Now a popular tourist attraction, this abandoned ‘ghost town’ was once home to a bustling community – but it was only 15 years before most of the members vanished
This town has been abandoned for nearly 130 years. That hasn’t stopped visitors from flocking over the years to take in the eerie “ghost town” that was, for a brief period, home to a bustling community filled with optimism for their future – before their collective dream rapidly collapsed in just 15 years.
Something about abandoned places has long captured people’s imagination. From urban explorers venturing to long-forgotten theme parks and hotels, to tourists taking trips to visit ghost towns like this one, there’s something that really draws people towards a forgotten space.
This ghost town is especially poignant due to the nature of its inception. With a new industry opening up the possibility of wealth and prosperity for anyone who was adventurous enough to come and work hard to make it happen, only for those who took the plunge to be left disappointed, and forced to give up their home nearly as quickly as they had settled in.
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Custer in Idaho is located in the stunning scenery of the state’s Challis National Forest and was once a gold mining town, where at one stage 600 people lived and worked, hoping to strike on the precious metal and secure their fortunes. Some of the structures there date all the way back to 1879, and by 1896, the community was the largest it would ever be.
The fortunes of the gold mining in Custer swiftly turned, and it was nearly totally abandoned just a few years later, with only two families reportedly daring to remain by 1911. Many people in the gold mining town had been employed at a large stamp mill, and when the business collapsed, they had no choice but to abandon ship and leave to seek their fortunes elsewhere.
Most of the once bustling community stands exactly as it did over a century ago, when it was in use, from the eight saloons where people would meet to relax, a shoe store, and a place of worship, as well as a very small Chinatown, which also provided laundry services. Part of the National Register of Historic Places, perhaps part of the draw of tourists to Custer is how emblematic it is of the so-called American Dream, which offered immigrants a chance at new prosperity. Even if the town was not a long-term success story, its former residents may have hoped for.
Seasonally, tours throughout the historic town are offered, and the former school has been restored and turned into a museum filled with artefacts regarding the area’s history. Nearby, there is another draw, not just the stunning hikes and immaculate scenery: the area plays home to natural hot springs, which are well worth a visit.
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