# Towns of the Old West



## NancyNGA (May 9, 2018)

Towns in the U.S. Old West have always fascinated me, especially old pictures.  Thought I'd start a new thread with these pictures in case anyone else is interested. 

Kokomo, Colorado (circa 1880)

_"...Significant mining in the area did not begin until after rich silver deposits were discovered in 1877. By __1881 the town was booming with a reported 10,000 inhabitants.  Kokomo experienced a fire in 1881 that burned most of the town to the ground. The citizens rebuilt, but the local mines were already in decline and the town never again reached the bustle of 1881."_  Kokomo is now a ghost town.












A residence in Kokomo.






School teacher and children


----------



## Aunt Bea (May 10, 2018)

A little bit north of the old west.


----------



## Meanderer (May 10, 2018)

Oatman, Arizona






Oatman started life over 100 years ago as a mining tent camp, and quickly became a flourishing gold-mining center. In 1915, two miners struck a $10 million gold find, and within a year, the town's population grew to more than 3,500.
Oatman was named in honor of Olive Oatman, who as a young girl, was kidnapped by an Apache tribe, sold toMojave Indians and later rescued in a trade in 1857 near the current site of the town. 

Oatman was served by a narrow gauge rail line between 1903 and 1905 that ran 17 miles to the Colorado River near Needles, California.
But both the population and mining booms were short-lived. In 1921, a fire burned down many of the smaller shacks in town, and three years later, the main mining company, United Eastern Mines, shut down operations for good. Oatman survived by catering to travelers on old U.S. Route 66. But in the 1960s, when the route became what is now Interstate 40, Oatman almost died.


Oatman, today


----------



## Ken N Tx (May 10, 2018)

Deadwood South Dakota..Resting place of Wildbill Hickok and Calamity Jane..
.


----------



## fmdog44 (May 10, 2018)

We forget back in the day of no electricity when the sun set everything was pitch black-no street lights, no lights at all. Gas lamps were eventually used to light the streets.


----------



## fmdog44 (May 10, 2018)

great pics thanks


----------



## NancyNGA (May 10, 2018)

Cripple Creek, Colorado

_"Cripple Creek was put on the map by a cowboy named Bob Womack, who for almost 15 years searched the southwest slope of Pikes Peak for gold. In 1890 he finally discovered the precious metal in Poverty Gulch, which later became the town of Cripple Creek.

After 1900, the area’s gold production declined, and by the early 1940’s gold production was down to less than one percent of what it once was. By 1990, the town was almost dead with only 600 residents, but in 1991 with legalized gambling, the town was revived. Many of the old town’s historic buildings were refurbished as casinos."_


----------



## Aunt Bea (May 10, 2018)

Fire Brigade, Deadwood, South Dakota.






http://midlistwriter.blogspot.com/2014/11/old-west-photo-friday-chonese.html


----------



## hollydolly (May 10, 2018)

Superb pictures, thanks everyone, I love those...


I want to go to present day Oatman , it reminds me of some of the more isolated villages in Spain


----------



## Meanderer (May 10, 2018)

NancyNGA said:


> Cripple Creek, Colorado
> 
> _[FONT=&]"Cripple Creek was put on the map by a cowboy named Bob Womack, who for almost 15 years searched the southwest slope of Pikes Peak for gold. In 1890 he finally discovered the precious metal in Poverty Gulch, which later became the town of Cripple Creek.
> 
> ...



....it figures, Nancy, that the gold would be hidden in "Poverty Gulch"!


----------



## Mrs. Robinson (May 10, 2018)

Meanderer said:


> Oatman, Arizona
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I LOVE Oatman! (Of course I do-it`s full of donkeys!) We had so much fun when we visted there.


----------



## Roadwarrior (May 10, 2018)

This Tiny Utah Town Has A Crazy, Wild History

Most of Utah’s towns were founded by Mormon pioneers, but one little Utah town was not only founded by ‘Gentiles.’ but was proud of its non-Mormon heritage. Take a look at the history of this spunky, interesting Utah town.

In 1869, pretty much everything in the Beehive State was owned and operated by Mormons. Non-Mormon business owners had suffered for three years under Brigham Young’s policy that Mormons should not shop at Gentile businesses. Samuel Auerbach noted in his memoir that special signs were placed over the doorways of Mormon businesses in Salt Lake City in 1868, so that Church members could differentiate those businesses to patronize. It became increasingly difficult for non-Mormon shop owners to survive.

The town of Corinne was named after General J.A. Williamson’s daughter, and it initially enjoyed prosperity. More than 500 buildings and canvas tents housed over 1,000 residents. The railroad town had 28 saloons, 16 liquor stores, a few dance halls and a no-nonsense Marshall to keep everyone in check.

As the transcontinental railroad approached completion in northern Utah, a small group of non-Mormon merchants and some retired army officers got together and decided that it would be a great idea to settle a little town near the rail lines.

The town was the choice of many politicians for the state capitol of Utah but Brother Brigham ruled.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 10, 2018)

Roadwarrior said:


> This Tiny Utah Town Has A Crazy, Wild History


It does.  Thanks Roadwarrior.


----------



## Meanderer (May 10, 2018)

The "Noosepaper" in Corrine, Utah was The Daily Reporter!


----------



## jujube (May 10, 2018)

We did the California gold town "loop" a few years ago.  Some of the old towns have been revitalized and some haven't.  They were all interesting.


----------



## Roadwarrior (May 10, 2018)

NancyNGA said:


> It does.  Thanks Roadwarrior.


I drove through Corrine every workday for 35 years, Almost bought the Mason lodge there when it came up for sale, was going to create a family commune.  Glad that idea never became reality!  Sometimes I worry about my thought process.  

In it's day it was the most corrupt & evil city in Utah according to Mormon legend.  Brother Brigham was said to have put the evil eye (curse) on the future of the town.  My company was located about 5 miles from the Golden Spike site.  My father rode fence & broke mustangs for the Browning Bros (Browning Arms), they had a large ranch that paralleled my companies plant & bordered the rail line.  Corrine was located about 25 miles from the GS site.


----------



## Meanderer (May 10, 2018)

Corrine Mason Lodge


----------



## Aunt Bea (May 10, 2018)

Garnet, Montana

[video]http://www.garnetghosttown.net/history.php[/video]


----------



## Aunt Bea (May 10, 2018)

Bodie, California


----------



## Roadwarrior (May 10, 2018)

Later on the Mason's took over the lower floor, boarded up the windows turned it into a kitchen/dining/etc. & office space.  That building was much different out front at the time I almost bought it.  It was going for a song then, I don't even know if it still stands.  I know they was very motivated owners then, that would have been around 2000-01.  It did have a lot of potential though.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 10, 2018)

Meanderer said:


> Corrine Mason Lodge





Roadwarrior said:


> Later on the Mason's took over the lower floor, boarded up the windows turned it into a kitchen/dining/etc. & office space.  That building was much different out front at the time I almost bought it.  It was going for a song then, I don't even know if it still stands.  I know they was very motivated owners then, that would have been around 2000-01.  It did have a lot of potential though.


Roadwarrior, I always had dreams of buying one of those old two story 8 room schoolhouses and convert it to a home, with a big wide hallway down the middle. This might have been just the ticket!


----------



## NancyNGA (May 10, 2018)

_"The Streets of Laredo"_..♪  ♫  ♬ ♩ ...(Texas)


----------



## Roadwarrior (May 10, 2018)

NancyNGA said:


> Roadwarrior, I always had dreams of buying one of those old two story 8 room schoolhouses and convert it to a home, with a big wide hallway down the middle. This might have been just the ticket!


My wife, son-spouse-2 children, my oldest daughter-spouse & youngest daughter-spouse-3 children was going to divide it into 4 apartments.  It had a huge staircase going to the 2nd floor.  It was a brilliant plan in my mind but since that time my son got divorced-remarried twice,  OD's spouse passed away, she moved out of state, YD got divorced, remarried had 1 more child.  I retired had health problems (hopefully behind me) moved to Oregon, it would have been a can of worms to disolve the commune, in a perfect world it might have worked.


----------



## Happyflowerlady (May 10, 2018)

This is the little town of Burke, Idaho. There was not much of the town except one street, which was also the railroad tracks. The hotel was built with the train tracks right through the lobby of the hotel. The mountains were so high and steep on either side that the only place was the little area at the bottom of the canyon, so that was where the whole town was located.
Several of these little north idaho towns were in canyons like this, and when the terrible wildfire of 1910 went through, some towns were completely wiped out.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 10, 2018)

That is such a great picture, HappyFlowerLady.  Thank you.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 10, 2018)

Creede, Colorado

_"The 1890 discovery of a hefty silver deposit at the Holy Moses Mine by Nicholas C. Creede lead to the nearly overnight boom of early Creede. “Creede Camp” consisted of several settlements including Stumptown, Jimtown (present-day Creede), Amethyst, Weaver, Sunnyside, and Bachelor. __A colorful array of characters spent time in Creede including Bob Ford who killed Jesse James, gamblers “Poker” Alice Tubbs and Martha Jane “Calamity Jane” Burke, Marshall William “Bat” Masterson, and scoundrel Jefferson “Soapy” Smith. "
_

















Silver mine, 1906


----------



## Mrs. Robinson (May 10, 2018)

Aunt Bea said:


> Bodie, California



I had a high school friend who,after graduation,became very interested in ghost towns. She and her husband would spend most weekends off exploring them. They named their first son Bodie.


----------



## Mrs. Robinson (May 10, 2018)

Mrs. Robinson said:


> I had a high school friend who,after graduation,became very interested in ghost towns. She and her husband would spend most weekends off exploring them. They named their first son Bodie.



Ooops,I`m wrong. Just found him on FB. They spelled it Bodey. But I do remember they got the name from the ghost town.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 11, 2018)

Leadville, Colorado











1882






The Grand Ice Palace Of 1896

Constructed as a tourist attraction._ "A crew of 250 men worked around the clock to construct the 58,000 square-foot palace. Girders, trusses and massive amounts of timber were erected as the palace frame. 5,000 tons of ice would be needed. Hand sawed ice blocks were placed on sleighs and hauled from as far away as Palmer Lake near Colorado Springs, some 75 miles away." 
_





_"The palace held a skating rink, a restaurant, a ball room, a dance floor, gaming rooms and a carousel house.  Despite special trains filled with visitors, the Ice Palace was a financial disaster for its investors, so they abandoned plans to build one each winter."_


----------



## Meanderer (May 11, 2018)

Bannack, Montana -  From Gold to Ghosts


----------



## NancyNGA (May 11, 2018)

Bannack had quite a history, Meanderer.  I often wonder if there were ever quiet times out West.  It seems we only hear about the violence. Maybe some things never change.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 11, 2018)

Chandler, Lincoln County, Oklahoma
Not exactly cowboy country, and cotton is not as sexy as gold and silver, but the town did have its share of drama.

_"Lincoln county’s first bank holdup happened on July 31, 1894, when five outlaws made their way to downtown Chandler and tied their horses in the alley behind the Lincoln County Bank. When the armed bandits entered the bank, its president, O. B. Kee, told them, 'There is the money, gentlemen. Help yourselves.' The thieves took only $107 and overlooked another $300 on the counter.  The daring daylight robbery made front page news because it also included a murder, a shootout, a possible lynching and an attempted jailbreak. ...  "_

More here

(Unable to date these 2 pictures )






Cotton wagons on main street











_"On March 30, 1897, Chandler suffered a devastating blow when a tornado completely wiped out the business area and many of the new homes constructed near it. Within a just a few minutes, every building that lay within a four-block-wide area was leveled. Fourteen people were killed and scores of others injured."_


----------



## Roadwarrior (May 11, 2018)

Meanderer said:


>



Walked through this very hotel, it is supposed to be haunted, there was a cool looking wood stove in the kitchen area, it wasn't a Monarch but it was quite cool,  Further on was the saloon/barbershop, across the street was the school house with old time merry-go-round, above the school was the Mason lodge.  You couldn't go in the lodge but could see through the windows.  On that same side of the street was the sod jail.  Across from the jail was the Methodist church all in all it was an interesting ghost town.  About 20 miles east of Bannack was a way station with signs explaining the vigilantes and the secret code 3-7-77.  The story about 'Sheriff Plummer' was posted in the saloon.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 11, 2018)

Roadwarrior said:


> Walked through this very hotel, it is supposed to be haunted, there was a cool looking wood stove in the kitchen area, it wasn't a Monarch but it was quite cool,  Further on was the saloon/barbershop, across the street was the school house with old time merry-go-round, above the school was the Mason lodge.  You couldn't go in the lodge but could see through the windows.  On that same side of the street was the sod jail.  Across from the jail was the Methodist church all in all it was an interesting ghost town.  About 20 miles east of Bannack was a way station with signs explaining the vigilantes and the secret code 3-7-77.  The story about 'Sheriff Plummer' was posted in the saloon.


Thanks for the description Roadwarrior.  It's great to hear from someone who has been to these places.


----------



## Roadwarrior (May 11, 2018)

Another old west landmark, the first Wyoming Territorial Prison in Rawlins, Wy,   Below is one of their more famous residents, Big Nose George to the right of him is what is left of him after his hanging. Story has it the lawman who was involved with his chase & capture had those shoes made out of his skin, I don't know if it's true but that is the legend.  It's been closed as a prison since 1981,   







> George Parrott, also known as Big Nose George, Big beak Parrott, George Manuse and George Warden, was a cattle rustler and highwayman in the American Wild West in the late 19th century. His skin was made into a pair of shoes after his lynching and part of his skull was used as an ashtray.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 11, 2018)

Rawlins, Wyoming

Front Street, as viewed from the grounds of the Union Pacific passenger depot, approx. 1884. 





(~1907)
​..


----------



## Roadwarrior (May 12, 2018)

This pic is what was called the big fill on the last leg of the Transcontinental Railway, if you were to go to the top of the hill above the big fill you would look down on the plant I worked at for 35 years, the Golden Spike is further around the curve about a mile.  The Southern Pacific didn't want to blast through a tunnel to complete that section & hook up with UP, it was all about land & money.  

My father as stated rode fence in that same area, he mentioned that he knew where a burial site was where many oriental workers were buried.  I never ventured there, it would have been eerie but I can only imagine that it has been vandalized & scoured by many treasure hunters with their shovels & metal detectors.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 12, 2018)

_"The Big Fill was built by the Central Pacific to cross a 500 foot ravine. It had taken two months for the Mormon contractors to complete the rock and dirt structure. In 36 days, and *just 150 feet to the east, the Union Pacific built a trestle 85 feet high to cross the same ravine*. Rickety at best, the trestle was used only 6-8 months, after which time the rails were moved to The Fill. It had been completed only five days before the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory, and within a few years the trestle was gone; it was dismantled and the timbers used elsewhere."_

The old trestle, apparently in 1869






http://cowbird.com/story/142529/Trestles_And_Fill_At_Promontory/


----------



## Roadwarrior (May 12, 2018)

Yer right! I don't know what I was thinking, it was the *Central Pacific* not Southern Pacific.


----------



## Meanderer (May 12, 2018)

Ruby Arizona: Our Best Ghost Town(VIDEO)


Book





Ruby was a mining town in the early years of the last century. The mine produced gold, silver, zinc, and copper and was, for a time, highly profitable.
In the 1930's, Ruby’s population was about 1,200, with 150 students attending the school. The Post Office was established in 1912, and general store owner, Julius Andrews, named the town after his wife.
In the early 1920's, there were two double murders here. The mine closed in 1940 and, by the next year, the town was mostly abandoned.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 12, 2018)

Meanderer said:


> ... In the early 1920's, there were two double murders here. The mine closed in 1940 and, by the next year, the town was mostly abandoned.



The old Ruby, AZ, jailhouse.  That ought to hold 'em!


----------



## NancyNGA (May 14, 2018)

Deadwood,  South Dakota



Ken N Tx said:


> Deadwood South Dakota..Resting place of Wildbill Hickok and Calamity Jane..
> .
> View attachment 51962


_"The discovery of gold in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota in 1874 set off one of the great gold rushes in America. In 1876, miners moved into the northern Black Hills. That’s where they came across a gulch full of dead trees and a creek full of gold and Deadwood was born."

Practically overnight, the tiny gold camp boomed into a town that played by its own rules that attracted outlaws, gamblers and gunslingers along with the gold seekers. Wild Bill Hickok was one of those men who came looking for fortune. But just a few short weeks after arriving, he was gunned down while holding a poker hand of aces and eights – forever after known as the Dead Man’s Hand."   _

A couple of these pictures have been posted before (in a different thread).




















Newer photo


----------



## Aunt Bea (May 14, 2018)

Nice archive of old photos.

https://www.archives.gov/research/american-west#towns


----------



## Meanderer (May 21, 2018)

Calico, California – Revived From A Desert Grave






Three miles north of Interstate-15, midway between Barstow and Yermo, California sits the historic and restored ghost town of Calico, California.

It all began in 1875 when roving prospectors first found silver on the south slope of the Calico Mountains. However, it wasn’t until some five years later that additional ore discoveries worth $400 to $500 per ton brought about a small rush and the filing of many claims.

In the spring of 1881 came the discovery of the Silver King, Calico’s richest mine, and less than a year later the new settlement supported several businesses on a commercial street flanked by tents and adobe buildings on a narrow mesa between Wall Street Canyon and Odessa Canyon. It took its name from the myriad of colors in the mountains which are the backdrop for the town.

The weekly Calico Print appeared in October 1882 and a local stamp mill was built to begin working ores.

But in the spring of 1883, many of the local miners left Calico when borax was discovered three miles east at Borate. Later the same year, a fire destroyed much of the camp, but Calico again boomed in 1884 as additional silver discoveries were made. Gaining a population of some 2,500, the town supported two dozen saloons and gambling dives that never closed, as well as more legitimate establishments such as a church, a public school, a dance school and a literary society, along with dozens of retail businesses.

After 1884 many of the mines consolidated and late in 1888, the Oro Grande Mining Company erected an even larger stamp mill at a cost of $250,000 on the north bank of the Mojave River. Soon it connected the stamp mill, near Daggett, to the Silver King mine by the ten mile narrow-gauge Calico Railroad.

By the late 1800’s, Calico was bustling with prospectors searching their fortunes and the Calico Mining District became one of the richest in the state.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 22, 2018)

Meanderer said:


> ... In the spring of 1881 came the discovery of the Silver King, Calico’s richest mine ...



Original crew, Silver King Mine, Calico, CA (circa 1885)


----------



## RadishRose (May 22, 2018)

I'm so glad I finally caught up with this thread! The photos and links are amazing! My thanks to everyone who posted these wonderful, historical images here.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 23, 2018)

Winslow, Arizona, looking east.  Atlantic and Pacific Railway cars on converging tracks in the foreground, ca. 1890.


----------



## NancyNGA (May 25, 2018)

Eureka, Colorado, 1873 

Old gold mining town 

_"By 1875, Eureka had a post office.  Although the community grew steadily — not like a boomtown — it quickly declined after 1939, when the Sunnyside Mill closed for the last time. Today, the only remaining structure is the Eureka jail, which has been restored. "_






Sunnyside Mill, 1929


----------

