Abandoned Ghost Towns Near Me – The Ghost Town in the Sky opened on May 1, 1961, and quickly became one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions. It was promoted as the “mile high amusement park in North Carolina”.
At one time, Ghost Town served as a worthy rival to the pre-Dollywood Silver Dollar City/Goldrush Junction theme parks. As Dollywood and Pigeon Forge took off, Ghost Town began to fade.
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The Ghost City in the Sky is the vision of entrepreneur R.B. Coburn, a native of Virginia who moved to Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Coburn was inspired to create a Western-themed amusement park after visiting several ghost towns in the American West. In 1960, he purchased Buck Mountain at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains for the location of his new attraction. This park was designed by Russell Pearson and was built at a cost of $1 million. The park is divided into several towns located at different elevations of the mountain, each with a different theme. Hourly firefights broke out in the middle of the street with guests lining up to watch. The heart of the park is the Old West of the city which includes two saloons, a school, a bank, a prison and a church.
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New rides and attractions are added throughout the year. At its peak, the Ghost Town attracted more than 400,000 visitors each season. A double inclined train was built to take visitors to the top of Buck Mountain. The ramp was made with a 25-ton bulldozer attached to a winch attached to another bulldozer, which towed the bulldozer up the mountain. The train creates an exhilarating journey to the top of the mountain with an incline ranging from 30 to 77 degrees. Tourists can only reach the top of the mountain amusement park by riding the inclined train or chair lifts to the top. In the spring of 1962, a two-seater chairlift was added parallel to the inclined railroad tracks to take visitors up the mountain. The chairlift is the longest in North Carolina and the second longest in the United States. It moves at a speed of 310 feet per minute and climbs 3,370 feet.
When construction began in 1960, more than 200 local residents were hired to build the 40 replica buildings that make up West Town, which sits atop a mountain.
About 300,000 feet of wood, 200,000 feet of plywood, and 20,000 pounds of nails went into the construction of Ghost Town.
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R.B. Coburn sold Ghost Town in 1973, but bought it back ten years later in 1986. In 1988, he hired Hopkins Rides to build a new $2 million steel roller coaster on the side of Buck Mountain. The new coasters are part of a garden improvement plan by Coburn. He hopes the new attraction will bring 25-30% more guests. Unfortunately, its summer opening was delayed due to construction and bad weather conditions. That one
, characterized by a red and white paint scheme, opened in September 1988 to little fanfare. Under the ownership of R.B. Coburn, the Ghost Town suffers from lack of maintenance and bad management. Since the chairlift and the inclined train are the only ways tourists can access the park, they need constant repair. Coburn spent thousands of dollars to keep both. In July 2002, the chairlift malfunctioned, leaving passengers stranded for more than two hours in the rain. A few days later, Coburn decided to close the park and sell the property. The theme park was left empty and unmaintained for the next four years, giving the impression that no one would buy the park due to the state of the rides. Without adequate security, the park becomes a target for vandalism.
The roller coaster operated until the park closed in 2002. It was repainted yellow and renamed
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For the 2007 season reopening, however the ride remained closed due to a required state code update.
It finally reopened in June 2009, but two days later, the ride was shut down after inspectors found a hairline crack in one of the train’s frames.
Roller coaster, Ghost Town filed for bankruptcy. The Great Recession of 2008 was blamed for the park’s problems, but the owners insisted that the park would reopen and continue to operate. As of May, the rides had not been inspected and the owners needed $330,000 to reopen. Failure to secure the loan is estimated to mean the loss of 200 jobs and the loss of local business income from park visitors. An anonymous donor provided money that allowed Ghost Town to reopen for the 2009 season. However, the park struggled to make payroll and employees complained that they were not being paid. Children’s rides and a Wild West town run, but rides that attract more adults like that
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In February 2010, a massive landslide occurred on the mountain after a retaining wall collapsed. Although there were no injuries, 40 houses had to be evacuated and many of them were damaged. The Ghost Town itself suffered damage, but its extent is not known to the public. After the incident, the local news announced that the park would reopen for Memorial Day weekend, but this did not happen. A month later, a judge decided to proceed with the foreclosure and sold the property at auction. Ghost Town was sold in February 2012 at public auction to Alaska Presley, a local businesswoman and longtime supporter of the park for $1.5 million. New regulations required him to spend millions on labor and time lost to state inspections. Another problem arose when it was discovered that the water had never been turned off after the park closed, leaving the old pipes subject to the freezing and thawing cycles of the mountains. Private water wells are condemned for being too close to potentially unacceptable objects. Four new wells were drilled and all but one failed with limited production. In the end, the municipal water option was decided which meant that almost every part of the old system had to be replaced.
In 2013, the theme park was fined $2,000 by the Department of Labor after an actor was injured by shrapnel from a shotgun blast in a shooting. The investigators found that the actors were actually using real .45 caliber revolvers and real shotguns loaded with blanks, not prop guns capable of firing blanks only. A year later, in 2014, Alaska Presley listed her smaller share of the property, including the town of Old West, for sale for $3 million. Presley planned to redevelop the upper section as a “replica garden of the Holy Land”. The listing was taken off the market months later due to lack of interest. In an effort to prevent vandalism, Presley hired security guards and installed cameras on the mountain. In 2015, the park announced a rebranding to become Ghost Town Village. This is partly due to the inability to reopen some rides or rollercoasters due to repair costs. However, the park never reopened. Local news outlets anticipated the reopening in 2019, but it never happened. At the moment, the park is still closed, although work is being done by a team of new investors to restore the former theme park in the hope that one day it will reopen.
In August 2021, a key person working on the rebuilding of Ghost Town made a rare public speaker appearance and explained the blueprint of the plan to the local Chamber of Commerce which involves an investment of up to $200 million. More information, including a timeline and specific dates for reopening, will be available in early 2022. Water and drainage issues affecting the park have been resolved, paving the way for improvements. The main street of the park, where there is the Red Dog Saloon, the prison and several cafes, will be demolished and completely rebuilt. The ground floor of the building will be home to unique shops and boutiques, and perhaps even some brand-name retail or food outlets. The second floor of the building will be sold or rented as condominiums for residential use. At the bottom of Mount Buck, a new hotel will be built that will have the look of an inn to blend in with the surroundings. Behind the inn will be a small vacation rental cottage. No word yet on what will happen to the original ride. There have been rumors about the addition of a Ferris Wheel.
Thurmond Ghost Town
High levels of skepticism remain as previous attempts have only seemed promising to fail. The process will be interesting, even if they only open the door. The nostalgia factor alone could bring thousands of people who grew up to go to Maggie Valley. These people love to share their experiences with their children and grandchildren. A big part of the revival plans are better infrastructure and accommodation plans to help Maggie Valley become a tourist destination. About 200 employees will be needed to run the new Ghost City in the Sky. The area needs affordable housing, restaurants, grocery stores and emergency care centers to support the local economy and parks.
As beautiful as Maggie Valley is, there are still doubts about whether it can attract the number of tourists needed to support the theme park.
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