In addition to taking the Native Americans land, between 1852 and 1867 nearly 4,000 Native American children were taken by slave traders to work as servants and work hands in the mines and mining communities. .
Mining towns were full of lawlessness and desperadoes. Miners had reputations for being drunks. They had the tendency to work all day and drink all night. Many hustlers lived in mining communities because it was easy to go undetected. .
Over the years, these mining communities started to disappear. The precious metals and ore ran out and there became no reason to stay where there were no jobs. Eventually, everyone left the towns as the mines shut down. What were left over were ghost towns. Today there are ghost towns all over the country. Many are simply deserted villages, never to be inhabited again, while others have slowly revived themselves and begun to show signs of life again. There are ghost towns, however, that have become lively tourist attractions. These are fascinating communities that are filled with history and have stories of their own to tell.
We actually live in a region that is saturated with these old mining towns. Some of these towns are well known, while some of them are rarely heard of. Some of the ghost towns that are nearby the Silver City area are Shakespeare, Valedon, Steins, Hatchita, Old Hatchita, Chance City, Mogollon, Pinon Altos, Hanover, Organ, Lake Valley, Hillsboro, Cuchillo, Winston, and Chloride.
Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Nevada, California, Idaho and Utah are some other states with the highest numbers of ghost towns within their borders. Alta, Animas, Forks, Buckskin, Joe, Como, Crystal, Guston, Hancock, Howardsville, Ironton, Ludlow, Marble, Montgomery, Mill, Ouray, Silverton, South Park, and St. Elmo are just some of the ghost towns in Colorado. New Mexico ghost towns include Cerrillos, Chance City, Chloride, Cimarron, Colfax, Cuchillo, Dawson, Elizebethtown, Galisteo, Golden, Hatchita, Hanover, Hillboro, Kelly, Lake Valley, Magdelena, Mogollon, Old Hatchita, Organ, Pinos Altos, Shakespeare, Steins, Valedon, and Winston.
