Took Boxster on Ghost Town trip....

[Retroman1969]

One of my odd hobbies, researching and hunting down ghost town sites. The more remote, the more fun.
Normally this is a job for the Jeep, but i have it loaned out to my Dad, whose car is in the shop, so I took the beater Boxster this time.
Made the trip even more fun because of all the narrow twisty back-roads encountered. The old Box never missed a beat.
(Sorry for the cell phone pics, but i forgot to pack my camera bag in my haste to get going)

Where the hell is that attendant?



Roff, OK. Some interesting architecture in the once thriving town.




Very little left of Hickory, OK. The birthplace of the cartoonist Zack Moseley, who worked on Buck Rogers and created the Adventures of Smilin Jack in the 1930s.

[Retroman1969]

On the road again.




Sulphur Springs, OK. A late 19th century resort town full of hotels and and excursion trains. Nothing left of the original site but the springs.
One of the hotels, ca. 1898...


Same view, 2015.


The exact spot where carriages would unload at the main entrance of the hotel.


The Artesian Hotel (2013), a replica of the original Artesian (1902) built on the hill overlooking the old townsite.


Thanks for looking. Hopefully I didn't bore anyone with this post, but it was a fun exciting trip, and the little sports car took it all with ease and made it that much more of an adventure.

[thstone]

Great locations, great photos, and great car! Thanks, enjoyed it quite a bit.

[Steve Tinker]

Very interesting to see another aspect of the US. Who owns these "ghost town" buildings??
We have a few of them in central Australia - old mining / prospecting towns which got mined out, but the weather and sand abrasion usually make short work of the (generally) wood buildings. Also being several hundred miles from the nearest road & habitable(?) town makes them really ghosty....imagine New Mexico + Arizona with no population and you won't be far off.

[amitmishra4]

Very nostalgic, thanks for sharing!

[coreseller]

Very Cool!! I get through many areas of the Midwest that were once thriving and now look similar to what you posted, eerie and intriguing at the same time.

A site you may be interested in, KIDDofSPEED - GHOST TOWN - Chernobyl Pictures - Kidofspeed - Elena

It's about a Russian girl's motorcycle travels through the abandoned areas of Chernobyl.

[steved0x]

Very cool!

[Retroman1969]

Thanks guys!
There are several mining ghost towns up in the Colorado Rockies as well, and with the thin air and cold temps, they remain surprisingly well preserved even though they're mostly wood structures.
I appreciate the link, coreseller! I'll check that out after work.

Found some additional pics online:
Hickory, OK school ca. 1905 (current pic above)


Gas station in Hickory, ca. 1920s.


Roff, OK ca. 1910.


Sulphur Springs, ca. 1903. The original Artesian Hotel.



Sulphur Springs, ca. 1900. Train depot.


Sulphur Springs, 1890s.


1902: The Bland Hotel in Sulphur Springs was to be one of the largest and most modern in the Midwest, but was never completed. The federal government purchsed the land the town occupied and turned it into a large preserve. Residents were paid to move out, the buildings demolished. (Although some were moved to a new location).


The Artesian survived only because it fell just outside the land purchase. It burned down in 1962. The materials from the Bland had been used to build it.

[JayG]

Nice!

What a great idea, cool places to visit off the beaten path and back road twisty driving
perfect !

Thanks for sharing

[OklahomaBoxster]

Nice! I see you're in Oklahoma City. There needs to be a Boxster meet somewhere in OKC as I know there are a few Boxster owners in Oklahoma on this forum. I also see Boxsters driving around all the time here in South OKC

[RedTele58]

Originally Posted by OklahomaBoxster

Nice! I see you're in Oklahoma City. There needs to be a Boxster meet somewhere in OKC as I know there are a few Boxster owners in Oklahoma on this forum. I also see Boxsters driving around all the time here in South OKC

I'm in Lawton. I'm in.

[tommy583]

So cool. I wish I was closer, I would love to see this stuff.

[Nine8Six]

Originally Posted by Retroman1969

Where the hell is that attendant?

Man that looks like Montreal-QC on a busy and bright sunny day LOLLLL

Missing home regardless. Nice pics, thread, story, etc

Thx!

[BIGJake111]

Nice hobby! You are most definitely falling for the beater though! A true love triangle!

[woodsman]

I think you would be in you glory touring around Texas. Small, almost vacant towns everywhere. I enjoyed imagining how things used to be but made me sad too. Ahh the simpler times...
BTW I love the cool green colour interior and the door panels indicate it's got the full leather option.

[Retroman1969]

Thank you very much everyone!
Doing this sort of thing is the closest to traveling in a time machine I'll ever see. It allows a surprisingly intimate link with the past.
I'm totally on board with the idea of an OK Boxster meet. We can message each other and exchange contact info for possible times and places if you like, or post a topic for discussion of the details.
Yes, I must admit that car is already feeling like part of the family. They have so much character to begin with! And it does have the full leather option with that funky green.
I actually recently bought an old book on The Ghost Towns of Texas and plan on expanding my trips there. There is potential for a lot of abandoned towns to be hiding in those vast open spaces!

[turbo23dog]

Very cool post and pictures.

I think I've been watching too much of The Walking Dead. I half expected to see zombies walking out from behind some of those buildings!!!

[Retroman1969]

Thanks Turbo!
LOL, now that'd be a trip!

[antny]

Tell me you went over to the turner falls area and hit up the few twisties over there since you were in Sulphur. I am totally game to meet up with some of you local guys.

[Retroman1969]

Oh I love that road! I call it Porsche Pass.
I make at least one run through there every weekend.
I'm guessing you hit it occasionally too.