Photo: Corbis Documentary RF
A "mysterious" buyer recently purchased a California ghost town in its entirety. According to SF Gate, Eagle Mountain, located just an hour-and-a-half from Palm Springs in the middle of the desert, was purchased for a cool $22.5 million on April 17th, 2023. The town's once booming steel business came to an end in 1983 and community members were forced to leave. SF Gate mentioned that the small desert town used to be home to nearly 4,000 people, most of which came to the area as miners in the late 40's.
When iron ore production levels diminished, the population decreased. While most townspeople left in 1983, Eagle Mountain certainly did not die. It became home to prison inmates for over a decade from 1988 to 2003. Tourists still frequent the town, and it has been used by Hollywood producers as a movie backdrop in recent years.
Despite losing almost all of its population, Eagle Mountain still houses a couple of foremen who have noticed changes taking place throughout the town since its purchase. "Big red trucks" have been seen driving down the dirt roads as many hang onto the hope that business might return to the area in the near future.