Ghost Towns
Below is a list
of ghost towns in the Bradshaws. Click on
the one you are interested in.
There are over
40 ghost towns and mining camps in the
Bradshaw Mountains. Not much remains of
many. I will post images at a later date of
my favorites in our newsletter and on our Flickr and Panoramio sites.
Cowtown, south side of Bradshaws on Private
Property
Ghost Town History
In the 1960's,
my Dad would take us on ghost town hunting
adventures. Several towns were intact and
fascinating to visit during this time
period. Today most towns in the Bradshaw
have disappeared. The best preserved are on
private property and protected. It's
interesting that Indian ruins over 1000
years old in the Bradshaws, are in better
shape simply because they are difficult to
get to and require physical effort. Here are
a few examples why Bradshaw ghost towns
disappeared:
• America’s Depression - As with most ghost
towns throughout the West, once they turned
"ghosts", ranchers and nearby townsfolk
salvaged all the lumber. This was especially
true during the depression. An excellent
example of this is the saloon that resided
in Oro Belle. It was dismantled and hauled
by wagon up the mountain to Crown King.
Today you can visit this saloon and enjoy a
great hamburger inside.
• Vandalism - In the 1970s I began to see
this occurrence more often and it surprised
and disappointed me. America’s values
changed and access with 4x4 vehicles brought
more and more people into the Bradshaws.
Ghost towns were vandalized, destroyed, and
the history taken.
• Nature and Time - viciously reclaims a
town. An excellent example of reclaiming, is
the YouTube video by Tails aka Halo
Production. He has spent allot of time
researching old photographs at Sharlot Hall
and finding the locations they were taken
from and photographed them again. You can
see his excellent work by
clicking here.
Ghost Towns Today
Today mostly mines, foundations, dumps,
large unmovable equipment, and stone walls
are the only remains of these historical
places. A bit of imagination is needed as
well as old photos to picture the life and
times of the past.
Respect and enjoy ghost towns, but leave
them as you found them.
For original town images visit Sharlot Hall
in Prescott or their online archives.
Ghost Town List
We have
partnered up with Neal Du Shane, with the
Arizona Pioneer & Cemetery Research Project.
Neal is a friend and I have written articles
and done research for him in the past. Neal
is defiantly someone who is very through
with his research. He digs in until he finds
the answers. Neal spends the winter looking
for Bradshaw mining camps, ghost towns and
old cemeteries. During hot summers he is
searching for ghost towns in his home state
of Colorado.
Some of the
towns below are linked to Ghost Town.com's
website.
Visit their
website to see other ghost towns around the
nation.
Bradshaw
Mountain Ghost Towns List
Not a complete
list
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