Ghost Towns ─ Lost Cities of the Old West

Tombstone, Bodie, St. Elmo, Silver City. These are some of the enduring legends of the Old West- ghost towns and mining camps that dot America's landscape and colour the history of the country. Literally thousands of ghost towns are scattered throughout the West, with some states boasting hundreds of these abandoned boomtowns These relics, whether falling down or revitalised, attract thousands of visitors every year. Many of these ghost towns and mining camps are protected by the National Park Service or the Bureau of Land Management, and visits are carefully regulated in order to preserve the history of the once-thriving towns. In Ghost Towns of the Old West, writer and ghost towner Clint Thomsen explains the history of ghost towns, describes the various types of ghost towns, and discusses ongoing research and archaeological study into decaying towns and mining camps.

Clint Thomsen is a freelance writer based in northern Utah. Most of his work appears in various publications of the Transcript Bulletin Publishing Company. Thomsen pens a weekly outdoor column for the Tooele Transcript Bulletin, which was named best column in a daily newspaper for 2008 by the Utah Press Association. Clint took second place in UPA's 2009 contest, where he also won an award for best feature story (The Heart of Vernon). In addition, his work and comments have been featured in The Associated Press, U.S. Outdoors Today, and the Dallas Morning News.