Ghost Towns

[fan-of-fans]

I found a website a few years ago that's pretty cool. It has Ghost Towns around the US.

Been looking at the Florida ones and it's fascinating. Nothing like the Ghost Towns out west, but still. Amazing to think some of these places that are just bumps in the road or just a name on a sign and a railroad crossing used to be towns with homes, mills, hotels etc, and now there's nothing or very little left. Though some still have a few houses and curbs there.

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www.ghosttowns.com

 

[rp2813]

I checked for local ghost towns and they're all listed, but there's actually one too many.  The community of New Almaden listed in Santa Clara County, CA is still very much alive, although not exactly bustling.  We looked at a secluded home there years ago when we were considering a move.   It's just a couple of miles down the road from suburban, pricey Almaden Valley, smooth pavement the whole way.  I don't know why anyone would consider it a ghost town, unless they were referring only to the mining operations there, which ceased before 1970 and were incorporated into a county park. 

 

The other thing a lot of Northern Californians would have an issue with is the way the site considers anything from San Francisco southward to be a part of "Southern" California.   The usual divider is comprised of the San Luis Obispo, Kern and San Bernadino County lines.

 

It looks like the site depends on submissions, so that could explain the looseness of the term "ghost" town if the webmaster(s) can't physically confirm one way or the other.

 

[miele_ge]

they listed Easton CT as one

Hardly a ghost town - pretty expensive area to live in too. Not sure what their criteria is. Also I got a warning from my browser that the site uses an unsupported plugin so I didn't stick around.

 

[twintubdexter]

Ghost towns are definitely a cool place to explore. There's a number of them scattered around the Southern California Desert. Perhaps not a genuine ghost town but still fun to explore is Holy City near San Jose. Drivers used to see the sign on their way to and from Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley via Highway 17 but I think few stopped.

 

I worked around a very nice older lady when I was a teenager who grew up around Holy City and had great stories to tell. The whole place was founded and run by some phony preacher, "Father Riker." She remembered that he always said the same thing to everyone..."peace on you!"

[this post was last edited: 9/12/2015-19:57]

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[rp2813]

Joe, I think that structure you posted is by now either obliterated by the landscape or has completely fallen down.  I was out there in the early '70s for a photography class assignment and it didn't look anywhere near as good as it does in your picture.

 

I don't think there's even a sign on SR 17 for Holy City anymore.

 

[twintubdexter]

I edited my blurb on Holy City and removed the photo. I guess the people in the area didn't appreciate treasure hunters or perhaps there was no longer anything to see. More of my old San Jose (in this case closer to Los Gatos) decays into dust...I guess I'm next.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

I second Miele_ge's comment.

Easton, Conn. is not a ghost town, lol. I was up there just two months ago for a pool party/barbeque hosted by two members of a local nudist group I belong to.

Jim

 

[whirlcool]

Damon, Texas

They listed Damon, Texas as a ghost town. Granted it's small. Just a gas station with convenience store and a Post Office and a yellow blinking light intersection. But people do live in the area. The National Weather Service has a Doppler Radar site in Damon, so when storms come in they mention Damon on television now and then.

Hardly a ghost town. And the website doesn't have a "Contact Us" link at all on it.

 

[miele_ge]

Local nudist group????!!!

I am all ears!!! Details if you care to share <big grin>

 

[warmsecondrinse]

I guess this qualifies as a subject drift, lol.

I'm very open to sharing

Local groups tend to invite adjacent groups to events that run long enough to be worth the travel time. Similarly, a member of one group can usually attend an event of an adjacent group if the member happens to be in the area that day. AFAIK, it's not official; it's just being neighborly.

I don't recall if the pool party was officially a joint MAN/B&G event or not. I did meet a lot of new guys, so it might have been.

I assume from the name B&G is exclusively gay, M.A.N is gay run, straight-friendly and about 85% gay. Both groups are male-only.

Local NYC group:

Men Au Naturel
man.shuttlepod.org

Conn.:

Bare & Gay of Conn.

Check the "Clothing Optional, Nudist Beaches" & http://www.automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/TD/TD-VIEWTHREAD.cgi?54773 Both in the Dirty Laundry forum

PM me if you want to chat further ;-)

Jim
bandgofct.org

 

[rp2813]

Subject Drift?

I'm pretty sure reply #8 was posted to the wrong thread, although I guess a ghost town with a local nudist group isn't quite the strangest circumstance imaginable.

 

[twintubdexter]

post #8

Ralph...

 

Since it's just around the corner from Holy City, I suppose you're going to tell me Lupin Lodge is no longer there too. What's a lonely all-over-tan gal gonna do?

 

 

[rp2813]

Lupin is still there.  It's just out of water.  They got in trouble with the open space district for tapping into a stream that they've always been allowed to over the years, but once the OSD took over the land the stream passes through, that agreement was void.  The whole thing went to court and Lupin lost.

 

Water is being trucked in, but business is way down.  Sounds like the current owners have made a mess of things and alienated a lot of staff and membership, so there's no telling what the future holds.

 

[miele_ge]

back to our regular programming....

Didn't mean to cause a ruckus - sorry!