In the nooks and crannies of Utah, off the interstate highways and
tucked away from today's fast-food civilization, sit villages of
sinking foundations and splintered wood, boarded-up windows and
scattered stones.
In some cases, these spots are nothing more than an indentation in the ground, a memory in an old-timer's mind, a slice of history forgotten by most.
Long ago, hopeful folks, ranchers, railroaders, miners and their families socked their money and dreams into this land. For a long list of reasons, unfortunate circumstances and fate, these boomtowns went bust.
And the people went away.
Or did they?
"One of the things that is so fascinating with ghost towns is that almost anyone who sets foot in one can feel their presence—the people who lived there," Teresa Jordan said. "Almost like the heat, the essence of them, their bodies, is still left in the ground.
"You can't help walking through and wondering what happened to the people who were there…who were they, what had they done, why they're not there anymore."
Jordan, a writer from Salt Lake City, and Moab photographer Tom Till set out to answer some of those questions in their recently released book Great Ghost Towns of the West (Graphic Arts Center Publishing).
The book features 130 photographs and the stories behind more than 100 ghost towns scattered from Alaska to Texas.
Many of the ghost towns were casualties of the gold rush of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. They sprang up when people were lured west by the promise of riches.
Town Abandoned When Residents Went Broke
