02 Jul You Can Now Buy An Entire California Ghost Town And Never Have To Deal With Other Humans Again

If you’ve ever wanted to be the mayor of your own town, now is your chance. Of course, you’ll also have to be inn-keeper, bartender, librarian, and whatever else you plan on having in the town because no one else lives there.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, an entire ghost town has just gone up for sale for the cool price of $925,000

The town is called Cerro Gordo and is located in Lone Pine, California. It used to be an old mining community and boasted that it was the largest producer of lead and silver in the state back in the heyday of the 1860s and 70s.

“It’s really an opportunity for someone to own a real piece of the Wild West and American history,” listing agent Jake Rasmuson of Bishop Real Estate told SF. 

To see exactly what you’d be getting for your money, check out this video tour of the property below:

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The 300-acre property, which is tucked beneath Mount Whitney, comes with several homes, a hotel, and a bunkhouse. Plus it also comes with some interesting mineral rights. The town has been owned by the same family for generations and although now they feel that the time has come to sell, they are only willing to part with the town to the right buyer.

This is what Cerro Gordo used to look like back in its heyday. As you tell from these pictures, it’s barely changed since then. Mining operations first began in 1865 when a man called Pablo Flores discovered rich veins of silver near the summit of Buena Vista Peak.

By 1867, news of the town’s bounty had spread, and people were flocking to the area to cash in on its riches.

The first sign that Cerro Gordo’s good fortune was not to last came in 1875 when a number of setbacks let to its furnaces being shut down. Specifically, a scarcity of ore in the mine, which caused the water supply to dry up.

Over the next few decades, the town endured litigation over ownership of the mine and a fire. When all of this was coupled with the falling price of lead and silver, Cerro Cordo finally closed for good.

Here’s what the inside of the town’s hotel looks like today:

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According to Rasmuson, the family, who wishes to remain anonymous, will only sell to a buyer interested in maintaining the historic integrity of the property.

“The site has been extremely well protected from diggers, artifact looters and Mother Nature herself. Restoration has been undertaken on most of the buildings. The rest are in a state of protected arrested decay,” the property listing reads.

While the mining camp shut down in 1938, Cerro Gordo was home to home to approximately 4,800 people, according to Smithsonian, and was the first major mining camp south of the Sierra Nevada.

However, the town does have a bit of an eerie past since, according to Smithsonian. Cerro Gordo was not a peaceful old West town like you might have suspected. Allegedly, there was, on average, one murder per week!

Legend also has it that, before the town was established, prospectors from Mexico were ambushed in the area by a local native tribe. Five men were allegedly killed and two more were held captive. When they were finally released, they had to promise never to return.

Perhaps living in Cerro Gordo was a little more like being in a gunslinger movie considering that story sure sounds like one heck of a blockbuster plot.

Despite its small size, Cerro Gordo netted around $17 million in mining profits.

And for just shy of $1 million the town’s new owner will be rewarded with 22 structures in total, including this empty drinking saloon.

While there hasn’t officially been any reported ghostly activity on the premises, Cerro Gordo would definitely make an excellent place to celebrate Halloween. Perhaps the new buyers could turn it into a sort of Wild West haunted Halloween town?

So, are you feeling in the market for a ghost town? What would you do with the property? It will certainly be interesting to see who the new buyers are and what they decide to do with the land and all of the historic buildings.

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