When Brent Underwood purchased Cerro Gordo, a Wild West ghost town in Owens Valley, California, it probably never occurred to him that almost two years down the line, he'd be holed up there as the town's sole resident, riding out a global pandemic. Complete with a grizzly past and the odd lingering ghost, let's take a look around this historic outpost and discover how Brent's been passing the days in isolation...
Brent and his friend, Jon Bier, became the newest owners of Cerro Gordo in 2018, parting with $1.4 million (£1m) – the sale closed rather fittingly on Friday 13th July. While their offer wasn't the highest, the previous owners admired the pair's ambition to restore the abandoned ghost town to its former glory. With help from a number of investors, marketing professional Brent poured most of his life savings into the purchase, which included over 300 acres of land and 22 buildings.
In March, amid tightening restrictions to curb the spread of coronavirus, Brent travelled from Austin, Texas to Cerro Gordo to allow the town's caretaker, Robert Desmarais, to return to Arizona for the week to be with family. However, a deluge of snowstorms coupled with prolonged lockdown measures left Brent stranded. With little else to do, he's using the opportunity to continue renovations on the town and delve back through its history, recording his discoveries on his YouTube channel.
Cerro Gordo was established in the mid-1800s when rich veins of silver were discovered in the mountains. By the early 20th century, zinc reserves had been unearthed too, but the mine's fortunes were already in decline. In its heyday, bustling Cerro Gordo needed supplies from port cities to support its population – Los Angeles being the nearest. The demand from this forgotten town is said to have played a significant role in the economic development of L.A.
It wasn't just the town's history that drew Brent to take a chance on this abandoned settlement. Flanked by Mount Whitney, the tallest peak in the contiguous United States, as well as majestic views across Death Valley, it's an area of unparalleled natural beauty. However, the remoteness of this outpost also has a dark side. Setting out for a recent hike, Brent took a wrong turn and ended up in the middle of a snowstorm. Luckily, he stumbled upon an outhouse to shelter in and wait out the worst.
During his unexpected time in isolation, Brent began cleaning out Cerro Gordo's old general store, which is packed with trinkets from yesteryear. Victor Beaudry opened the first general store in Cerro Gordo in 1866. It had a store at the front and a butchers at the back. Brent spent a long time cleaning the space and arranging the artefacts, and now the back serves as a museum for anything found on the property.
During the clear-up, Brent found plenty of unique gems that tell the town's story, including pocket watches, helmets and dynamite. Pictured on the top shelf here are boxes of Xpert shotgun shells and powder produced by the Western Cartridge Company, which was founded in 1898. More intriguing, however, was the old suitcase below...
The suitcase contained hundreds of documents, from bank statements and cheques to mining claims and lawsuit paperwork. The most disturbing find, however, was a decree of divorce dating back to 1893 from the Supreme Court, citing 'extreme cruelty'. The town's sinister past is no secret – according to the realtor, Jake Rasmuson of Bishop Real Estate, Cerro Gordo used to rack up a murder a week in the 1870s.
Brent was initially dubious about the folktales of Cerro Gordo's ghostly guests. However, an eerie encounter during one of his previous stays may have changed his mind. As he was passing the bunkhouse one night, he saw the curtains open and close and a little face peer out before the kitchen light flickered on. He assumed contractors were staying there until he discovered the next day that they'd left two weeks ago. Brent returned to padlock the door, but that night the light was back on and the door still locked...
While the bunkhouse is Brent's least favourite place, the eight-bedroom property, built to accommodate miners, is still pretty charming inside. From the old-fashioned stove to the light blue wood panelling, the interior has been remarkably well preserved. One of Brent's lockdown tasks is renovating the old house – he's already set about ripping up the carpets to reveal the original wooden floorboards below.
Once the crowning jewel of Cerro Gordo, the American Hotel is said to be the oldest hotel in California east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The two-storey wooden structure was built by Englishman John Simpson and his wife in 1871. It's thought that the town had several boarding houses and hotels over the years, however, this is the only one to have stood the test of time.
Yet sadly, in June 2020, the magnificent hotel set alight and quickly burnt to the ground. “Around 2am I was woken by propane tanks exploding in the kitchen of the hotel. The explosion woke me up, but by that time the flames had already engulfed the hotel and the two buildings next to it," Brent told his followers. "Yesterday was mourning. Today, trying to shake out of it and look ahead."
“The American Hotel was the crown jewel of Cerro Gordo," he continued. "It was my favorite building. It was almost everyone’s favorite building. You couldn’t take a picture of Cerro Gordo without the American Hotel." Not defeated, Brent is now building a new hotel using the original plans. “The outside of the hotel will look very similar to the original. We’ll use aged wood on the outside so the building looks like the rest of the town."
The hotel's saloon is straight out of an old Western film, with wooden spindle chairs, a wood-burner and rows of antique bottles behind the bar. According to historians, dormitory-style beds were rented for 12 hours at a time upstairs. While miners also slept in the bunkhouse across town, Brent says that some set up home in caves and hollows in the mountainside, even crafting their own wooden doors that slotted into the rock.
A stone's throw from the American Hotel lies a small, unassuming cabin that was once the home of William 'Billy' Crapo, a mine surveyor. On January 5th, 1893, local paper the Inyo Independent reported that Crapo shot dead the postmaster, Henry B. Boland, following a purported dispute about an election result. Crapo fled Cerro Gordo and a warrant was issued for his arrest, however, it's unclear if the law ever caught up with him.
Crafted from corrugated iron, this makeshift structure was originally a mechanic's garage, before the previous owner made the unconventional decision to turn it into a church, adding a metal steeple and stained glass windows. Inside, however, there are signs that the building is set to assume a completely different purpose...
The previous owner added row upon row of ornate, metal theatre chairs, as well as a projection box and heavy red curtains. Brent has aspirations to turn the abandoned church into a space for screening films, perhaps even showing movies of the town created by the outpost's future visitors.
The remaining buildings in Cerro Gordo range from structurally sound to derelict shells, however, the Gordon House is the closest to being ready for commercial letting. Named after LD Gordon, who started mining zinc in the town in the early 1900s, Brent plans to renovate the property first and rent it out as an Airbnb while he restores the rest of the outpost.
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom property is in surprisingly good shape – when friends and family stop by the ghost town, Brent usually hosts them here. In this bedroom, delicate white panelling and an antique metal bed frame add a quaint, homely touch, while the built-in bookshelves are still stocked with volumes.
One of the washrooms is currently home to an infestation of bees, however, this old-fashioned bathroom is a treasure trove of period delights. The original blue-green rolltop bath, complete with gold fixtures and claw feet, is impeccable, and aside from the addition of running water, little is likely to change here when renovations get underway.
If prospectors thought they'd hit the jackpot, the ore they'd mined was brought here to the assay office, where the quality of the extracted minerals would be tested. Back in its heyday, the Cerro Gordo mine was turning annual profits of around £14 million ($17m) up to around 1938, with silver a not so rare discovery. Brent has plans to turn the space into a museum where visitors can view historic artefacts and purchase souvenirs.
Stranded in his own ghost town, Brent decided to explore the mine systems for himself, though he stresses this is exceedingly dangerous and not something others should attempt. Rather than tunnels, which go from one place to another, the Cerro Gordo mines are mostly home to adits, with one way in and one way out. During his underground adventures, Brent discovered this incredible shaft, complete with a perfectly intact track.
In January 2021, Brent managed to venture 700 feet underground, to the only known water source of Cerro Gordo. Located inside the Union Mine, Brent had to take the original hoist and cage from the 1800s to reach the site. “It takes about 45 minutes to get to the 700 ft level,” he told his social media audience. “Water has been an issue at Cerro Gordo for as long as it’s been a town.” In February 2021 he also discovered the Lost Silver Spear Mine, with help from a friend.
To kill some time, Brent also decided to have some fun in his newly purchased mine. Over a period of around a week, he estimates that he ventured into 20 or 30 mines, though some he fled quicker than others – especially where he found animal tracks and droppings. However, he didn't stop there. Having discovered a large open space in one of the mines, he decided to create his own makeshift lounge hidden underground.
Brent's fascinating ghost town hasn't just earned him followers on YouTube. Actor and musician Jeff Goldblum stopped by the outpost last year to film an episode of his eponymous TV show, The World According to Jeff Goldblum. The episode was about denim – the hardwearing material was a common staple for gold rush miners after Levi Strauss introduced it to the United States in the mid-1800s.
While Brent is still waiting out the pandemic in Cerro Gordo, the unexpected downtime in this colourful ghost town has given him the space to unearth its fascinating history firsthand, fuelling his dream to create a living museum where visitors can come and immerse themselves in the property's rich past. One thing's for sure though, we doubt he'll take running water for granted again...