Category Archives: Ghost towns

SOUTH OF DEVILS GATE

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Silver City, Nevada, was established in 1850 and had an exciting first few years. In the Paiute War of May 1860, the townspeople constructed a wooden cannon for protection, while one of the first stamp mills in Nevada was built later that year. No, before you ask, I have no clue how a wooden cannon is constructed but I suspect that, for the good of not only the Paiute but the folks operating it, it was never used.

By 1861, it had a population of around 1200, with accompanying saloons, hotels and boarding houses, as well as stabling for those travelling between the Comstock Lode mines of Virginia City and processing mills. Devils Gate, however, was a frequent haunt of highwaymen. Devils Gate, to the north of Silver City, was a toll road (now the US-342) which shortened the journey to Gold Hill and Virginia City and cut out the winding Occidental Grade of what is now US-341. Unfortunately, the 342 was closed for roadwork while I was there, meaning I had to take the long twisty route to Gold Hill. Twice, actually, because I got lost. It’s not the sort of road you really want to do twice if you don’t have to…

Silver City managed to thrive until the completion of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad in 1869 after which the population quickly moved away. Now about 100 or so people live there, most of whom probably knew I was there. It is a little bit The Hills Have Eyes. Apparently, the cemetery is worth a visit, but it appeared to be on the other side of the road closure.

NO ROOM AT THE HENNING

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This is another salutary tale of how you should never presume that things will be forever. Perhaps, in Europe, we tend to think of Route 66 as preserved in aspic. But, even if a building is on the National Register of Historic Places, it offers little protection, unlike the UK’s own listing of historic buildings. Many never even make it as far as the register.

And the Henning Motel in Newberry Springs on the California stretch of Route 66 wasn’t particularly noteworthy. If it were not for the sign, then most people would have taken a photo of the Bagdad Café next door and probably not bothered to raise their cameras for the single storey white motel. No-one knows much about the Henning, least of all why it had an impressive neon sign for what was a tiny motel with just a handful of rooms. Unusually, it was constructed as one building, unlike the cabins of a similar vintage in Amboy and Chambless down the road; as Jack Rittenhouse only spoke of tourist cabins at Newberry Springs in his 1946 guide, it’s fair to assume the motel was built in the 1950s. I found a matchbook that appears to be from the 1930s or 40s which advertises ‘The Henning Motel, 400 East Main Street, Barstow’. It’s possible that the owners moved out here in the 1950s – the Barstow address is now an empty lot, so no clues there.

Look closely at one of the photos of the decaying motel and you will see the reason for its death. Interstate 40 bypassed Route 60 in 1973, running a few yards behind the motel, although it might as well be a hundred miles away. The Henning struggled on for a while – hell, it was even famous for a moment when the film ‘Bagdad Café’ was filmed at what was then called the Sidewinder Café in 1987.

For years, the building has been quietly mouldering away. A hand painted sign outside with a Flagstaff telephone number invited offers of $25,000 for the building and three and a half acres of land. But the motel moved beyond economic repair years ago, while land is not in short supply out here. I passed it fairly regularly, sometimes taking a photo, sometimes not.

And then this summer it was gone. Cleared, the concrete pad the only sign something was once here. The sign is clinging on, overseeing an empty lot and lost memories.

MOVE ALONG, NOTHING TO SEE

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NOTHING, MOHAVE COUNTY, ARIZONA

Nothing is a modern ghost town. Well, it was never even really a town. It was established in 1977, 100 miles north west of Phoenix on US-93 between Kingman and Wickenburg; essentially a gas station, small mart and a ADOT motorist callbox. It did, however, have a town sign which read ‘Town of Nothing Arizona. Founded 1977. Elevation 3269ft. The staunch citizens of Nothing are full of Hope, Faith, and Believe in the work ethic. Thru-the-years-these dedicated people had faith in Nothing, hoped for Nothing, worked at Nothing, for Nothing.’

By 2005 it was abandoned and the gas station began to collapse a few years later. There was a brief hope that Nothing would come to something when maker of bespoke wood-fired pizza ovens, Mike ‘Pizzaman Mike’ Jensen bought the site and opened a pizza parlour briefly in 2009. As well as tempting motorists with pizza, he also had plans for RV parking, cabins, a mini mart and truck parking.

But he found that the battle against County Health, Building, Planning, Zoning and ADOT was impossible. Mike says; “The Health Dept. refused to issue a Mobile Food License if I was Based in Nothing. Building, Planning and Zoning stated it was residential and I needed to apply for commercial and basically start over as Nothing exists in Nothing, while the DOT wanted me to pave the whole front and maintain it as my right of way. With all this said and done, since I could not sell anything in Nothing – not even water without a hefty fine – it left me no choice but to leave Nothing. So when you own Nothing, you have Nothing to lose.”

Now the gas station has gone completely, the one remaining building is boarded up and the posted site is full of rubble. The planned route of I-11 goes straight through here, so one day there may truly be nothing at Nothing.

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