23 June 2022 - BURKE GHOST TOWN - IDAHO, USA

 

BURKE GHOST TOWN

 - IDAHO, USA -

G'day folks,

A mining town, now abandoned, was built in a canyon so narrow that the railroad ran right through the hotel lobby. 

Burke, Idaho, is not your run-of-the-mill ghost town. Its story starts out familiar: The mining town rose up after rich deposits of silver and lead were discovered in 1884. But the boomtown that developed was situated in a comically narrow canyon, resulting in some wonderfully creative architecture.

Burke Canyon is long and thin, only 300 feet wide at its narrowest point. It’s a seemingly impossible space to fit a whole town into, and yet they did. The train tracks and the road for vehicles both shared the main street, so cars and carriages had to pull over when the train rolled by. Stranger still, the railroad was built right through the lobby of the town’s hotel.

 

The Tiger Hotel was built in 1896, straddling the main street and the creek that ran through the canyon. When the railroad expanded in 1906, the lack of space forced it to run right through the hotel. A covered walkway crossed over the tracks connecting the two sides of the building, and five cars of the Northern Pacific Railroad passed through the tunnel in the hotel each day.

Like so many mining towns in the Old West, Burke began to decline at the beginning of the 20th century and the mines starting shutting down. By 1990 there were reportedly just 15 residents left in town. The last of the mines closed in 1991, and within a few years, there was no one left in Burke.

Some of the old buildings have been destroyed by fire, floods, or time, including the unusual Tiger Hotel, which shuttered in 1954. But the decaying remains of many of structures, deserted mining equipment, and abandoned artifacts can still be seen around town. A twisted railroad track, strewn with old massive tools, runs through the town, and there is an unmarked, unknown cemetery with most of the headstones destroyed. You can also see the remnants of the town’s unique architecture, such as the cave-like holes carved into the side of the hills where the former residents of this unlikely village built their houses.

 

10 September 2020 - GHOST TOWNS AROUND THE WORLD

GHOST TOWNS 

AROUND THE WORLD

G'day folks,

We've all seen abandoned towns, places and whole countries on TV or silver screens, and I've featured many on this blog.

 Be it a horror movie or a post-apocalyptic show, the eerie images of what was once a settlement full of life could feel truly uncanny and give us a chill down the spine. Although, away from our regular hustle and bustle of everyday life, such small towns exist all around the world.

Ghost towns are abandoned settlements, usually ones that contain substantial visible remains. There are many reasons why a town becomes a ghost town, like economic decline, war, natural disasters, or pollution. These abandoned places are usually completely uninhabited. 

However, some ghost towns have very small populations. Some of the towns are restricted, and access to them is at times forbidden, while others are turned into tourist attractions or parks. Scroll down below to see some of the most interesting ghost towns and scary places around the world. 

Clancy's comment: Some of these are incredible, and many would make wonderful holiday homes. What a waste, eh?

I'm ...

19 July 2019 - PORTAGE - A GHOST TOWN IN ALASKA

PORTAGE GHOST TOWN

 IN ALASKA

G'day folks,

This post is about the ruins of a town wiped out by the second-largest earthquake in recorded history. 

 

On Good Friday in 1964, everything was normal in Portage, Alaska, until 5:36 p.m. That’s when the second largest earthquake in recorded history hit.

 

  

The 9.2 magnitude earthquake, which had side effects registered in Florida and Texas, lasted four minutes and 38 seconds, but did a devastating amount of damage. The quake raised some areas by as much as 30 feet in elevation and caused many buildings to collapse. The earthquake and the tsunamis it caused killed 139 people in total.

Some of the locations hit were the hamlets of Portage and Girdwood, both southeast of Anchorage. A Portage native described the earthquake as “like riding an open door elevator.” After the aftershocks subsided, all that was left of Portage were ruins and a barren forest. It was decided then that Portage would be abandoned and Girdwood relocated.

Today, the remaining bits of Portage serve as a ghost town; a skeletal reminder of the mining community that once thrived there and the force of nature that  destroyed it.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... Three things I have always had respect for are water, machinery and nature.  

I'm ...

 

 

 

 

28 October 2018 - GHOST TOWN FOR SALE

GHOST TOWN FOR SALE!

G'day folks,

Ever thought of buying a ghost town? Here is a ripper.

 

Johnsonville, Connecticut may be completely void of (human) inhabitants at present and characterised by those particular houses where one might occasionally see the faint shadows of children in nightgowns watching you from the attic window, but hey– a few licks of paint and a good spring clean to wash those ghosts right out of your lair and you could be calling it home in no time! The 62 acre historic village in the nutmeg State soon goes up for auction with a starting bid of $800,000.

So first question– why are they selling an entire town? Well, for starters, it’s been vacant for more than 20 years and through its history, has been abandoned not once, not twice, but three times.

Dating back to the 1830s, Johnsonville was once a thriving mill town and popular recreation spot set along the Moodus River, with amenities including a restaurant called the Red House Restaurant, a general store and a one-room schoolhouse.

Victorian and colonial-style houses with fireplaces and pillared porches were built by the families of the mill-owners where they lived contently up until the 1950s. All the historic buildings still remain. But then modernization crept up on the quaint community, work dried up and Johnsonville became a ghost town for the first time.

Next came along a millionaire named Ray Schmitt who bought the town in the 1960s and tried to turn it into a theme park, transporting several more historic buildings to the town to complete his vision, including a Victorian stable and chapel,  which hosted weddings and charity benefits.

But Schmitt’s idea of turning Johnsonville into a tourist attraction never took off and following ongoing disputes with local officials, the town was abandoned again after his death in 1998.

Ten years later, hope came knocking at the gates of Johnsonville once more when a hotel developer bought it in 2008. But as the paint continued to peel on the Victorian-era edifices and the streets remained eerily deserted, it became clear that nothing was happening for the town and last year Johnsonville appeared on the market once again for $2.9 million. It was never sold.

Now, it’s up for sale. Any takers?

Clancy's comment: Man, what a waste!

I'm ...