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. “I don’t want to be bothered.”. “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. 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. 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. The days of Wyatt Earpp and Billy the Kid may be over, but there are still several towns throughout the US that evoke that old fashioned Wild West spirit. See more ideas about Wild west, Old west photos, Old west. Well, there’s history, of course. “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. It was truncated during the 1964 renumbering and its signage removed in 1974. 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. Most look like they have been there for many years. 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. You can even book a ranch tour and learn how to shoot a rifle. Enjoy this online game wherever you go. Dodge was nicknamed the “Queen of the Cowtowns” due to the herds of longhorns shipped there, but it’s probably better known for its abundance of gunfighters and brothels. In the recreated print shop, a friendly skeleton wears an old-fashioned green visor and kitschy wanted posters of madams and madmen are displayed on the walls. 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. There is a restored lunch counter, telegraph office, and exhibitions that tell the history of the area. Its biggest claim to fame wasn’t precious metal, however, but its red light district, which featured dance halls, saloons, and bordellos. The story does have a happy ending, however, as Oatman eventually gained her freedom. You’ve probably heard of some of Deadwood’s most famous residents, like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickock. You can still visit the O.K. Hickock was shot and killed in Deadwood while holding the infamous Dead Man’s Hand (aces and eights) during a poker game. Here are the ones you can visit. Along with the silver boom in Creede, so came the boom of Ouray. 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. There is a forlorn, abandoned basketball court, and a fireplace—all that’s left of a small house. Visitors are free to explore its spooky remains, but there are no kitschy reenactments, restaurants, or shops selling … Today, the picturesque tourist trap is all charm, with no true grit (or ghosts) in sight. The working post office shares an aged building with the town’s fake sheriff’s office, complete with a dummy and a makeshift jail. Nowadays the town has shed its gunfighting reputation and leaned into its cattle history. Washita Battlefield National Historic Site. The town was fast abandoned, leaving behind a bygone relic. One faux-aged wooden marker reads: Here lies Jerimiah Mountain Man 1928-2005. The world’s love affair with America’s Wild West has always burned bright, and nothing in the country’s history compares to the period from 1865 to 1895 when prospectors and pioneers pushed their way towards better lives and scrambled for pots of gold. These friendly green aliens seem to outnumber the human residents of California City. They could not see what he saw.”. 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. At home, at school, or on the road, we offer a great selection of games! Ever have the hankering to experience a post-apocalyptic 1950s-kitschy hellscape? Deadwood – Rough & Tumble Old West Town. The rudimentary depot first opened in 1905 to aid Union Pacific trains chugging across the desert to and from Las Vegas. But when Route 66 passed through town, bringing vacationers looking for a bite to eat and a photo opportunity, Amboy found its true purpose. Pioneertown’s influx of young residents has driven some people away. During the 1980s and ’90s, Kelso became a virtual ghost town, with only a few residents. Here’s a guide to five ghost towns near Mojave. There are roads laid out in a perfect grid. 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. The hills nearby are covered in sleek white windmills. The rough-hewn wooden structures look as if they were transported from the Old West. Okaton – A Prairie Ghost Town “I fell in love with the desert,” he said, echoing the sentiments of those who still called Kelso home. Oatman is filled with wild donkeys roaming the streets, dusty roads, and shops with old wooden porches. 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). In the general store on Main Street, there are fat peppermints and candy cigarettes. Calico is a desert ghost town, theme-park style. 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. Roy’s closed and much was abandoned, including the elementary school, now a fenced-in ruin. You can visit the Oatman Jail and Museum to view the town’s old holding pens and sheriff’s office, or check out the several local shops selling classic Americana. See if you can find the good, fallen tree nearby, rest for a moment, and think of ghost trains gliding across the unforgiving desert. Inside, an empty soda counter, straight out of Dobie Gillis, is preserved, and kitschy souvenirs appear to be for sale. In 1946, Hollywood came to the high desert to stay. And the gaudy colors in the mineral stained mountains which formed a backdrop for it all reminded someone of a piece of calico. The Wild West represents a unique period in the growth of the US, when borders were being expanded and new lands discovered during the late 19th century. 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. He promised to restore and reopen Roy’s, a goal which he seems to have minimally accomplished. Sounded like a real roller coaster ride. In the dust-covered ’50s-style kitchen, you might glimpse a desert version of trapped Betty Draper standing at the window, staring out at the train tracks. After gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, people flocked to the Deadwood area to make their fortune. But it’s not nearly enough people to fill even a fraction of the land. One was the boarded-up depot’s caretaker O.B. Here’s why. They went boom, then bust, but some of the desert’s early settlements haven’t entirely disappeared. The justice of the peace chewed tobacco and swallowed the juice. Tired of the incessant travel that came with filming Westerns, they built Pioneertown as a permanent Wild West set. The entire town of Tombstone was awarded National Landmark District status in 1961, as “one of the best preserved specimens of the rugged frontier of the 1870s and 1880s.” If that’s not enough incentive to visit, it’s also nicknamed “The Town Too Tough to Die,” which is the most Wild West moniker you could possibly imagine. When you pull into Amboy today, the first thing you notice is the music. In 1966, he donated the restored—and heavily sanitized—town to the county of San Bernardino. Mellonsfolly Ranch was … And on Mane Street, Old West cottages built for movies are being lived in by real people—and an art installation even adorns one private yard. Buses of potential buyers were brought to California City. Play Wild west town for free on Kizi! Three hours east of Los Angeles, this small settlement in the Mojave started off as a railroad community. 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 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. Also be sure to catch the Ghost Rider Gunfighters show in the town center, which takes place daily at 1:30 PM and 3:30 PM. The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, includes the geography, history, folklore, and cultural expression of life in the forward wave of American expansion that began with European colonial settlements in the early 17th century and ended with the admission of the last few territories as states in 1912. This includes personalizing content and advertising. Don't worry about being challenged to an old-fashioned gunfight at high noon, though. 21000 Hacienda Boulevard California City, CA 93505. The era referred to as the Old Wild West began following the Civil War in 1865. How to Create a Genuine Looking Old Wild West Town Scene. We’ve all enjoyed watching old Westerns with cowboys, cattle rustlers, saloon brawls, train and stage coach robberies, and street gun fights… the … A sales office and model houses were constructed, and work was started on Central Park, an 80-acre recreational area that eventually included a 20-acre lake, outdoor swimming pool, playing fields, par-three golf course, picnic areas, tennis courts, indoor sports center and community building. 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. Suddenly, it rises like a fairytale castle: a large Spanish Revival structure. Just west of the town of Lone Pine on Highway 395, at the foot of Mount Whitney, are the Alabama Hills. Once again, it serves as a friendly way station, selling maps, candy bars, and nostalgia to visitors battling the cruel desert sun. The town has grown over the years, now boasting around 14,000 people. 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. 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. For that reason, we name Abilene our top Western Town for 2018. Americans have always had a fascination with the Wild West. 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Prostitutes - or 'soiled doves' and 'sportin' women' as they were commonly known - were a fixture in western towns and cities. And there are real estate signs, dotting the empty roads, stuck in the weedy, barren lots, advertising that the land is for sale. Next door is the glassed-in hotel lobby, its cracked Mad Men-esque furniture fading in the sun. One of the most famous Wild West towns in the country is Deadwood, South Dakota. Dodge City is much more quaint these days. After gold was discovered in the Black Hills in 1874, people flocked to the Deadwood area to make their fortune. The Cody Nite Rodeo takes place every night and is truly one of the most unique rodeo experiences you’ll get in the West. The mines had pithy names like the Bismark, the Burning Moscow, and the Waterloo. The shootout only last 30 seconds, but it resulted in the deaths of Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers. Union Pacific planned to tear down the depot, but it was saved by a group of historians and environmentalists. These aren’t Wild West ghost towns but more recent vestiges of the 20th century. Several gambling halls in the town keep Deadwood alive and there is plenty for visitors to do including touring several historical buildings which have been restored to their original … Mar 15, 2020 - Explore Free Range Living's board "Wild West Towns" on Pinterest. Wild West in Los Angeles . Calcium borate (borax) was found shortly after. Just outside of Barstow in the Mojave Desert—designated the state of California’s official “silver rush ghost town” in 2005—Calico started its life as a lawless 19th-century mining camp. 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. You’ll probably still lose, but at least you don’t have to keep your head on a swivel for gunslingers. There’s a soiled mattress in one, and a strange art installation in the other. Everyone knows the expression “get the hell out of Dodge,” but in reality, you should probably get the hell to Dodge. When you visit us you will learn about late 19th-century farming tools, period dressmaking, blacksmithing, and much more. 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. 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. 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. Amboy passed through the hands of different owners before it was bought by Albert Okura, founder of the Juan Pollo restaurant chain, in 2005. Whether it’s about lawmen and gunfighters, ranchers and sodbusters, or railroads and boomtowns, all True Western Towns have a story to tell. Below are our five favorite California desert ghost towns. Search for a topic, destination or article, We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. All attractions and rides for one admission fee. Be careful though, if you break the law in our town… It has a walk-in bank vault from 1964, as well as an abandoned gold mine underneath the bar. The town was named after a woman named Olive Oatman, who was kidnapped by an Apache tribe and then sold as a slave to Mohave indians. 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. Saccharine hits from the 1950s and ’60s fill the dry desert air, providing a disconcerting soundtrack for an exploration of the once-bustling stop. Now, it doesn’t take a huge stretch of the imagination to picture the town in its Wild West days. Hickock was shot and killed in Deadwood while holding the infamo… Behind the post office is a small wood-frame house, where it appears someone still resides. The promise of wealth lured outlaws, gamblers, and gunslingers who transformed the town into a vibrant and often dangerous place. It was once home to Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane, famous gunfighters and gamblers of the West. 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 … In the 19 th century, during the gold rush, towns developed in the west around the gold mines. Dodge City, was once the epicenter of the Wild West. mobile app. Please also read our Privacy Notice and Terms of Use, which became effective December 20, 2019. In the 1970s, the construction of new highways made Route 66 obsolete, and Amboy’s fortunes fell. A half-hour guided tour will bring you through the mine shaft, which has proven to be one of the town’s most popular tourist draws. Many lot owners, who felt they had been sold a false bill of goods, simply abandoned the land and stopped paying property taxes. Living in Idaho is like living in a time capsule. The names in this generator have been based on real life Wild West town names. Silverton might be the highest Wild West town in the country — and no, that’s not a swipe at Denver. Before Las Vegas and Reno, Virginia City was Nevada’s premier destination. Corral. 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. For true history buffs, you can actually visit the graves of Wild Bill Hickock and Calamity Jane at Mount Moriah Cemetery. 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. Driving through California City today is an eerie experience. It earned a reputation as one of the most sinful towns in the West by the end of the 1800s. You also have to stop in at the Ponderosa Saloon, a quirky bar that’s as Wild West as it gets. 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. 36600 Ghost Town RoadYermo, CA 92398Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Some have been re-purposed, some glamorized, some left to rot. Anywhere that calls itself the “Rodeo Capital of the World” should probably be on your Wild West bucket list. 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. 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. Outside, however, is an entirely different beast. Most work in the local jail, at nearby Edwards Air Force Base, and in the large Boron mine to the east. Fittingly, Schieffelin called the town “Tombstone” because he was initially told he would find nothing there but his own tombstone. The dust in the air chokes. 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. The promise of wealth lured outlaws, gamblers, and gunslingers who transformed the town into a vibrant and often dangerous place. The mines in Oatman were some of the largest in the West, and even after those mines dried up, the town became a popular pit stop for visitors traveling along Route 66. Finally, a place to stretch their legs, breathe some fresh air, and have a drink or 10. A small community of eccentrics and loners eventually grew around this fake old village in the desert. A hub for the meatpacking industry, Dodge hosts the Dodge City Days annual festival — a 10-day festival featuring a longhorn cattle drive and the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo. Rawhide Wild West Town, Chandler Rawhide Western Town & Event Center/Facebook A Western-themed amusement park, Rawhide has attractions such as live gun shows, gold panning, and chances to rides horses or burros. In 1881, John McBryde and Lowery Silver discovered silver ore in the dusty mountains near Wall Street Canyon. Wild West Town is a wild west themed amusement park in Illinois. Soon it became the lynchpin for several small towns sprouting up around the area’s largest mines. However, there's still plenty of chances to step back in time. Their green lights twinkle, a warning to airplanes taking off from a nearby airport. 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. 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. This must be how 20th-century passengers on the Union Pacific felt when they first saw the railroad depot in Kelso. 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. 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. Many neighborhoods have only three or four homes, with plenty of land in between. South Dakota. 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.”. A woman smiles when you peek into the windows of the adorable motel’s reception office. Like many towns that boomed during the late 1800s, Oatman rose to prominence as a gold mining town. Calico. “They would just look at him. By the 1890s, silver lost much of its value due to the discovery of bigger mines, and the dusty desert outpost was mostly deserted. 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. The motel is owned by two millennial brothers named Matt and Mike French, and rooms are often booked months in advance. 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. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. More than 500 mines were soon in operation, producing the biggest silver load in California history. Shaniko – Wool Capitol of the World. 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. Over the years, the roads were reclaimed by the city of Mojave. 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. California City was the brainchild of a dapper Czechoslovakian sociologist named Nathan K. Mendelsohn. In 1924, the grand Spanish Revival Kelso Depot and Clubhouse opened. By 1969, the year Mendelsohn pulled out amid a torrent of lawsuits and government investigations, California City had only 1,700 residents. 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. Some of them were abandoned en masse, while in others people left gradually until no one was left. There is a vacant, sunbaked house, with an overturned chair, peeling paint, and wallpaper that makes the walls look like a Rothko. O’Brien, a grizzled Navy veteran. Who knew a deserted, rough-and-tumble mining boomtown in the Wild West could be so delightful? Oregon. El Reno -Home of the Oklahoma Land Rush. Many of Wild West City’s buildings are accurate reproductions, loaded with period items and antiques. Some, like Palm Springs, flourished, but countless others failed. 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Sun in your face and cold drink in your hand, singing along to Creedence Clearwater Revival: Who doesn’t love a road trip to the desert? Sumpter – Queen City Ghost Town. Visit the Boot Hill museum, located on the site of the historic Boot Hill cemetery, for a look at the 60,000 artif… 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. By the mid-1930s, only four residents were left. “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. You can even pan for gold at the Lost Boot Mine, but don’t expect to strike it rich. 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. However, the industries and factories that Mendelsohn promised to lure to the city never came. One of the most famous Wild West towns in the country is Deadwood, South Dakota. 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.