Stuff You Missed in History Class

Episode Title: Six Impossible Episodes: U.S. Ghost Towns
Date: October 22, 2025
Hosts: Tracy V. Wilson & Holly Frey

Episode Overview

In this special installment, Tracy and Holly explore listener-requested stories of U.S. ghost towns, uncovering the history, rise, and decline of six disparate communities: Bodie (CA); Old Cahawba (AL); Yosepa (UT); Pithole City (PA); Jerome (AZ); and Centralia (PA). They discuss the towns' connections with Indigenous peoples, their economic booms and busts, notable events, haunting reputations, and what remains today. The stories highlight both well-preserved relics and places nearly erased by time, threading together themes of American expansion, resource-driven migration, and the enduring draw of ghostly legends.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

What Makes a "Ghost Town"?

• Tracy defines a ghost town as an abandoned settlement, ideally with remnants or structures still present—but notes some towns discussed are almost entirely gone today. (03:17)

1. Bodie, California (03:37)

Founding and Gold Rush

• Gold discovered by W.S. Boddy (Bodie) in 1859; district named for him after he died in a blizzard.
• Initially a minor mining area, until a collapse at Bunker Hill Mine in 1877 revealed a major gold vein, igniting a massive rush.

The Boom

• Population soared to around 8,500, with over 60 saloons and dance halls (05:29).
• Chinese immigrants played a key role, building shops, services, and a Chinatown (05:51).
• Original inhabitants, multiple Northern Paiute bands, were displaced; access to food was disrupted by deforestation and cattle (04:50).

Bust and Preservation

• Gold dwindled after only four years; successive fires (1892, 1932) destroyed most buildings.
• By 1942, only 10% of buildings remained; population collapsed.
• Bodie became a state historic park (designation: 1962), with preserved structures in "arrested decay"—everything from stores still stocked to household goods and rusting cars (07:18).

Haunting Reputation

• People have returned souvenirs, believing themselves "cursed"—the park displays their remorseful letters (08:40).

Notable Quote:
"Some years ago, a park ranger tried to deter these thefts by starting a rumor that a curse would strike anyone who took anything out of the town." — Holly (08:40)

2. Old Cahawba, Alabama (09:29)

Indigenous Roots and Early Settlement

• Originally a Mississippian-period mound village, possibly destroyed by de Soto in 1540 (10:39).
• Became capital of Alabama in 1819, planned in a Philadelphia-inspired grid; moved after flooding, malaria, and the death of its main supporter, Governor Bibb (12:14).

Civil War and Decline

• Lost railroad during Civil War, triggering white flight; became a predominantly Black community, "Mecca of the Radical Republican Party" (13:54).

Adaptation & Ruin

• Resourceful Reconstruction-era Black population repurposed bricks, land for farms.
• Transformed into a farm and then largely abandoned by the 1930s.

What's Left

• Greek Revival cottage, Perine artesian well, slave quarters, relocated St. Luke’s Church, ruins, cemeteries (including the "most haunted" New Cemetery).
• Haunted reports: sounds of children laughing, concern over kids being locked in at night (16:03).

Notable Moment:
"Visitors report hearing children laughing and playing and have even looked for park staff near closing time to say that they were worried some kids were going to be locked in when the park gates closed for the night." — Holly (16:03)

3. Yosepa, Utah (20:25)

Pacific Islander Settlement

• Founded in 1889 for Hawaiian and Pacific Islander LDS church members fleeing prejudice and rumors of leprosy.

• Named after the Hawaiian pronunciation of Joseph (Smith).

• Settlement design mirrored classic Mormon grids, but streets/names were Hawaiian (24:13).

• Community struggled economically; only about 230 residents; harsh winters, and cases of leprosy increased fear (25:25).

Abandonment and Legacy

• LDS church instructed residents to return to Hawaii in 1917 to help build a temple; town demolished for ranching.
• Only cemetery and pavilion remain; commemorated annually. Listed on National Register of Historic Places (1971).

4. Pithole City, Pennsylvania (27:14)

Oil Boom

• Founded almost overnight in 1865 after an oil strike; population shot from zero to 15,000 in months.
• Hosted the third busiest post office in the state, 50 hotels by summer.

Rapid Decline

• Oil wells were shallow and exhausted quickly; price collapse after pipeline in 1866 (teamsters lost jobs).
• Fires repeatedly destroyed much of the wooden town, and little cleanup occurred.

What's Left

• By 1877, charter was revoked; all that remains are field, foundations, and interpretive panels. State visitor center built in 1975.

5. Jerome, Arizona (36:19)

Mining Origins

• Indigenous Hohokam culture; Spanish/Mexican/US control. Copper mining in late 1800s.
• Rapid growth; diverse population with up to 30 nationalities by early 1900s (38:38).

Lawlessness, Labor Unrest, and Environmental Damage

• Nicknamed "Wickedest Town in the West" (38:38).
• Labor disputes (AFL, Wobblies); radical unionists forcibly expelled in 1917.
• Open-pit mining, fires, and environmental damage (landslides, runoff).

Preservation and Artistic Revival

• By 1950s, population dwindled to around 100; historical association and artists revived the town as an art colony.
• Today: ~450 residents (¼ are artists), National Historic Landmark with ghost stories and ghost tours (41:13).

Notable Quote:
"Today, Jerome looks a lot different from Bodie or Pithole. It’s not just a historic park, but a small town dotted with art galleries, wineries, and shops." — Holly (41:13)

6. Centralia, Pennsylvania (42:58)

Coal Mining Town

• Founded 1866, peaked at ~2,800 by 1890s; not an explosive boom, but strong coal economy.
• Indigenous Lenape and Susquehannock displaced during settlement.

The Fire

• Undergound mine fire likely started by burning trash in a coal pit in 1962 (45:32).
• Fire spread unchecked: gases, heat, and sinkholes surfaced; dangerous conditions forced evacuations (47:09).
• Dramatic sinkhole rescue of a 12-year-old boy in 1981 (47:45).

Abandonment

• Relocation efforts in 1980s-1990s; population today: 5 (as of 2020).
• Fire still burns, expected to continue for centuries.
• Remaining features: abandoned cemeteries, foundations, "Graffiti Highway" (now buried).

Notable Moment:
"The Centralia mine fire is still burning today, and it is one of more than 20 active mine fires in Pennsylvania. It's believed that if it is not somehow extinguished, it will continue burning underground for centuries." — Tracy (49:16)

Memorable Quotes & Anecdotes

• On Bodie’s "curse":
  "The park still gets letters from visitors who took things, sometimes packaged with their pilfered items, detailing all of the harm that befell them because of it." — Holly (08:40)
• On Centralia's subtle decline:
  "It wasn't, though, like going from not really existing to having 15,000 residents seemingly overnight." — Tracy (44:56)
• On the hazards of mine fires:
  "As this fire spread underground, parts of the town were blanketed with carbon monoxide...Sinkholes formed." — Tracy (47:09)
• On the resilience of ghost towns:
  "Jerome looks a lot different from Bodie or Pithole...it revived itself as an art colony." — Holly (41:13)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:37] Bodie, California
• [09:29] Old Cahawba, Alabama
• [20:25] Yosepa, Utah
• [27:14] Pithole City, Pennsylvania
• [36:19] Jerome, Arizona
• [42:58] Centralia, Pennsylvania

Tone and Style

The hosts blend approachable storytelling, curiosity, and thoughtful reflection. They take care to highlight Indigenous histories, avoid romanticizing "wild west" mythos, and balance local folklore with grounded historical context.

Additional Noteworthy Moments

• Indigenous Displacement: Every segment references Native communities displaced or affected by each town’s rise and fall.
• Resource Booms & Environmental Impact: Each town’s fate was tied directly to resource exploitation—gold, oil, copper, coal—and the ensuing environmental and societal collapse.
• Haunting Legends: Multiple towns (Bodie, Cahawba, Jerome, Centralia) are now as famous for their ghost stories as their history.

By the end, Tracy and Holly have traced a thematic arc of ambition, resilience, hubris, and the spectral presence of the past—leaving listeners with a nuanced understanding of American “ghost towns” and the layers of history and myth that linger in abandoned places.