Shakespeare Ghost Town

    It take a lot of planning or a little luck to see Shakespeare because it’s only open to visitors the first weekend of each month. We fit into the luck part as we just happened to be passing through on the first weekend of December. :-)

   A small spring near the town has always been an attraction for travelers. The Army built a relay station in 1856, the Butterfield Stage constructed a stage stop a few years later, Confederate soldiers built a small stone fort, and after the war a new stage line reopened the stage stop but the town got it’s real start when silver was discovered in 1870. The town grew to 3,000 people with a boom that lasted for just two years. The discovery of gold in 1878 brought a second boom. The depression of 1893 and the lack of a railroad station led to the town’s demise.

  In 1935 Frank and Rita Hill bought the ranch land which included the town. They soon developed an interest in preserving it and passed that interest to their daughter Janaloo.  The town is still privately owned by the family and the tours are conducted by volunteers. The tour takes about 1 1/2 hours and is only $4.00. There are about six buildings with artifacts and lots of stories about everything. Some may be true. ;-)  Worth a stop if you’re in the area on the first weekend of the month.

        

   Attempts at wheelchair accessibility have been made. Most buildings have rudimentary ramps but they are difficult to use without assistance. The ground is hardpacked but rocks make for rough going.

        

   The dirt road to the town is bad washboard but navigable by any vehicle. There’s a parking area for RVs at the top of the hill overlooking the town. Small RVs will fit in the lot at the town entrance gate. Shakespeare   32.32475, -108.73834