A GHOST STORY
Silver was found in Dry Canyon in 1865 and by 1876, the town of Jacob City had around 300 people. During the peak years a school, hotel, homes, saloons, and miner’s cabins were all built in the city. The mines were played out by 1885.
The ghost town rises high above the valley floor through a rugged canyon with steep ridges and only a small flat area in the middle. Mines dot the hillsides and are accessed by narrow roads
It was late fall when we arrived on a Sunday afternoon. The air was crisp and chilly. We got to a small place littered with old mine activity and got out to explore. I went up high. Our little dog was out exploring by the Jeep and Mom, and my brother and sister were inside the Jeep keeping warm. Dad was off somewhere. From my vantage point I could see the Jeep and the road below.
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. Lonely remnants of cabins dot the hills as well, some you can only walk to. Some of the mine shafts were still open. It’s quiet and lonely up there. That is how it was in the late 60s when we first encountered it. It was an eerie place. We found it in a mining book and had to take our Jeep CJ5 to check it out.
The road climbed the mountainside instead of the canyon, so it was much better and went straight to the main town where an old hotel still stood. Most of the other buildings would have been here since it was the only place that was flat. From there, narrow roads went different directions and we headed for some cabins we could see on a steep ridge. There was only enough room for us on the road. At that time there were lots of artifacts strewn around so you would get out and walk to see what you could find. It became a favorite place to go on the weekend with a picnic with the family in our little Jeep.
Suddenly a strange wind came up. The day turned dark, and light snow came down. I was watching the dog on the road below and it stopped dead still looking at the Jeep. The wind seemed to hit and rock the vehicle for a second and suddenly everyone poured out of it and ran and then huddled together. And then as suddenly as it came, the wind was gone, and the sun reappeared. I hurried down to see what was going on. None of them were going back to the Jeep. This all happened in a matter of minutes as I watched.
This is their story: The kids were in the back seat playing and Mom was reading. They heard the wind and then all of a sudden something brushed against the side, and they felt the Jeep rock and the kids heard a CHILD'S voice that said “mother” and mom heard the voice call “mommy!”. They all had a feeling of fear as though they were lost in a snowstorm and at that point, they all abandoned the vehicle. They were spooked. |
I didn’t hear or feel anything from where I was, but they say dogs can sense things and the dog certainly saw or felt something down on the road. It is easy to imagine a bad snowstorm up there and anyone out in it would be in danger. Was it a rescue or a tragedy? It may have been an echo of that hard life there.
During our trips we collected many artifacts from the 1870s and we did find a few bottles. My dad scratched up a Millers Extra Old Bourbon by an old stone foundation just under the leaves. A Batchelor’s Liquid Hair Day was stuck behind a bush on a steep hill and an old black glass beer. And…I do believe in ghosts!