# Ghost Town Squat



## DaisyDoom

I just had a thought and am looking for some input.... There are a lot of old abandoned towns in the US. I'm just wondering if it would be possible to squat one of these towns with a group of people. I figure finding info about towns would be the first step. I have seen several for sale in the past but when doing research yesterday, it seemed most were owned by the historical society. Does anyone have any thoughts on how to go about this?


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## happyearthhomes

There are a few that are or were owned by mining companies those that are owned by government ran programs may get u locked up for tresspassing on government land no squatters rights apply to those there is a historical town near me that is closed down they used to do tours there and my buddys ma kicked him out so he squatted one of the buildings for like two weeks but the law caught him at it and he wound up in jail for a couple of months because they hit him with all kinds of charges tresspassing damage defacement and destruction of government property and all he did was camp out in an unlocked building but he used the fire place in it and got wood from the near by trees and he was using their out house all of which were crimes on government land


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## happyearthhomes

They also made him pay like 12grand in restitution cus they had to clean the out house and rstore the building back to 1880s condition they claimed he damaged the chimney and caused harm to the local flora and fuana by gathering wood in the little forest on the property nd apparently his poo in the outhouse contaminated the water in the creek on the property


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## DaisyDoom

That's really fucked up man, exactly what I'm trying to avoid lol.


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## happyearthhomes

i am pretty sure if the location is privately owned you would be somewhat protected by squatters rights


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## DaisyDoom

That's what I'm thinking but I can't seem to find a place that is privately owned.


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## happyearthhomes

check on craigslist in wyoming and montana there is one on there 4 sale today 4 like 160k


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## acrata4ever

this place was demolished by hurricanes was rebuilt in the 30s and collapsed by the 70s. id really like to go metal detecting there theres gotta be something.


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## DaisyDoom

Thanks happyearth....I don't know why I didn't check CL.

Acrata- What place?


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## acrata4ever

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/fl/beancity.html sorry i got stupid


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## DaisyDoom

That place has some awesome history. It's small and surrounded by farms though and I think a couple of people live there. And it's in FL and I'm trying to get the fuck out of here lol.

I found a couple of places listed on CL. The one in Montana looks like its owned by some sort of historical society at least at some point it was... I'm not sure though, I'm gonna try and find more info about it. There is also a place listed as being "ghost town land" in Colorado and they are selling it really cheap....I need to figure out why.

Really I wonder what would happen if a bunch of people....like 100 or more just squatted on unused government land. Something like that had to of happened before.


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## acrata4ever

youd probably be arrested holland just made sqatting illegal and went in the squats on horseback and started crackin skulls. im not saying a place to live but think about it most ghost towns are completely gone, the general layout is still there. it was completley leveled in the 20s by a hurricane. you had old confederates hoarding gold. then it was rebuilt during the depression. people didnt want to turn in their gold to the government, they didnt beleive in banks and buried money in gas cans and jars. and these same people lived in the town long enough to grow old get alzheimers and forget about it. as far as treasure hunting this looks like a prime place.


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## Nyte

If you leave the major highways, there are towns like this all over the US. Let me know what your plans are, I am curious at the least.


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## DaisyDoom

I'll be driving through quite a few places so I will be on the lookout for places. I've been searching the internet too. I'll post as I find stuff out. It's nothing serious right now....My husband and I have tons of things we want to do when it comes to land and what not.


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## oki

you guys should pick something that has some sort of historical significance, but that is on the list for demolition. then you can make it into a thing and and demand a solution before you leave.


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## outskirts

DaisyDoom said:


> Really I wonder what would happen if a bunch of people....like 100 or more just squatted on unused government land. Something like that had to of happened before.



It sure did happen before, on alcatraz Island, by Native American activists back in the 70's.


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## DaisyDoom

Whaaat? ...off to google...


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## crazy john

i wonder if adverse psession could apply to a whole town?


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## DaisyDoom

Thats what I'm wondering...I really don't see why it wouldn't.


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## crazy john

DaisyDoom said:


> Thats what I'm wondering...I really don't see why it wouldn't.


how cool would that be!!! havin your own town. i say we start a stp town squatt. ill brew the brewss and grow the herbs


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## outskirts

This thread is very interesting. You all may be on to something here. If an entire abandoned town were suddenly mass squatted... just think of the possibillities! The biggest obstacle would probably be a matter of who owns the land, Government owned(federal/state/local) will be tough. A ghost town on private owned land would be easier, but even better yet would be one on land owned by a large corporation instead of a single individual.
What oki said about the historical significance could play an important factor too.


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## crazy john

i know i used to squat this place called letchworth village in ny state which was no owned by government and it had about 12 buildings, maybe a few more, but its been a few years and i dont know whats there anymore.
heres some links that might help...hopefully cuz this is an awesome concept
http://weburbanist.com/2008/01/06/7...from-military-islands-to-mental-institutions/

http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/modern-day-ghost-towns-of-abandoned-real-estate/

this one is cool
http://www.ghosttowns.com/ghosttownsusa.html


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## oki

the netherlands has a village, Ruigoord, thats been squatted in the 70's and still exists. used to be surrounded by farm land, now enlcosed by the new amsterdam container harbour, they couldnt get rid of the town. its mainly an artist community. goa trance parties in the old church, lol.

its the little bit of green in the bottom right corner:


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## DaisyDoom

yeah Clouds posted pics from that place in the picture section...it looks pretty awesome.


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## happyearthhomes

hey daisy i have been looking and i have found quite a few of em that are privately owned by mining companies places they havent sent anyone to in many years and they would never sell in virginia and tennesse and out west but still totally liveable here is a resource for the west http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/


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## foxtailV

I want an old watertower... spiral stairs maybe...wrap around porch...etc...


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## Kayla

reviving a ghost town is a GREAT idea i think. most of everything is already in place, yet needing TLC and people to live there.
with a commune/eco-village approach would probably be the best for all there.

I hope this thread sparks interest like viewing fireflies in the mid-summer night's sky... etc


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## ayyyjayyy

crazy john said:


> i know i used to squat this place called letchworth village in ny state which was no owned by government and it had about 12 buildings, maybe a few more, but its been a few years and i dont know whats there anymore.
> heres some links that might help...hopefully cuz this is an awesome concept
> http://weburbanist.com/2008/01/06/7...from-military-islands-to-mental-institutions/
> 
> http://www.mint.com/blog/trends/modern-day-ghost-towns-of-abandoned-real-estate/
> 
> this one is cool
> http://www.ghosttowns.com/ghosttownsusa.html



awesome links. i want to go to all these places. haha.


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## Cardboard

Make sure there is a water supply (spring/river/somewhere with enough rainfall to dig a well...) and test the soil before investing too much time into it. If it can't be sustainable, 100 dirty kids is just gonna be a week long party till all the beers gone, then no fun to be at anymore.


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## ayyyjayyy

hahahhahaha! word on that one!


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## DaisyDoom

Yeah dude.....I'm not too optimistic about this idea haha It is really only a thought.....one of the many I've had about this sort of thing. There are a lot of ghost towns but none that I've found that are exactly what I think I would need in order to pull it off . Also, I'm not looking for a party or to live with a bunch of people who do nothing but get drunk and I can see how it could turn into that really fast lol. I would want people who are serious about getting shit done and I don't know how many of those I could find.

My husband has been trying to talk me into buying land in the desert for awhile now but I've been cautious because I don't want to buy something that will end up being useless. There is some good land out there, just gotta find it. Really, I just need space to do all the crap that I want to do...but some of it does involve building and growing food and plants.


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## happyearthhomes

Hey daisy thats what i been shoutin about in my posts on here and many other places i am very positive a couple determined people can build eco freindly off grid sustainable homes for a very small amount of money up front and a steady small amount of money for a year if u do the labor yourself and buying things piece meal you should listen to your hubby on this if he has a good plan and a strong back and some building experience its totally doable my wife and i are going to attempt it very soon we are just uncertain exactly where we have our startup money and are waiting to guarantee a job for her before we head out i can always find short term work and i have a house i am working on here for somebody but i only got a week or so left on the house we are fond of wyoming due to there open building codes and only 4% taxes with no state income tax also incredibly cheap land 40 acres 20-50k anything over 35 acres can b zoned agriculture which means very low taxes yearly and u can than have any animal or raise crops and squatting land is always an option but owning it is investing in your future


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## DaisyDoom

I've read some of your posts and I like your ideas.
Keep in touch and update me on your plans and I'll do the same 
Right now we are getting ready to take a long trip from the fl keys to san diego and surrounding areas to pursue a variety of projects.


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## Sen

I'm game.


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## Sen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Hutt_River
For what it's worth..

Or, if you prefer their site: http://www.principality-hutt-river.com/


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## Dirty Dave

DaisyDoom said:


> I just had a thought and am looking for some input.... There are a lot of old abandoned towns in the US. I'm just wondering if it would be possible to squat one of these towns with a group of people. I figure finding info about towns would be the first step. I have seen several for sale in the past but when doing research yesterday, it seemed most were owned by the historical society. Does anyone have any thoughts on how to go about this?


search Ward, Colorado it was a ghost town now follows home rule municipality only having pigs there for arrest 4 times in the last 10 years.


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## Otto the anarchist

A freind of mine grew up in a sucessful ghost town squat. Her father and his libertain buddies held a general election (which apprently ment it was theres under some weird law in that area) and any time a cop would come in to town the first person to see it would ring a bell on their porch and everyone would get their gun. Then they would tell the police man that they are not welcome.


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