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The Little-Known Ghost Town In Virginia You Can Only Reach By Hiking This 1.7-Mile Trail
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Welcome back, everyone, to Season 4, Episode 15 of Not Your Average Bucket List by OnlyInYourState. Today, we’re talking about ghost towns across the country, and highlighting one ghost town in Virginia in particular.
So, we’ve written a lot about ghost towns on OnlyInYourState. And this article we’re focusing on today is titled: The Little-Known Ghost Town In Virginia You Can Only Reach By Hiking This 1.7-Mile Trail.
In the podcast episode, we’ll discuss the history behind ghost towns and how they came to be. Contrary to popular belief, ghost towns in America might not actually have any ghosts at all. Ghost towns in America, now silent and deserted, were once bustling towns or cities that thrived during periods of rapid economic growth, such as the Gold Rush or various industrial booms. These towns sprang up almost overnight, fueled by the promise of abundant resources and economic opportunity. However, as the resources that supported these communities were eventually depleted or economic conditions shifted, the towns were abandoned, leaving behind eerie remnants of their once vibrant past.
Enjoy this episode on American ghost towns and see which one we mention that you’d like to add to your travel itinerary.
Things we’ll cover in this episode:
- What is a ghost town exactly?
- How long is the hike to Matildaville, Virginia?
- What are some other incredible ghost towns across America?
Get In Touch!
If you have personal experiences with any of the attractions mentioned above, call or text 805-298-1420! We’d love to hear your thoughts on these places and maybe even share your clip on the show! You can also reach out to us via email at [email protected].
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to Ghost Towns
00:00:01
mromanoiys
Hey, everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Not Your Average Bucket List. Buy only in your state. Today, we are talking about ghost towns across the country, and we're going to be highlighting one ghost town in Virginia in particular. But first, as always, I am here with my co-host, Sarah. Hi, Sarah.
00:00:20
Sara
Hello, Marissa. How are you?
00:00:23
mromanoiys
I'm doing very well. You know, it's rounding out the end of the week.
Extreme Weather Chat
00:00:27
mromanoiys
It's hot.
00:00:27
Sara
for how How hot is it, Marissa?
00:00:27
mromanoiys
It's hot here, man. It's, you know, I feel like I'm Gosh, real feel differential is like 20 degrees, which to me, if you're saying it's 90 something, it's definitely in the 110s real feel, so.
00:00:41
Sara
That is wild. Oh, no, I don't want that.
00:00:42
mromanoiys
I know. No, it's crazy, because even my sister in Northern California, she's like, oh my gosh, it was 103 today.
00:00:44
Sara
No, thank you.
00:00:49
mromanoiys
I was like, Northern California? I'm like, what?
00:00:52
Sara
Wow, yeah.
00:00:53
mromanoiys
It was like 103 by us. But yeah, what about you?
00:00:56
Sara
Yeah, I mean, it's humid in like 80, so not bad, but not Florida, so.
00:01:02
mromanoiys
okay
00:01:04
mromanoiys
So yeah, well we'll see. I mean, I've heard some things about ah the the weather this week, so everybody be careful out there. Let's just start this episode off with a disclaimer, ah drink some water, and yeah, for real.
00:01:15
Sara
Yeah. Also, tornado season has been really, really strong so far this year. So it's been wild.
00:01:22
mromanoiys
Yes, terrifyingly so.
Discovering Virginia's Hidden Ghost Town
00:01:24
Sara
Yeah.
00:01:25
mromanoiys
Um, so yeah, so we've written about a lot of ghost towns on Only In Your State. And this article today that we're focusing on is titled, The Little Known Ghost Town in Virginia. You can only reach by hiking this 1.7 mile trail.
Have You Explored Ghost Towns?
00:01:41
mromanoiys
So to kick things off, have you ever visited a ghost town? I feel like this is kind of your, uh, your scary shtick here that you love to do this stuff.
00:01:48
Sara
yeah
00:01:51
mromanoiys
So do you have any stories?
00:01:51
Sara
Oh, I have a stick?
00:01:53
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:01:54
Sara
Yeah, I have a couple actually. So I am a huge um fan of exploring ghost towns.
00:01:56
mromanoiys
Okay.
00:02:01
Sara
I think that sort of, I've spoken about it before, but that entropy and nature taking over and all of that is very fascinating to me.
00:02:04
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:02:08
Sara
I've also explored some abandoned buildings and things like that. so
00:02:12
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:02:12
Sara
I mean, where do we start? Maybe um maybe first, let's talk about an only interstate favorite, which would be ah Thurmond, West Virginia. have you You've heard of Thurmond, yeah?
00:02:23
mromanoiys
a Yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:02:25
Sara
Okay.
00:02:26
mromanoiys
A little bit, but yeah.
00:02:27
Sara
so Yeah, so Thurman, West Virginia. um Actually, one of our um are travel editors i mean is ah Megan Schute. She recently went to Thurman, West Virginia and got some footage and it's really great. So if you go to oleanyourstate.com and check out her article, it's ah it's really fascinating. But basically, Thurman was a boom town during the coal mining phase of West Virginia, and it was also at this like crucial point on the railway to where like, okay, you're going to be shipping coal in and out. Anyway, ah it was really popping the first decades of the 1900s, and um basically ever since then, it's been a decline. I won't go too deep into it.
00:03:07
Sara
However, it is near um the New River Gorge National Park and the National Park Service restore Thurmond Depot as a visitor center in the mid 90s. And so it's not as abandoned or ghost towny as you'd want or you so you would think.
00:03:22
mromanoiys
Hmm.
00:03:23
Sara
If you've ever been to the New River Gorge or through West Virginia, things can get real isolated and spooky real quick.
00:03:29
mromanoiys
Hmm.
00:03:30
Sara
So I visited ah Thurmond, West Virginia, just with my family. We went to New River Gorge and there are a lot of hiking trails nearby in Thurmond. So you can go and get on like this like church loop trail and a mine trail and a lot of places near Thurmond. So it doesn't feel super desolate and you can have a fun
History of Ghost Towns
00:03:51
Sara
day. But as the sun starts to set and you start walking back towards this ghost town and just ah the windy roads and the trees closing in and this like abandoned mining community, you just start to get the vibe of like, oh, I feel like something could be watching me or there's something left here um no matter how gussied up it is.
00:04:06
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:04:10
Sara
So Thurmond is just in the heart of ah the New River Gorge area. So I would highly recommend if you're going to um that national park you stop by. So
00:04:21
mromanoiys
Yeah, that sounds really cool.
00:04:23
Sara
Yeah.
00:04:23
mromanoiys
I think so. Okay, because for the longest time, I was when I heard of ghost towns, I immediately thought it was something haunted.
00:04:26
Sara
Mm hmm.
00:04:32
mromanoiys
But then I come to realize that that's not necessarily the case. That really, yeah, well, a little safer for me to visit, I guess.
00:04:37
Sara
Disappointment, I'm sure.
00:04:43
mromanoiys
But, so these are just basically, you know, like you said about Thurman, these are abandoned towns or cities that once were thriving for whatever reason.
00:04:50
Sara
Yeah.
00:04:53
Sara
Yeah.
00:04:53
mromanoiys
So during like these periods of, in in that case, it was mining, right? You're saying and in Thurman, coal mining.
00:04:59
Sara
Coal mining. Yep.
00:05:01
mromanoiys
So just like rapid economic growth for certain towns, like and an industrial boom or gold rush.
00:05:09
Sara
Yep.
00:05:10
mromanoiys
And basically these towns ended up becoming abandoned because the resources that were supporting them ended up being depleted or something happened. you know And so the towns were abandoned by the people and a lot of the structures are left behind today. And that's kind of what constitutes a ghost town.
00:05:28
Sara
Yeah, I mean, that is ah an amazing summary. We probably should have started with that. But yeah, these that's exactly what it is. And it you can see the remnants of that kind of like economic boom and bust and people may be left for a quick reason. I know there are some ghost towns that maybe it wasn't a natural or economic reason, like the ah towns we've talked about that have been emptied to be flooded for nearby cities.
00:05:44
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:05:52
mromanoiys
All right, yes, yeah.
00:05:54
Sara
And that these ghost towns are then underwater, like that lake
00:05:57
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:05:58
Sara
Something in Georgia, like...
00:06:00
mromanoiys
Linear, yeah.
00:06:01
Sara
Yeah.
00:06:02
mromanoiys
We had that episode, yes. yes Yeah, that's a good point too.
00:06:03
Sara
Mm-hmm. So, um, have you ever experienced, uh, some ghost town times?
Personal Ghost Town Adventures
00:06:11
mromanoiys
I went through one in out in the desert and I can't remember where.
00:06:15
Sara
Ooh. Yeah.
00:06:17
mromanoiys
Yeah, yeah and something just very, yeah, yes.
00:06:18
Sara
That's the prime location.
00:06:22
mromanoiys
Those I would say like that to me is kind of what I imagined when I thought of ghost town, you know, like rolling tumbleweed and stuff like that, which yeah.
00:06:29
Sara
Yeah, like, pew, pew.
00:06:32
mromanoiys
The creaking of a, you know, pub door.
00:06:36
Sara
Yeah.
00:06:36
mromanoiys
um But yeah, but I think for this episode, doing a lot of research and just seeing just there was one article on Only Interstate that I came across that was talking about a town that it was just big new developments. And they were putting a lot of money into it, this community.
00:06:53
Sara
Yeah. Yes.
00:06:57
mromanoiys
And then all of a sudden the money ran out. So it's like left behind this ghost town community of these giant houses.
00:07:05
Sara
Yes.
00:07:05
mromanoiys
And that's still there to this day.
00:07:09
Sara
Yeah, I think one of them was actually one of these towns was in Ohio um that we featured in our editorial tentpole vacant.
00:07:14
mromanoiys
Hmm.
00:07:17
Sara
And it's this entire yeah basically like this suburb that was all built up brand new houses and then for whatever reason, didn't get people in it.
00:07:17
mromanoiys
Ah.
00:07:27
Sara
And um so yeah, did you want to talk about so I have a couple other small ghost sound stories or do you want to get into?
00:07:28
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:07:35
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:07:36
Sara
to Okay.
00:07:36
mromanoiys
No, no, no. Let's yeah, let's hear the stories. I'd prefer like, you know, more personalized experiences, or even just ones that are on your list to visit because I have a couple.
00:07:42
Sara
Okay.
00:07:45
Sara
All right. So list to visit. this is ive I've spoken about it before and I will again ah is Centralia, Pennsylvania. Do you know about Centralia?
00:07:53
mromanoiys
Okay, so I have that one on my list too, but I'd love to hear your thoughts.
00:07:56
Sara
Oh, good. So why don't why don't you chat about it?
00:07:59
mromanoiys
Yes.
00:08:00
Sara
Okay, so just real quick, I i lost Centralia because Silent Hill, the video came, and the movie was based very much upon the look and feel of Centralia, which is, its ah once again, I think a mining town that was abandoned due to the coal fires that were lit below the streets. And to this day, there's only five to 10 occupants, I think, of this town. And it's still like this hellfire and brimstone sort of place. Tell me all about Centralia.
00:08:28
mromanoiys
Yeah. So, yeah, I think, correct me if I'm wrong, but this, that the these coal mine fire, it began in 1962 and still today burns.
00:08:40
Sara
Yeah, I think that's accurate.
00:08:41
mromanoiys
Like, that just blows my mind that in and of itself is like, holy moly. And then the fact that a few residents still remain, ah remain in a lot of the the area has been destroyed. But it's like, you still have this, right?
00:08:53
Sara
Even though they have been advised to leave, I think they're like, no, not for me.
00:08:56
mromanoiys
Yeah. It's like, hey there, this is day 10,062 and the fire's still burning, so please leave.
00:08:58
Sara
I'm not going to do that.
00:09:05
Sara
Yeah.
00:09:06
mromanoiys
That's nuts.
00:09:07
Sara
It is. And I also I made a mini creepy trip that if you go to Centralia, Pennsylvania nearby is the Mudder Museum was that medical oddity museum, which we haven't covered yet on the podcast.
00:09:19
mromanoiys
Ooh.
00:09:19
Sara
I think we have on the site. And it's just but I am sometimes a weak stomach, but medical museums are fascinating to me.
00:09:22
mromanoiys
Cool.
00:09:27
Sara
So um so
00:09:27
mromanoiys
Yeah. That's a, that would be a fun day trip to do both.
00:09:31
Sara
Yeah, right?
The Tale of Matildaville
00:09:33
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:09:33
Sara
Oh, maybe that's what I'll do for fall. um So then, in addition to Centralia, I have a couple of personal stories. um So i I lived in downtown Canton, Ohio, where the home of the Football Hall of Fame, we've talked about it before on some of our Things to Do episodes. And I lived in what was, is it's the Inesto building, but it was once the historic Inesto Hotel and once the Delmont Hotel. And it was ah founded in the 1800s. And in 1910, this man named Frank Inesto converted it into a luxury hotel.
00:10:05
Sara
And this is like ballrooms, marble staircases, really hoity-toity. It looks like you're walking in at the Titanic kind of situation. So that in and of itself, right, like it has that vibe.
00:10:13
mromanoiys
Thanks.
00:10:16
Sara
um
00:10:16
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:10:17
Sara
yeah And it's been renovated, so inside you're using like the old elevators, and all that which is what drew me to it. I'm like, I want to live in the Shining Hotel. This sounds great.
00:10:26
mromanoiys
Oh wow.
00:10:27
Sara
um But because I'm a curious little camper, i my my friend and I, we went down into the basement one one night and she had a camera. I'm like, you know what? We should explore these tunnels, because for some reason I discovered that there were tunnels connecting these old building old buildings of Canton, Ohio. And it wasn't like they were like discontinue their sewer tunnels, but it was like old access tunnels that connected the entire city to each other. So what did we do?
00:10:56
mromanoiys
Oh boy.
00:10:57
Sara
But set up some concrete bricks and ah go and explore these tunnels. And it's just like not this is kind of where ghost towns and urban like exploration kind of like have this marriage together because it's that fascination of like what used to be here? What was it used for? Why are there like school, um school buildings and chairs and rooms in these tunnels below the city. Like this is strange.
00:11:20
mromanoiys
a Wow.
00:11:20
Sara
And then I'm sorry, anything like whether like human sacrifices done here, what was happening?
00:11:24
mromanoiys
Oh boy.
00:11:24
Sara
Why do they? Why is the football Hall of Fame?
00:11:27
mromanoiys
Oh my goodness.
00:11:28
Sara
So that's just just all of my ah that is my theory. But theyesta the Anesta Hotel is actually quite fascinating. If you're ever in the area, you should check it out because they always have the gold jacket dinner. If you're familiar with the NFL, when a new class of inductees of players go into the Football Hall of Fame, they have the dinner downtown. And so all of these football players and coaches and stuff are down at the Anesta and they have like a little parade that weekend as well.
00:11:51
mromanoiys
Hmm, it's cool.
00:11:53
Sara
But then also, there was there is a nearby um industrial building known as the Hercules Motor ah hercules building but as the hercules motor motor Corporation founded in 1915. Basically, it was just like an engine building plant. They build stuff for four motors and then during World War II, they produced 100 percent of their efforts for um just supporting the war efforts. And basically, it has now has since been converted into luxury lofts. I think we're sensing a theme here.
00:12:24
Sara
um But before that, my cousin and I happened to trip across the fence line because we were chasing a balloon. And um that's the story.
00:12:34
mromanoiys
keep
00:12:37
Sara
And I happened to explore it.
00:12:37
mromanoiys
yeah
00:12:38
Sara
And it was just because not only were there train lines running through this place, but it was a giant um production. And it was just fascinating to see it from the side of the history or whenever is not being used, there's entropy, there was just nothing there but history, which was fascinating to me, especially something that was so important in terms of local economy and World War Two.
00:12:54
mromanoiys
Yeah, yeah.
00:12:59
mromanoiys
Right.
00:12:59
Sara
So yeah.
00:13:01
mromanoiys
Yeah, I think that's what's so interesting about ghost towns in general is You have that history there. And then a lot of times that history is is preserved in a way that, like you said, with finding you know that like the school chairs in those tunnels. A lot of the times, if you're walking into an abandoned building and or a ghost town like this, and you have these little pieces of someone's life that
00:13:27
Sara
Yeah.
00:13:28
mromanoiys
you know you You can only really only use your imagination to piece together, but that is a fascination for some people to be able to go into a place that's abandoned and maybe nature is reclaiming, but see these pieces of someone's life and kind of draw your own conclusions.
00:13:44
Sara
Yes.
00:13:46
Sara
Yeah, you build a story and this narrative in your head. And maybe those chairs were there because some janitor stacked them there and he had nowhere else to put them.
00:13:50
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:13:53
mromanoiys
but
00:13:54
Sara
Or maybe it's something something a little bit more interesting.
00:13:57
mromanoiys
a Yeah.
00:13:57
Sara
So like the stories of the abandoned um tuberculosis ward and the ridges of Athens, Ohio, was there a stain on the ground from ah Molly, the patient that wandered away and died there forever and tuming herself in the concrete? Or was it a water stain? We don't know.
00:14:12
mromanoiys
Right. Yeah. I love that your mind went to human sacrifices, though, rather than just a janitorial closet.
00:14:21
Sara
so Well, you know, it is what it is. So for Mathildeville, what did you learn about ah this hike that we featured that you find interesting?
00:14:26
mromanoiys
Oh, man. Yeah.
00:14:33
mromanoiys
So first, I feel like the reason why this article is so popular is because not only do we at only in your state tell you about this town, but we're also giving you a way to get there, which not a lot of ghost towns I would say are accessible, you know, ah or even your
00:14:44
Sara
Yes.
00:14:47
Sara
One hundred percent. Yeah.
00:14:50
mromanoiys
if like you're allowed to even go to some of them, but this is like totally accessible and we give you the trail to get there, which I thought was really neat.
00:14:58
Sara
Which is, by the way, boilerplate, you should have permission and these should be accessible and you shouldn't accidentally trip across a fence and get into a place you shouldn't because one, it's dangerous and two, that's trespassing.
00:14:59
mromanoiys
um
00:15:07
mromanoiys
Correct. Yes, yes, definitely proceed with caution. Um, but yeah, Matilda though, I thought, uh, just doing some, some digging on the history. So it was established as a canal town back in 1790. And Henry Lee III, whose nickname was Light Horse Harry, which interesting there, uh, the town, he named it after his wife, Matilda Lee, which first was adorable.
00:15:31
Sara
Yeah.
00:15:37
mromanoiys
I was like, good for you, Light Horse Harry. Um, and then,
00:15:40
Sara
Well, I think he's also the the father of Robert E. Lee. That's what I heard saw.
00:15:45
mromanoiys
What?
00:15:47
Sara
Yeah.
00:15:47
mromanoiys
I didn't know that.
00:15:50
Sara
Yeah.
00:15:50
mromanoiys
Wow. Okay.
00:15:52
Sara
Yeah.
00:15:52
mromanoiys
Good on you, Sarah, coming in with the facts. So even better. um And yeah, just I thought what was so unique about this is just that it was basically they wanted to make the Potomac River ah more easily um able to be navigated. And so they kind of just like but have ah there are a bunch of facilities, they made mills and boarding houses and all this stuff. And then one thing led to another financial difficulties and they had to shut everything down.
00:16:26
Sara
Yes.
00:16:27
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:16:27
Sara
And I don't know if you saw this as well, but I saw a few mentions that the, uh, the credit for conceiving the town went to George Washington. Like this, yeah, which I think is wild.
00:16:37
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:16:39
Sara
Just like that is in his repertoire, I guess, to be like, Hey, by the way, um, why don't you, why did you do this for me, please?
00:16:43
mromanoiys
Yes,
00:16:46
mromanoiys
put this down there. um But also, that is something that, you know, happened quite frequently, you would find this giant body of water, and this is just obviously for like, you know,
00:16:47
Sara
Yeah.
00:16:58
mromanoiys
certain ah European settlers were not talking about indigenous tribes who, you know, also did their own river setups.
00:17:01
Sara
Right.
00:17:05
mromanoiys
But ah this was, you know, people were looking for ways to utilize big bodies of water to their advantage.
00:17:06
Sara
Yeah.
00:17:13
mromanoiys
So having towns like this pop up, especially on the Potomac.
00:17:16
Sara
Yeah.
00:17:18
mromanoiys
Yeah, it was pretty common. And then, you know, unfortunately, it's it went to into some ruins and now it's the infrastructure still remains though and the foundations of buildings the canal itself is still there and that's what visitors can see on this hike right yeah
00:17:33
Sara
Mm
00:17:39
Sara
Yeah, and to your point earlier, like it's literally on the, ah the oh what do you call that? The signs, the posted signage on the on the hike. If you want to go to the old Matildaville Trail, here you go. like it's so It's not like you can get lost, you have permission, and they're actually it's a focal point of this park, very similar to Thurman, West Virginia. like Literally, this information is on nps.gov. so This is a great place that you can go to support your
00:18:02
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:18:05
Sara
your nation's parks. And it was suggested by George Washington, built by the this the father of Robert E. Lee. And ah look, there's got to be ghosts.
00:18:14
mromanoiys
Yeah, that blows my mind.
00:18:17
Sara
That's all I'm saying. That's all I'm saying.
00:18:19
mromanoiys
There really should be. there're really In a town like this, we should have some ghosts.
00:18:23
Sara
there it There are enough arrows pointing to this where, you know, it's not on the page and we're not advertising it, but they're better where you go.
00:18:30
mromanoiys
a right yeah
00:18:31
Sara
so um But also there are falls nearby.
00:18:32
mromanoiys
For real.
00:18:34
Sara
So if you want to view the Great Falls um of Great Falls Park, which is where this is located, perfect opportunity for a day trip and afternoon hike.
00:18:44
mromanoiys
Yeah. Yeah, I would definitely love to hike this trail, the Matildaville Access Trail.
Exploring the Matildaville Trail
00:18:51
mromanoiys
Spend a day there, you know, in the area. It's 1.7 miles, so you have less than two miles. Not crazy.
00:18:58
Sara
Easy peasy.
00:19:00
mromanoiys
Yeah, it's not, ah you know, you could probably do that in about an hour if you're taking your time and snapping photos and whatnot. But yeah, it looks like a really cool way to see some history of the area and um you know, and learn a little bit more about it, which we're all living in in different towns that were once maybe something else completely different than what we recognize it today.
00:19:23
Sara
Absolutely. Our history isn't the history of ah of a place where, so it's it's fascinating and it's in Great Falls Park.
00:19:27
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:19:32
Sara
um It's 15 miles from Washington, DC. So if you wanted to, you know, make it some sort of day trip and learn more about this fascinating historical area, now's the time to do it.
00:19:43
mromanoiys
Yeah, definitely. I love when history and nature kind of converge in this great way for those are like my favorite day trips.
00:19:51
Sara
Yes. And I don't know what it is about foundations. It sounds not so interesting. Like, ah, there's some stones in the ground, whatever, but it is, it really is. Cause you get to imagine and have that narrative about what happened there.
00:20:00
mromanoiys
Yeah. Right.
00:20:02
Sara
Same with, um, that, that part of St. Augustine, St. Augustine saying, which one?
00:20:08
mromanoiys
In August, yep.
00:20:10
Sara
You know, Augustine, ah Augustine, um but the um that like and it's in the middle of town, that like little so section of foundation. I forget what it's called, but like people are fascinated with it in the historical um city. So I think it's yeah, you get to imagine what was there and walk around these little little foundations.
00:20:25
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:20:28
Sara
It's really cool.
00:20:29
mromanoiys
Yeah, agreed. um Yeah, so also I wanted to shout out um two more ghost towns that I came up with ah just in my research that
00:20:38
Sara
Yes.
00:20:41
mromanoiys
sounded really cool. Bodie, California, which is a former gold mining town.
00:20:44
Sara
of no
00:20:46
mromanoiys
I just I'm fascinated by gold mining in general.
00:20:47
Sara
Yep.
00:20:48
mromanoiys
I know we've talked about this before, but ah yeah, I definitely was.
00:20:51
Sara
You are a prospector in another life.
00:20:54
mromanoiys
That's for sure. and um But yeah, so this one, it peaked in the late 1800s and was deserted, obviously, earliest early, early 20th century, but it's now a state historic park.
00:21:06
Sara
That's awesome.
00:21:06
mromanoiys
So it's like It's preserved in this ah way that people can can enjoy it legally, which we love.
00:21:12
Sara
Yeah.
Other Notable Ghost Towns
00:21:14
mromanoiys
um And then ah Jerome, Arizona, which was a booming copper mining town and the mines closed in the mid 20th century. And now it's been reinvented as an artist community and a tourist destination and a lot of historic buildings remain, which I think is very cool.
00:21:27
Sara
It's awesome.
00:21:32
mromanoiys
So you get a little bit of that ghost town and then, you know, kind of see what it's become, which is really
Living in a Haunted House
00:21:38
Sara
That's amazing. I want to live in a haunted house in the middle of a ghost town. Like, that would be amazing. Just give me some house with character, history, maybe a couple of ghosts. um Have you, or would you, on a trip, maybe to Bodhi, maybe somewhere else, have you ever prospected for gold?
00:21:38
mromanoiys
neat.
00:21:50
mromanoiys
Wow.
00:21:56
Sara
Like, gone to a river and done the thing where you get the buckets and you mix?
00:21:59
mromanoiys
I have it.
00:22:00
Sara
it You should! That should be a to-do list for the summer.
00:22:03
mromanoiys
It's a real thing. You don't get real gold.
00:22:04
Sara
Yeah, you can Well, I mean, you get like little dustings of gold, but you yeah, you absolutely can.
00:22:09
mromanoiys
What? Wow, I need to write this down.
00:22:13
Sara
Mind blown.
00:22:14
mromanoiys
um What the heck? I was like, all the gold has been taken from these rivers. I'm not going to have a chance to fulfill my prospecting dream.
00:22:20
Sara
No.
00:22:22
mromanoiys
Wow. Interesting.
00:22:25
Sara
Yeah. I mean, you'll be waiting out into a river and just like dumping water and stuff, but it could be fun.
00:22:30
mromanoiys
Yeah.
00:22:30
Sara
Yeah.
00:22:31
mromanoiys
Wow. Can you imagine?
00:22:33
Sara
I don't know, but if you go, you have to video.
00:22:34
mromanoiys
Millionaire. Giant cold nugget.
00:22:36
Sara
I was going to say videotape it. Like you have to record it.
00:22:40
mromanoiys
My camcorder.
00:22:41
Sara
ah Like the big ones just weighing you down.
00:22:44
mromanoiys
old school f prospect, a VHS tape. Sarah told me to record this, a date timestamp, just so y'all know.
00:22:53
Sara
Oh God, my dad used to like literally rent one from his place of work and it was one of those honking big ones. Yeah.
00:22:59
mromanoiys
Yup, good old days.
00:23:01
Sara
Oh my. Yeah.
Final Thoughts: Go Explore a Ghost Town
00:23:04
mromanoiys
All right, so that is wrapping up our episode. We're on episode 16, and this is Ghost Towns Across the US, Matildaville, anything else you want to add before we sign off until next week?
00:23:19
Sara
I think that's it. Go explore a ghost town.
00:23:21
mromanoiys
Cool. Short, sweet.
00:23:23
Sara
Yeah, let's do it.
00:23:24
mromanoiys
Heck yeah. All right.