Ghost Towns of the Good Ol' USA

What was left behind at Bodie.

According to CBSnews, America is covered in a large amount of "ghost towns." There are 1,600 ghost towns in Colorado alone. One of these ghost towns can be found in California and has the name Bodie. Bodie, California was built in 1877 to 1880 on a gold mine. It contained approximately 2,000 building, some of which included 200 restaurants, three breweries, and 70 saloons. The town did not contain a single church complex, however. To bring supplies into the town, four roads were created. All the roads were tolled to aid in the monetary value of the town. It is said that "They paid to come, and they paid to leave!" Bodie, California has been preserved by the Bodie Foundation and is classified as a National Historic Landmark. Pennsylvania has a ghost town of its own. The name of the town is Centralia. Centralia was a coal mining town, but in the 1960s, the mine was set ablaze. In the 1980s, most of the 1,000 residents had been evacuated due to federal fears of toxic gases and sinkholes, but approximately 8 people refused to leave and still live there to this day. Those people believe that the fire still rages on below their feet, but they do not worry. They live the same as all other Americans would in any other part of the United States. Around 500 of the buildings that were found in the small town had been destroyed by the federal government in a relocation attempt that cost millions of dollars. The government still tries to persuade the few remaining residents to relocate, but to no avail, as the citizens who live there do not believe they are in any danger. To those homeowners, that town is not just a ghost town, it is their home. A similar event happened in a town near Dallas, Texas. The town of Milford, Texas had experienced an oil pipeline fire that caused the city of 700 to be evacuated. The pipeline had exploded, sending flames barreling into the sky. Workers attempted to empty the pipeline that stretched 50 miles south of the Dallas border to stop the fire. The town's residents were expected to return, meaning that the town may not be a true ghost town, but a temporary ghost town. Ghost towns are ghost towns no matter how long they are empty. Ghost towns will forever be a part of American history.

A sinkhole found in Centralia