Man Buys A Ghost Town For $1.4M, Ends Up Spending 6 Months There Due To The Pandemic
Brent Underwood only planned on spending a few weeks in the abandoned town of Cerro Gordo that he purchased back in 2018, but the weeks quickly turned into months.
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Back in 2018, two entrepreneurs - Brent Underwood and Jon Bier - purchased an abandoned Californian ghost town named Cerro Gordo for $1.4 M. To buy the abandoned town, Brent actually spent all of his life savings, along with additional money from Jon and investors, and eventually plans to turn it into a tourist attraction.
At the beginning of the quarantine, Brent decided to spend a few weeks in Cerro Gordo self-isolating, but those few weeks turned into 6 months in the blink of an eye. During his extended stay, the man documented all of the interesting things that he found and experienced - and I'm pretty sure you'll be just as amazed as Brent was.
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
During its heyday, Cerro Gordo was one of the largest silver producers in California, but as the mines slowly ran dry, all of the town's 4,000 residents abandoned it. Brent, along with his 7 cats and 4 goats, is currently the town's only resident.
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Earlier this month, Brent did an 'ask me anything' on Reddit, where curious people could ask him questions about what it's like to live in an abandoned town. He also uploaded a 38-minute video to YouTube detailing some of his experiences.
Image credits: Bishop Real Estate
Image credits: Bishop Real Estate
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
During his 6 month stay, Brent cleaned up some of the houses, turned an old shed into a cozy office, and even turned the old general store into a museum where he could show off all of the cool and interesting stuff he found while exploring the town.
Another serious project that Brent, along with some distant locals, took up was restoring the town's water supply. This involved going down 700 ft to the spring and changing the water pump, along with restoring 500 ft of piping. But thanks to their efforts, Cerro Gordo has running water for the first time in 15 years.
Image credits: brentwunderwood
Image credits: brentwunderwood
Image credits: brentwunderwood
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
A lot of things happened during Brent's 6 month stay at Cerro Gordo. The American Hotel, that stood in the town since 1871, burned down due to tinkering with the old wiring, the town was shaken by an earthquake, and to top it all off, it was also his by an extreme hail storm that damaged the road and the town's power supply.
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
The man plans to continue his work for another month, then taking a break during winter, and then continuing again in spring. If everything goes according to plan, Cerro Gordo should open its doors next summer
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Bishop Real Estate
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Bishop Real Estate
Brent Underwood spent the last 6 months living in the abandoned town of Cerro Gordo
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
During its heyday, Cerro Gordo was one of the largest silver producers in California, but as the mines slowly ran dry, all of the town's 4,000 residents abandoned it. Brent, along with his 7 cats and 4 goats, is currently the town's only resident.
The man, along with his friend Jon Bier, bought the town for $1.4M back in 2018
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Brent initially planned to only spend a few weeks in the town until the quarantine was over
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
However, those few weeks quickly turned into 6 months
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Earlier this month, Brent did an 'ask me anything' on Reddit, where curious people could ask him questions about what it's like to live in an abandoned town. He also uploaded a 38-minute video to YouTube detailing some of his experiences.
Brent is currently working on cleaning and renovating the 22 buildings that still remain standing
Image credits: Bishop Real Estate
Image credits: Bishop Real Estate
He plans of turning the general store into a museum where he could show all of the cool things he found onsite
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
During his 6 month stay, Brent cleaned up some of the houses, turned an old shed into a cozy office, and even turned the old general store into a museum where he could show off all of the cool and interesting stuff he found while exploring the town.
Another serious project that Brent, along with some distant locals, took up was restoring the town's water supply. This involved going down 700 ft to the spring and changing the water pump, along with restoring 500 ft of piping. But thanks to their efforts, Cerro Gordo has running water for the first time in 15 years.
The old silver mines are still there and are open to exploration
Image credits: brentwunderwood
Brent found some interesting stuff inside, including denim clothes, a rusted gun, and even some dynamite!
Image credits: brentwunderwood
Image credits: brentwunderwood
Here's Brent descending into an old mine in search of water
In a recent interview with NBC, Brent said that their goal is to "maintain the historical nature of the property and respect the piece of history". And while the man got some help from friends, he has mostly been doing all of the work himself.
With the help of some distant locals, the man even restored running water to the town
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
This involved using an almost 200-year-old hoist to go down an abandoned 900-foot mine shaft
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
They replaced the old water pump and about 500 ft of piping
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
A lot of things happened during Brent's 6 month stay at Cerro Gordo. The American Hotel, that stood in the town since 1871, burned down due to tinkering with the old wiring, the town was shaken by an earthquake, and to top it all off, it was also his by an extreme hail storm that damaged the road and the town's power supply.
Only one house in the whole town still has a functioning stove, bathtub and toilet
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
The man plans to continue his work for another month, then taking a break during winter, and then continuing again in spring. If everything goes according to plan, Cerro Gordo should open its doors next summer
Sadly, the 1871 American Hotel burned down due to an electrical fire
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
There's even and old chapel created from an old mining equipment garage
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Brent believes that the town might actually be haunted
Image credits: Bishop Real Estate
He once saw the curtains move and a face appear in the window of one of the houses
Image credits: Ghost Town Living
Image credits: Bishop Real Estate
Here's a video detailing some of Brent's experiences
Image credits: Ghost Town LivingDE
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