Research Trip Find—A Privately Owned Ghost Town
Only a four-hour drive away from where we live in the
southern California mountains is Yuma, Arizona. I’m the type who travels with
paper maps and the AAA travel guide with all the rated attractions. My husband
has all he needs in his smart phone. Because we didn’t leave until after 6PM,
he begrudgingly agreed to calling ahead for a motel reservation. When he was a
kid, his birth family set out on the road for the entire summer, Suburban
hauling a trailer, as soon as school let out, so he’s used to driving until
tired and then looking for a place to
stay. Me, I like national chains for motels and restaurants.
Our first day was spent at a couple of state museums—the
quartermaster depot and the territorial prison. We learned some interesting
facts that may come in handy in a book someday. But he wanted someplace
different so he started cruising around on his phone. So the next day we took a
different route, past the Arizona proving grounds toward Castle Dome, a mining
ghost town. Once off the state highway at mile marker 55 for only a couple of
miles, the paved road ended and we rolled onto a gravel road. My reaction was concern
about our Prius navigating the road unharmed. My adventure-loving spouse told
me to go for it. Eight miles later (paralleling a barbed wire fence warning “Danger--unexploded
ordnance”--gulp), we reached the ghost town.
A couple ready to retire, Allen and Stephanie Armstrong, bought
the site where gold mining occurred in the 1860s and set about creating this village
of 40+ buildings out in the middle of nowhere. From a note in one of the
buildings—“the first description of Castle Dome City was of a brush house, an
adobe under construction, 2 tents, and 2 fenced in lots. Over the years, Castle
Dome boasted of a school, 5 bars within a mile, [city stretched along a river]
two mercantiles, a church or 2, sheriff’s office and jail, assay and mining
offices, entertainment spots, blacksmith shop and numerous dwellings.”
(general store counter)
The Armstrongs fixed up what was there, brought buildings
from other mining ghost towns or from federal property to this location and
recreated what Castle Dome might have looked like in its heyday when its
population exceeded 5,000 and was greater than Yuma. But when the shiny gold
played out, the inhabitants drifted away to their next money-making opportunity. They are to be commended because each and
every building held artifacts of the time. A self-guided tour gave us (and the
dozen other visitors we saw) a sense of the people who chose to live there. Mr.
Armstrong was spotted in the livery stable working on a pump for the sluice box,
and he and my husband talked motors for a few minutes.
(general store shelves)
I guess if you’re a history lover, then what better way to
demonstrate that than by creating a living museum?
Linda Carroll-Bradd writes both contemporary and historical
romance. Her latest release is When My
Heart Knew, a story in the Cowboy Kisses anthology. Check out her complete
backlist of titles at www.lindacarroll-bradd.com.
