I don't think I'll ever grow tired of discovering every nook and cranny in this state. From deep in the mountains where few have ever been to the Ghost Towns where the shadows of lives passed still reside. Miner's Delight is one such place you should visit if you're ever wandering Wyoming. A sister city of South Pass and Atlantic Cities, you get a real picture of the secluded life some Wyoming Gold miners would have lived even at the height of their Gold Rush.
Originally founded as Hamilton City by Jonathan Holbrook, this little town was unimpressive compared to its bustling neighbors. With only around 70 residents, Hamilton could boast a farmer, a grocer, a shoemaker, and a liquor dealer. There were also apparently 3 female residents reportedly as unimpressive as the town.
At the height of their Gold Rush around 1869, the Miner's Delight mine produced roughly $60,000-70,000 in Gold. Which is why they renamed the town. That would be around $1.1 million - $1.3 million today!
Maybe my favorite fun fact about Miner's Delight is that one miner had a pet baby bear named Cuff. Unfortunately for Cuff, as he grew older he became brazen in stealing sweet treats from the cabins of other miners and came to a sad end because of it. (Don't feed bears! They will still have to be killed today for the very same reason!)
The mine soon flooded and became impassable for treasure-seekers who struggled along into the 1930s, hoping new technology would give them access to the buried gold. During the Great Depression, many of the town's abandoned cabins were used by jobless passers-through.
Now when you visit, there is not a soul left. The cemetery on the hill leaves a fading record of the town that once made a few men rich. Down in the town itself, only one of the buildings may have belonged to the original town, but the rest are crumbling into history just as quickly. Visiting in the fall, you will be treated to beautiful fall colors and if the wind blows just right the creaking of the bent metal roofs will leave goosebumps up and down your arms wondering if any ghosts might still take up residence here. Stay long enough and you might just catch a glimpse of a beaver in the beaver ponds.
Where is the spookiest place you've ever visited? Do you think that towns like Miner's Delight should be left to fade into history or should be preserved for future generations? Do you like visiting Ghost Towns? Which one is your favorite?
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