Ruins of a Railroad Ghost Town - Canyon Diablo, Part 2
December 1st, 2022: Canyon Diablo is a quintessential Wild West ghost town. This railroad town established itself in 1881, when construction of a transcontinental railroad was temporarily halted by a deep gorge - Canyon Diablo, from which the town gets its name.
The town of Canyon Diablo was said to be more rough, more violent, and more deadly than Dodge City, KS and Tombstone, AZ combined. 24 hour saloons, brothels, gambling houses, and dance halls catered to the unfettered desires of railroad men. Main street was called "Hell Street". And, no lawmen were initially on site. After the town finally received a marshal, he was supposedly killed and buried within five hours of being sworn in. No marshals that followed would last more than a month, and all died on the job. (Allegedly)
Potentially thousands of people lived in Canyon Diablo at its peak, before the completion of the railroad bridge in 1882. But just as quickly as the town popped up, it vanished. In true ghost town fashion, once the jobs left, most residents immediately disbanded.
In 1900, the original wooden trestles were ditched for a new bridge to carry heavier loads. In 1903, only a Navajo trading post remained. In 1905, a famous shootout between lawmen and bandits occurred. By this time, Canyon Diablo was long a ghost town. Photographs of the 1905 event still exist, and much is documented about the aftermath. I encourage you to read further into this because the story here is quite interesting.
In 1946, shortly after the close of World War II, a new double-track, steel-arch bridge was constructed across Canyon Diablo. This is the bridge we see today.
NOTE: Many of the craziest aspects of Canyon Diablo's history are unsubstantiated and likely impossible to verify at this point.
1:42 foundations of old bridge
2:22 1946 steel-arch bridge, train heads east
4:14 big load
4:37 Navajo trading post?
5:15 crumbling stone walls
5:28 old artifacts
5:57 vast ruins
6:09 springs
6:16 smaller room
6:26 cistern dungeon
7:42 exercise bike thing
7:55 evidence of fires
8:35 prairie reclaiming the landscape
9:05 large enclosure
10:30 miscellaneous ruins
10:52 trough-looking thing
11:09 Painted Desert
11:20 freight train heads east, Amazon packages
12:06 volcanic rock
12:20 San Francisco volcanic field
12:23 more old cans
12:44 cracked earth
12:53 tire tracks
13:13 notable depression
13:46 Red Bull
15:00 cattle guard
15:08 tanks, military vehicles
15:27 sunset
15:37 broken plate
#roamingbenji #ghosttown #railroad #route66 #arizona #bridge #desert #ruins #history
Пікірлер: 24
The 'large building' was the Volz Trading Post, the subterranean chamber was their cold storage. After Volz died the post was leased to the Babbitt Bros, then to Lorenzo Hubbell (both _very_ prominent names / traders in the area) and was in operation at least through 1931. There was a great deal of activity at Canyon Diablo / Volz Trading Post in the late 19th / early 20th Century. If you've ever watched HBO's _Deadwood_ you may imagine a bit of what 'Hell Street' was like in the 1880s. It was a 'boom town' not for miners but to cater to the desires of railroad gangs during the lengthy construction of Cyn. Diablo's original wooden trestle bridge of which you saw the footings. Several of the structures (shacks) were 'cat houses' and saloons. The Volz Post did a brisk business with local ranchers and travelers alike. Sizable chunks of meteorite were sold as curiosities there at $1.00 per pound. Had you walked to the other side of the bridge you'd have been able to find signs of the inhabitants who could not afford the exorbitant rent for crude 'cribs' that were available so they dug out hovels along the canyon rim/ There are still artefacts there such as spoons, cans, razors, toothbrushes, broken plates and cups... not to mention broken booze and laudanum bottles.
@road_king_dude
Жыл бұрын
Whoa. Thanks for sharing.
@gilberttorres2002
Жыл бұрын
Wow, thanks for the history. Definately adds context to the video.
@rvvanlife
Жыл бұрын
Have you seen any pictures of the original wooden trestle?
Fascinating ! Thanks , I wish I could do stuff like this.......
Watched part 1 and followed up with part 2. I was following you on Google maps during your exploration of the area. I noticed there were two cemeteries. You found the first one with single grave. After you crossed the tracks and explored the big structure with the cistern that there was another cemetery called the Boot Hill cemetery that you missed. Also I noticed that had you headed north and crossed Babbitt Wash and started heading north east towards Leupp along the Indian Roads that crisscross all over the place there are habitations everywhere if you zoom in and look close. I remember a while back I drove to Chinle from Holbrook along the 77/264/191. Now that was an awesome drive through that part of the country. And the tour of Canyon de Chelly was fantastic! If you ever get a chance to retrace my steps, you’ve gots to check it out
@roamingbenji
Жыл бұрын
Yes, I later read about the Boot Hill Cemetery. Interesting story. And I'd love to visit Canyon de Chelly sometime.
It's rumored Billy the kid and his band of outlaws held up their for a few days
Hey Benji! At 5;20 you officially walked onto Hell Street in downtown Canyon Diablo.! I'm a local been there 10 times easy, all the ruins in this second video are canyon Diablo, you came in from a different direction? from the north? Any way Fantastik Video great job with the camera!
I am a new subscriber and am enjoying your videos! It's so sad that people are using these awesome places as a dumpster. Seeing the graffiti makes me mad.
@-oiiio-3993
Жыл бұрын
There is graffiti there dating to the 1880s. Not far from there can be found graffiti left by Spanish explorers as well as ancient petroglyphs (one man's graffiti... ).
@danielcarroll5667
Жыл бұрын
Agreed !
@TheOpenSociety777
Жыл бұрын
@@-oiiio-3993 kickback, Phase 1
If you hike down the canyon you’ll see a dwelling down the way that looks a door.
Very cool! Loved all the ruins!
If I had to guess (and that's pretty much all I do), I'd say that the large building may have been housing or a workshop for the railroad / bridge builders. The "quanset hut" building looks kind of like an old coke smelter or something for construction. Then again it could just be a root cellar for food for a big crew. The stonework on the old bridge pylons is very impressive. Back in the early railroad days here in Colorado, Italian masons would come and build the infrastructure for the railroads as their work was second to none. Those stones fit together perfectly. Very cool video!
@-oiiio-3993
Жыл бұрын
Cold storage for the Volz Trading Post.
Wind screen
Dynamite storage room
Maby a charcoal kiln ?
Looks like an Indian sweat lodge
Dude, I'd camp in there. I've slept in worse...
Ho-lee-shit