Old West Living History Towns

[Caed Aldwych]

Hello everyone, Tombstone, Deadwood, Dodge city all very good places to visit or even live in if you can get around all the tourists. I recently visited a small town in Colorado, name of Fairplay with only a few streets and no more than a couple hundred folks livin there ah spect... But the beauty of the place is the town it holds within called South Park City, Colorado http://www.southparkcity.org/

Its not really a town, more of a museum town complete with many historic buildings outfitted like they would have been in the 1860's, some of them well enough to look like folks just left the establishment as soon as you walked in... Dirt streets, rickety wooden boardwalks and a fully stocked druggist with period medicines on the shelves.

I have been back twice to the place, and have enjoyed both visits, I could almost, just close my eyes while standing in the street and imagine the piano playing some tune in the Saloon, the wind carrying the wood smell, and the dirt under my boots was much better than concrete. The last time i visited, some local SASS folks were there as well an they surely added just the right touch simply just hearing their boots scuff the wooden boardwalks and a simple good day mister with a tip of the hat...

Anyone know of any similar towns around, not 'ghosts' necessarily, but living history old western towns that hide any modern traces with folks that live there, or are like the South Park museum town in Colorado?

Respectfully,
Caed Aldwych

[Steve Sanders]

Thank you, sir

[Margaret-Anne Moore]

Have you been to Old Tucson not far south of Tucson?  I was there during my freshman year in college.  It was built as a movie set in 1940.  I heard they had a devastating fire several years ago, so check before going.

[Aurora]

Old Tucson is west of town, not south. Also they rebuilt it and is still a great place to visit despite the loss of some of the more well known buildings.

[Caed Aldwych]

Robson, huh... *scratches another name down on his list of to visits* Thank you for that information Mundo, sounds like an interesting place to see...

Anyone ever been to Bannock, Montana?

[Margaret-Anne Moore]

I believe Bannock, Montana, was taken over by the state and is now entirely a state park.  I saw photographs of Bannock that were taken during the 1930s, and a number of families who had been displaced because of the Depression were living in the abandonned buildings.  During the 1930s, a number of very small Western towns had an upsurge in population because people who had been displaced elsewhere moved to them simply to have a roof over their heads.  Looking for living history?  I would suggest going to Columbia and Bodie in California.

[Ghostdancer]

Has anyone ever been to Silver City, Idaho? A must see if you're in the area and don't mind a journey on a dirt road going into the mountains.

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/id/silvercity.html