
The Meade Hotel of Bannack, Mont.
Bannack, Mont.
A barber chair in Bannack, Mont.
Bodie, Calif.
"It's an outdoor museum," said Terri Geissinger of Bodie. "You are stepping back in the past when you come to this place."
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan