Monday, January 12, 2015

Abandoned but Not Forgotten



I read two blogs today that made me think about history and abandoned buildings. You might want to check out Marilyn Meredith’s post at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/ about an abandoned house and M.M. Gornell’s blog at https://mmgornell.wordpress.com/ about the Barstow-Daggett Airport.

A couple of years ago I visited my daughter in Washington state. We went for a drive in the mountains because she wanted to show me an abandoned grist mill. On our way back to town I saw a path leading into the woods, and I wanted a picture of it. Washington is a beautiful state and this was a picturesque trail. I talked her into stopping so I could take my picture. I walked a little way and took a few pictures. As I turned to the right, to head back to the car, I saw an abandoned house. You couldn’t see if from the road and if I hadn’t wanted a picture of the path, we would have missed it.

I seriously thought about climbing through the overgrowth to explore it, but something moved. Well, I have no idea if Washington has snakes in the mountains so I decided against it. I suppose it could have been a mountain lion or something, but whatever it was, this Chicken Little wasn’t taking a chance. One day the house may go in a book. You never know.

The Path

The Abandoned House
  
The cover of Old Murders Never Die is interesting, too. The background is buildings from Bodie, California, a ghost town. However, the picture of an abandoned house in a frame is actually from Nevada, and the house, along with some old stories I’d heard about an abandoned town inspired a whole book.


Not all abandoned buildings are part of a ghost town. You find them when you least expect it. Nevada has buildings in the Middle of Nowhere, so to speak. So does Arizona. I’ve never understood why people would build a house in the wilds of the desert, and I do mean in the desert – not in a town.

Of course, both states have mining as part of their history. Who knows? Maybe the houses were built to be lived in while someone searched for gold, silver or copper. That’s a more romantic theory than assuming they were loners and didn’t want to be bothered by other people. I guess there could be a story in that, too, though.

I can’t help but wonder who might have lived in these houses. I wish I knew the history and I wish there were people to talk to about the buildings. Unfortunately, not only are the people long gone, but so are any clues to who they were and what they were doing so far away and alone.

In Old Murders Never Die I added a history where there was none. Many years ago I worked in law enforcement and I recalled a story my Sergeant told about his cousin. He went on a hunting trip in the mountains. All of a sudden, in the Middle of Nowhere, he found an abandoned town. People had left in a hurry. Everything was still in place, with dishes on the tables, pots and pans on the stoves, and clothes in the bedrooms. Furniture, although falling apart, still sat in the rooms.

This cousin was astonished. He made his way back down the mountain and made the mistake of going to a local bar where he imbibed a bit too much and bragged about what he’d found. Uh oh. A few days later he returned to the abandoned town, thinking there must be some valuables there, only to find someone had beat him to it. Someone, apparently from the bar, had cleaned the place out.

My husband and I once took the truck and camper and traveled through the deserts of Nevada with friends. We found a one-room house built out of rocks, and surprisingly, the ceiling consisted of roots. I don’t know what kind of roots they were, but still… Roots?

So when you travel, be sure to have your camera handy. Any of these things can inspire a story. Add a little history to your mystery and season it with supposition. You never know where your imagination might take you.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve run across quite by accident?

Until next time, if you can’t travel, then read. You’ll visit all types of interesting places through the eyes of the author.

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw’s website
CLICK HERE for a quick trip to Amazon.com

18 comments:

  1. Great post, Marja. Lived in Puget Sound in a heavily treed area for 20+ years and your pictures took me right back! The location for my first book was the North Bend/Snoqualmie area. Used to walk my dogs in areas similar looking to your pictures. Thanks for the memories!


    Madeline

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  2. Glad to oblige, Madeline. It really is beautiful up there. I particularly liked Olympia, and my daughter may be moving there for a new job. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  3. Probably the most interesting places I've visited were in the moors of England, especially, Dartmoor. My friend Michael, a British naval officer, and I used to climb the tors (rocky outcrops on top of hills) and explore the little caves and sometimes the abandoned huts of shepherds. We once came across an old church with a graveyard in front. I've often thought of writing a short story that would include the ghost of a pirate and finding his treasure in one of the caves in the tors or buried by the little church.

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    1. It sounds like you had a lot of fun, and I like the idea of your pirate story. : ) I'd read it. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  4. There are many ghost towns here in Wyoming, with abandoned houses. I wrote about them in my book, Wyoming's Historical Trivia (wiritten as J.J. Hammond, one of my pen names). Many Indian battles were fought in Wyoming, and the remains of a number of abandoned army forts are still visible. Fascinating history.

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    1. We have a couple of places here where the Indians were able to hide out from the cavalry, or so it's said. Love your historical books. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  5. When I was in grade school, my best friend and I walked home from school every day. Oh, the investigating we did! I talked her into checking out an old farmhouse down a long, winding driveway. Apparently, the owner didn't like kids trespassing and he fired a shot in the air to scare us away. Then, there were the shanties in the woods by our school where vagrants lived. I got in trouble for that one. Not to mention the abandoned bakery. . . Well, you get the idea. Lots of story material and I've never outgrown my curious nature when it comes to abandoned and/or old buildings.

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    1. I'm with you. I loooove to investigate, and it sounds like you had some pretty good spots for it. The shot in the air might have given me second thoughts though. : ) Thank you so much for commenting!

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  6. Inspiration for stories is everywhere. You just need to keep your eyes open and your imagination active. Incidentally, it isn't necessary to go West to find ghost towns. We have them here in Pennsylvania, too. In fact, I have a book an area writer put together featuring 46 of them across the commonwealth.

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    1. Too many of us are in such a rush that we miss some great sights and sites. I'd love to see some of the ghost towns in Pennsylvania. I can only imagine it was fulfilling and fun for your local author to put that book together. Thank you so much for commenting!

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  7. I've never come across an old abandoned house in a forest, or seen a ghost town. Guess I've lived in the city too long. I have seen a lot of urban blight, but I wouldn't want to go near those places. Not quite the same thing.

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    1. Evelyn, You've missed some wonderful things. If you ever get to the west coast, I hope you'll visit one of the ghost towns. Or if you go to Washington, I can tell you where to find an abandoned house. : ) Thank you so much for commenting!

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  8. Your blog reminded me of something I'd almost forgotten. When I was a kid, my family would go to a nearby state park for picnics. The park used to house an art colony, but it was abandoned long ago, but in the woods and almost unrecognizable for all the vegetation was a swimming pool, black, slimey water in the bottom of it. It was really creepy to a small child. Since I've moved away, an art institute has once more sprung up. I wonder what happened to that pool? Thanks for jogging my memory. I might have to use this in a story.

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    1. Glad I could help. : ) That sounds like something you could truly use in a story, and doesn't everyone love a spooky setting? Thank you so much for commenting!

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  9. Lesley's comment above triggered memories for me. I was thinking about the old fishing shanties in our state parks way up north (Wisconsin) a memory that is fresh since I almost fell through a floor in one. Also closer to home are remains of an old zoo, stone parameters for enclosures, overgrown by weeds and greenery.
    But we also had an artist village, the shops at ground level and artists living and creating upstairs. I had hoped to live there one day but by the time I was old enough it was abandoned. Then I dreamed of earning enough to finance it's recreation myself. I will have to write several books to work towards that goal. (laughing) We also have haunted churches and industrial buildings.
    Now you have my mind working!

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    1. I'm really glad to hear this post triggered so many memories for so many people. As a matter of fact, you've all triggered a memory for me. In the late 1980s I had the opportunity to go to Tasmania. A friend's uncle took us on a tour of the old prison there. The cells were open and the seats and walls were covered with moss. Very picturesque for a prison. There were the remains of a church or chapel they begun to build,but it was never finished because there was a murder committed during construction and it couldn't be consecrated, or so the story goes. It's an historic site filled with interesting stories. Thank you for jogging my own memory, and thank you for commenting! You've seen some pretty interesting sites yourself.

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  10. I've never come across an abandoned building in my area, though there is an entire community, the "Lost City," that was swallowed by the swamp in our Arboretum. Most people in my city don't even know about this bit of local history, but the Arboretum hosts an informative talk/walk every October, when they take attendees out to what is left of one of the foundations. One of the main paths was once a street in the "Lost City," which has slowly been reclaimed by nature -- but if you look carefully, you can still see bits of pavement.

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    1. The "Lost City" sounds like a place I'd enjoy. It's fascinating how nature takes places back. Imagine what might be found with a little digging. Thank you so much for commenting!

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