Ghost Towns and Boom Towns
Risk and reward, boom or bust:
essential to our concept of the Western frontier. The possibilities were
endless, but the risks were great and the rewards never guaranteed. For
families like the MacLarens (from my newest series MacLarens of Boundary Mountain),
settling in a boomtown like Conviction was the ultimate payoff for an arduous,
risky journey. Of course, our hero Colin MacLaren wants more out of life than
to live in a nice, stable, thriving town, but more on him later…
Boomtowns sprung up across the United States during the rapid growth of the 19th century. Adventurous travelers and those seeking a better life were drawn to a bourgeoning town for opportunity. Their presence helped the economy grow, more people were drawn to the town, and the growth cycle continued.
Gold rush fever was responsible for many 19th century boomtowns, some of which remain stable economies to this day. Even Denver, Colorado and San Francisco were once new, exciting western boomtowns. Conviction, the setting for the MacLarens of Boundary Mountain series, was inspired by two real towns first settled in the 1850s. Together they formed a bustling metropolis with a strong economy.
Marysville and neighboring Yuba City, both in northern California on the Feather River, owe their early development to the promise of gold. Marysville became one of the largest cities in California within a decade of being incorporated in 1851. Its location was prime for a commercial center to serve thousands of gold miners. By 1857 it had a population nearly ten thousand strong, and a full, diverse economy of different industries and a rich community of people. Across the river, Yuba City benefited from the same travel routes and quietly thrived on a smaller scale, eventually becoming the county seat of Sutter County, California.
Marysville’s growth came to an essentially permanent halt when Feather River became impassable by riverboats. However, they never met the dreaded fate of so many other western boomtowns. They never went “bust.”
Boomtowns are defined as much by their growing pains and potential for failure as they are by initial growth and success. Because these towns grew so rapidly, growth was often unsustainable. Many towns never caught up to their long-term needs and went “bust” after a period of tenuous prosperity. This was an all-too-common tale that has resulted in the American West being dotted with abandoned “ghost towns.”
Boomtowns sprung up across the United States during the rapid growth of the 19th century. Adventurous travelers and those seeking a better life were drawn to a bourgeoning town for opportunity. Their presence helped the economy grow, more people were drawn to the town, and the growth cycle continued.
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| Nevada City Ghost Town |
Gold rush fever was responsible for many 19th century boomtowns, some of which remain stable economies to this day. Even Denver, Colorado and San Francisco were once new, exciting western boomtowns. Conviction, the setting for the MacLarens of Boundary Mountain series, was inspired by two real towns first settled in the 1850s. Together they formed a bustling metropolis with a strong economy.
 |
| 19th Century Marysville |
Marysville and neighboring Yuba City, both in northern California on the Feather River, owe their early development to the promise of gold. Marysville became one of the largest cities in California within a decade of being incorporated in 1851. Its location was prime for a commercial center to serve thousands of gold miners. By 1857 it had a population nearly ten thousand strong, and a full, diverse economy of different industries and a rich community of people. Across the river, Yuba City benefited from the same travel routes and quietly thrived on a smaller scale, eventually becoming the county seat of Sutter County, California.
Marysville’s growth came to an essentially permanent halt when Feather River became impassable by riverboats. However, they never met the dreaded fate of so many other western boomtowns. They never went “bust.”
Boomtowns are defined as much by their growing pains and potential for failure as they are by initial growth and success. Because these towns grew so rapidly, growth was often unsustainable. Many towns never caught up to their long-term needs and went “bust” after a period of tenuous prosperity. This was an all-too-common tale that has resulted in the American West being dotted with abandoned “ghost towns.”
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| Bannack, Montana Ghost Town |
Bodie’s sudden decline occurred when more promising mining towns like Butte, Montana and Tombstone, Arizona lured off most of the miners. The people who remained in Bodie were families. The town’s economy and population never recovered. By 1920, scarcely over one hundred people called Bodie home. In 1942, the last gold mine closed. In1961, the town was designated a National Historic Landmark and has been maintained as such ever since, in a state of “arrested decay.”
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| Nevada City, Ghost Town |
If you were in a position to change your life, uproot your family for a dream, would you do it? Would you believe in your heart, as the MacLarens did, that there was more to life and greater opportunity hundreds or thousands of miles away? If so, what would you give up to secure it?
Colin’s Quest, Book One in the
MacLarens of Boundary Mountain centers on a family facing the very real threats
and opportunities of traveling across country to start a new life in the frontier.
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016C4QH3Q
Amazon AU: http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B016C4QH3Q
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B016C4QH3Q
Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/yd7llzz5
Comment on this post
below!
Hi Shirleen,
ReplyDeleteYou did a very nice job of describing the phenomena of ghost towns, showing the many factors in the rise and fall of such sites. I've enjoyed visiting many and absorbing the atmosphere and history.Spring 1917, friends and I ventured out the Twelve Mile Ghost Town (dirt) Trail in Cochise, Co, AZ and stumbled on the Gleeson Jail. You've inspired me to write of that discovery! Thanks...Arletta
OOPS! not 1917 but 2017!
DeleteI enjoy ghost towns and nice today to do it through your pictures and writing.
ReplyDelete