I am so BLESSED ; thank you for bringing back my youth as a MINING / OIL FIELD DELIVERY , SEMI TRUCK // Off Road DRIVER … I was so Blessed to see the REAL WEST , 39 to 45 years after these photo’s were taken , reaching in with my eyes…. The terrain is correct and as a Photographer , using 4 x 5 Field and Press cameras , as well as my 35mm equipment I am able to : SCALE the images , and SEE where I was and the old towns , before Re grading and side walks , and paved streets. Ha ha … Montana , and Wyoming in some places had not changed much in the small towns like Down town RAWLINS , and OURAY , even RIFLE and MEEKER were still small. So many beautiful adventures in my 20’s as a Driver …in the WESTERN ROCKIE MOUNTAIN USA .. I will always treasure those fond memories, and the kind people and interesting character’s I had known. The 1980’s an Amazing time… to be Young and free to travel in my work.
I know that life was tough back then for a lot of folks but a life of honest hard work and little 'nonsense' to distract or waste time fretting over, a sense of peace and contentment is what I take from these times, in contrast to today when people don't have enough to thoroughly occupy their minds and body with the internet and information age usurping common sense and valuable time!
Yes, but perhaps there was a tradeoff. The pioneers wanted to escape the petty restrictions of "Civilization" back east, as much as to seek their fortune, believe me would never think it was a walk in the park for them.
I was born in Co. Springs, 1949, probably visited these places as a child, and still vaguely remember some the old towns. Wild, hauntingly beautiful country. I was inCripple Creek visiting relatives quite a few times, another old mining town! Saw lots of ‘fool’s gold’ specimens.
What a wonderful ride through time ,one can almost here and feel the life ebbing as the gold and silver played out and the people drifted away from their home towns searching ,and reeling from the pain of starting over. A vivid reminder of just how fleeting life is . Thanks again for the ride.
Thank you for taking the time and putting this together. I always enjoy the videos you post. I will sit here, pause the video and just study the images.
In the 50's I was a cowgirl , a real 5 year old cowgirl! I would go to Denver to spend time with my grandma and I wanted to go to Silverton and Georgetown with my cowboy boots, cowboy hat and my cap guns in their holsters! Now, I am 75 and I have some silly pictures. Thanks ☺😢 for the memories.
ROFL...live in them...it would change your perspective. I grew up in a house quite-similar to several shown here. Yes, solid wood, good nails...could withstand amazing windstorms...BUT...your 'insulation' was layered newspapers in the walls (if you HAD double-walls on your home...some, did not). Sun and wind 'shrink the boards'...so over time, you find a calm time between spring-and-summer, you take ALL THE OUTER BOARDING OFF...re-space it, and nail it back on! Outhouses-scorpions-and-rattlers are NOT to be under-rated, either! Few houses pre-WWII had plumbing, other than maybe a hand-pump at the sink, too. As for 'a house in that style'...you can have that today. The Amish and Mennonites will build a 'salt-box' house for you REALLY CHEAP, if you have a lot with standing timber, they'll bring and use their own, and you give them cut-rights to your trees...they have sawmills to process it...(just mark your good 'hardwoods', like walnut, cherry, etc...because they KNOW the value, and they'll take it first). Only big catch: You have to provide them accommodations on the grounds to camp and provide them all the food they will consume...their 'crew' can eat like a herd of horses, too! 100-lbs of dried beans, 50-lbs corn meal, etc. (they will bring a cook). Friend of mine did this in 1999, two story house reminiscent of 1940 architecture, with porch and stairs, cost him $19,400...with wood swap-out, no interior (he finished his own interior...and they will ask you, so they know whether to take a 'week break' while you run your electrical and plumbing...which they can, but prefer not to do).
Fascinating pics of the history of the USA. When I was 4 I spent a yr. living in CO, and remember it fondly. It's so sad to see what our country has become.
What’s so sad? Literally, everything is better these days; more representative voting, wealth spread much more evenly throughout the country and it’s a big country, better dental and medical care and getting better all the time, more responsible policing to name a few.
So great to see photos of Leadville, Colorado! My father-in Law was born there in 1921, and raised there as well. We have a few paintings of Leadville from his brother that hang on the walls of our log cabin here in the coastal redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains (Bonny Doon) ⛰👨🌾🌲✝️
Although all the photos were exceptional I was impressed with the picture of your Great Uncle Art Moss and friend complete with 6 shooters intact. Thanks so much for the additional photos.
Beautiful pictures. I'm old enough to have experienced some of what was shown. Nice memories. Music is lovely. Your channel is very relaxing. Thank you 😊
My people settled in Placerville, Colorado. My father's graduation class was about 80 people. His step-father was a miner. What a different life and different world from the one I grew up in! I was the first kid in my Northern Virginia neighborhood to have a home computer in 1981. Before disks, we have cassette tapes with games on them. Sounded like 1990s dial-up when I wanted to load a game to play. This is one of my favorite things on the internet.
I could sit for days listening to older people (I’m 58) talk about their lives growing up. Their memories and nostalgia about how things used to be. In a nutshell imo… today sucks.
Telephone (check), electricity (check), definitely televisions (check), and no internet. That was paradise, this isn't 1841, it clearly said 1941, Is that how unadvanced you thought the 20th century was?
This is a fabulous collection of pictures!!! I have lived out west my entire life (I am now 70 years old) and have been to just about all of these places. I am from Colorado and have travelled all over the state for years. The pictures of Silverton, Central City, Georgetown and Leadville are particularly interesting. I have lived in Nevada for 27 years and frequently spend time in the Ruby Mountains and Ruby Lakes. Fort Ruby was located on the southern and of Ruby Lake and there is a marker there but other than a few rocks left from the foundation you wouldn't know it ever existed. It was also a Pony Express Station and recently they are thinking of reconstructing part of the fort and station for historical value. Living in Colorado I frequented the state of Wyoming many, many times. All the small ranch and farm towns are pretty much long gone now. and the only way you know they were there is because of the dirt tracks you see crossing the prairie. I used to fish in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming in the early 1970's and scattered around were the remains of cabins and homesteads. There were still the remains of fences and an occasional pile of wood that was once a wagon. The funny thing is that the Colorado towns which are pictured in the video have all come back from being ghost towns and are now thriving tourist attractions full of people especially in the summer months. I have watched the western United States change over the years and I must say it has been for the better.
Thank you ever so much for the walk down memory lane. I've been to quite a few of those places as we camped a lot every summer, my mum and dad loved getting out to see the history.
Thank you. While I look at these photos, I also have Google maps running. On street view I have found some spots pretty close to where the photo was taken. Thanks again, please keep them coming.
Though much younger than the photos here (I'm in my 60's), I grew up in West Texas...and many of the things from my childhood were quite similar, in many respects. There were still general stores, horses tied-off in front of stores, board-and-batten houses, quite a few old 30's and 40's cars still being used (daily) in the streets, and 'tall-slim' cowhands around. Our general store was pretty-much a 'one-stop', where you could have 'Sears & Roebuck' orders delivered to (mail was general delivery to the post office then), and I won't ever forget the big candy jugs on the counter...a piece of hard-rock candy for $0.01, a twist-wrap of 'Double Bubble' chewing gum for $0.02...and many times, I'd be caught short to get the 'Double Bubble'...only to have the owner (who lived in his apartment-home on the 2nd floor of this giant store, so it seemed), 'spot me' the extra penny until my dad came in (I also learned the valuable lesson of 'borrowing without asking dad first', upon running up 'an account' of $0.22 that he wasn't aware of). Of course, where you saw me, you saw my dog 'Joe'...a Redbone Coon Hound (it was so hot in the summer, most of our dogs were 'built like him'...)...I had to 'leave him on the porch by the soda chest (an ice-bath Coca Cola cooler)...he couldn't come in, he'd always go to the candy bar isle and steal Mars bars...that I couldn't afford. In the back of the store, all the old men would sit back there in the winter, beside what was one of the largest 'pot belly stoves' I've ever seen in my life...I was told it came from Colorado...it was 5-feet tall, 3-feet in diameter, and once kindled from empty, took almost a quarter-cord of wood to 'fill up'...but it heated the whole place! The old men in the winter would sit back there for hours, smoking pipes, cigars, chewing-and-spitting in one of two giant brass spittoons. 'No snakes, no betting' sign hung over where they sat...which is quite humorous as to the origin of that sign, now that I look back on it. Times were simple, but hard back then...many young men in my time would get out of high school and head for the oil fields afterwards...and 'welfare' were for those that 'were touched', or that were very old or obviously disabled (paraplegic, etc.).
Sorry, my bad...that old stove took a 1/4 Rick of wood...not a 1/4 Cord (my god, that would be a LOT of wood! I think now that most refer to it as a Face Cord).
This was very interesting for me, not just because of the subjects but of knowing what made the photographs so great....I used a sheet film 4x5 press camera for years....This type of large format view camera has the capability of correcting for converging lines, making the walls of buildings true and parallel ....The photographer would be viewing these images upside down in his camera as well....Great care was taken even in the simplest of these images....And such depth and clarity is the hallmark of those 'antique' cameras......I am at peace, thank you...
Nice pictures! Sharpness and contrast in black and white let us see details of rural towns after the mining business ran dry. Quiet, lonely places many of which are still there today. My mother was raised in the ghost town of Pony, Montana, and some of the old homes and public buildings are still standing, just like the ones in this video.
My siblings and I went to a one room school house in Wyoming outside of Casper one year. One teacher for all. I was the only one in second grade, and I would often leave and run home without telling the teacher. We came from West Texas to Wyoming, city school to country. From dresses to jeans. and horses! The horses were the best part! Many years ago! In the early 1960's
the people who lived in this era were truly, America's greatest generation. They were simple, honest, hard working, Patriots. They loved their god, AND COUNTRY. They were willing to voluntarily defend them all with their lives. Sadly, unlike most people today.
Outstanding photographs of our history. They say photography is a dying art, I certainly hope not because every photo saved is a moment in history that is preserved for us to understand and cherish. Great video. Please share more.
I moved out to Colorado 50 years ago and I loved going to Central City. It was a beautiful town. Now it's like a mini Las Vegas just casinos everywhere. It's so sad.
Seeing those old cattle guards on the railroad tracks reminds me of my childhood in northeast Colorado. (I was born in w1940) They were used for more than railroad tracks around there.
@@billolsen4360 Sterling Colorado. Raised on a farm/ranch about 10 miles northeast of Sterling. Kind of between Sterling and Iliff. only on the south side of River. Left the farm in middle of Freshman year in high school. Moved to Sterling and graduated there class of '59.
@@billolsen4360 Can't say as I remember the name. I only attended school there one year in late forties. ( 2nd grade) Is hard to bring up memories that old any more. Some I do remember--Bert Calendar, Georgia Debus, Arnold Olson, but no Ertle.
Nice to see someone elses history and country, back in the olden days when you worked for every little thing just to survive, not like the modern world we have today.
That one of the sheep herder in Douglas co.Nev. looks to be south of Carson city or Minden area, the camera is looking west and I'd say it was taken in March/April judging by that rare white stuff on the mtns.
The pictures are very interesting to look at but I have to say, I enjoy the music very much, too. I’ve heard it a lot in other videos but I still like it.
Leadville still looks similar (some 80 years on). Central City still has the old houses & famous opera hall, but, nearby, Black Hawk's skyscraper-style casinos are overwhelming.
I think that's misleading, though. The average was dragged down by higher infant and child mortality. People who made it to adulthood lived longer than 48.
@@robertromero8692 *- 50% lived shorter lives than that.* *There were a lot of Diseases back then. Poor Oral Hygiene and Dental Care. The old days were Dirtier, and the list goes on.*
@@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8 I didn't say that adults lived as long as they do today. But you'd have to show me what the average was once once infant and child mortality is factored out.
@@robertromero8692 *- Let me give you another example.* *The Plumbing Trifecta is referred to as, a Shower, a Flushing Toilet, and Hot Running Water.* *In 1940 40% of Americans did not have this, and as late as 1960, 20% of Americans did not have the 'Plumbing Trifecta.'*
@@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8 So what? You're making a strawman argument, ie arguing about something I didn't even bring up. All I said was that it's misleading to talk about average lifespan without factoring in infant and child mortality.
Do you have pictures of western gun shops, I collect early black powder cartridge guns and would love to see early anything with the old 1860s-1900 firearms. Thanks, great work.
Reminds me of Calgary Alberta, Canada. No, I am not that old, but I am a history buff. I love these old buildings and we have Heritage Park in Calgary with the actual old bldgs from around Alberta. With the old train and everything from the early 1900's. It is worth visiting if you come up north.
We were traveling through the mountains of Colorado one cold night looking for a motel, - any motel. We had been driving seemingly forever trying to find a vacancy - ANYWHERE. Nobody had one - EVERYWHERE we looked. Then, it was very late, and we were so tired we thought that we were going to be sleeping three people to a two-door Pontiac Le Mans. We came over a rise through our mountain search and came down into this real small, - real old, now hippie town - it was SILVERTON COLORADO ! We did actually find a 'motel' or whatever it was. It looked like a super old boarding house actually. 10 dollars for the night. I was scared. Everybody looked like Charles Manson's extended family. I couldn't tell you what Silverton looks like today though, cause that was 50- 60 years ago. Beginning with the revolutionary 1960's certain places in the country became like 'Meccas' for the hippie crowd; Colorado was a popular destination - and SILVERTON must have been the county seat ! ! I remember leaving the 'motel' that night, walking the streets, looking for someplace to eat. I didn't want to leave our room, - I was pretty scared, but I was really hungry. Yeah we found one, - I'll bet that was the fastest I ever ate anything in my whole life ! I was scared of those natives on the streets that night. Dudes be lumbering along, staring down like they just couldn't recall a long-lost dream they'd had when they were knee-high to a caterpillar. Beard, stash, and hair reaching for the sidewalk as they walked along. This wasn't all that long after that blue-ribbon maniac Charles Manson cut up those poor folks like they-all were just so many more potatos and carrots. So ANYBODY that 'looked' like Charlie kinda scared shitless this 12 year old. I wish I would have known Silverton then - what I know now. The COOLEST little town, super old. That old 5 story house we stayed in looked like 3 people to each room and opened in 1870 ! 10 bucks a night ! - and I don't remember the rooms filled with vermin or the house filled with serial killers selling drugs for extra money. I actually slept well and had a good night. I wonder what 60 years has done to my little old west fantasy village. LONG comment, - I only wish that my memories were just as long, still, - they're good ones 👍
Interesting story of your stay in Silverton. I'm 63, and my parents loved to head for the rockies, to escape the West Texas heat. In the late sixties, the southwest hadn't gone through so many droughts, so there was plenty of melting snow and running rivers and waterfalls in the months of May-June. Lot's of wildlife too. As a teenager I loved too see all these sights, including the abandoned mines that seemed to be everywhere. Texas has some wild west history, but Colorado has some real facinating stories, especially in all those old mining towns, which were everywhere. Our favorite drive, was from Durango to Silverton, then to Ouray, where we would often spend the night. Silverton still looks alot like an old town from the 1800's, just has a new coat of paint. My brother and I, spent the night on the outskirts of town, next to the river around 1981. We nearly froze to death in the back of a Toyota pickup, with a camper on it. So it was cheap hotels after that. Ouray is my favorite Colorado town, one of the most scenic small towns in America. After leaving there, we stopped in Ridgeway, where John Wayne starred in the 1969 movie-True Grit, which is my favorite western. Telluride, which is on the other side of the mountain from Ouray seemed to be a ghost town in the early seventies, it ain't that now. Anyway your little old west fantasy village...Silverton...is still there, you can still take an old steam locomotive there from Durango, I believe.
Leadville, is shown a couple of times! A decade or so back a guy bought a old cabin their, he he found cans from 1880s under the cabin, it turned out to be worth 4-5 times what he paid for the cabin est. $30,000. (They only survived, because they fell on saw dust!)
Them days people grew up never seeing paved roads. I would have died in childhood because I would have died on about two separate occasions without antibiotics.Them days people grew up never seeing paved roads. I would have died in childhood because I would have died on about two separate occasions without antibiotics.
I’ve thought of that too-I would have died as a child back then as their were no antibiotics. Hard times for people, and I won’t lie, glad I wasn’t there.
@@LynneC44 you would have survived if you were born in 1900 and actually lived in a decent area outside of the middle of nowhere. And yes there were paved roads you nutcases.
Me personally I wouldn't mind going back 🔙 in time ,,,look what we have now ??? Nothing good , crime, homeless, high cost of living,,, nothing to miss here ,,,
Looking at these old photos just shows how important the mining industry was. So many of the towns were built for the miners ... how many towns would be around if there was no mining, and how different would it be?
I like the ones from the latter decades of the 19 the century the most!! But they're all wonderful!!!! A lot of people have this notion that life back then was really hard, in actual reality wasn't as difficult as you may think.......
Today's times, IMO, doesn't suck any more than it did back then -- just different difficulties. I love going online to read old newspapers and have learned it wasn't THAT much different. Many modern things are awesome, could not live without since I've experienced them. I love the old style of many things and, as people do, romancing the times past but they were working, raising kids, trying to survive as we do today only we have frozen foods, microwaves, better coffee, better access to huge information that we all have to remember to use due diligence and common sense to get the truthfulness. I like that we can question more. Wish people engaged their brains more, though than believing weird conspiracies and hyped untruths. Shrug. It happen back then too, though.
I was struck by the 100 years behind look of places on the eve of World War 2, knowing what the face of cities, major and minor, looked like in comparison.
In most of these old photos the horses look sickly, undernourished and about to keel over and die. That’s one of the things I find very depressing about these old photos…..how badly people took care of their work animals in those days.
I disagree. It's well known that people (especially ones that used horses for their livelihood) treated their horses better than they treated other people. Livestock was an important part of survival and could mean a matter of life or death. I only saw a few examples of pics with horses and they all looked physically fit to me.
I am so BLESSED ; thank you for bringing back my youth as a MINING / OIL FIELD DELIVERY , SEMI TRUCK // Off Road DRIVER … I was so Blessed to see the REAL WEST , 39 to 45 years after these photo’s were taken , reaching in with my eyes…. The terrain is correct and as a Photographer , using 4 x 5 Field and Press cameras , as well as my 35mm equipment I am able to : SCALE the images , and SEE where I was and the old towns , before Re grading and side walks , and paved streets. Ha ha … Montana , and Wyoming in some places had not changed much in the small towns like Down town RAWLINS , and OURAY , even RIFLE and MEEKER were still small. So many beautiful adventures in my 20’s as a Driver …in the WESTERN ROCKIE MOUNTAIN USA ..
I will always treasure those fond memories, and the kind people and interesting character’s I had known. The 1980’s an Amazing time… to be Young and free to travel in my work.
Once more, a wonderful array of photos depicting the reality of how people lived. Thank you.
The music from these videos has become as important as the photos for me. Love it.
I know that life was tough back then for a lot of folks but a life of honest hard work and little 'nonsense' to distract or waste time fretting over, a sense of peace and contentment is what I take from these times, in contrast to today when people don't have enough to thoroughly occupy their minds and body with the internet and information age usurping common sense and valuable time!
Yes, but perhaps there was a tradeoff. The pioneers wanted to escape the petty restrictions of "Civilization" back east, as much as to seek their fortune, believe me would never think it was a walk in the park for them.
And we find you here on UA-cam
What modern you assumes is ‘peace and contentment’. You couldn’t be more wrong….gad
In the comments of every life in the past video there's always someone claiming it was a better time than the present cause the internet. Smh
"...in contrast to today when people don't have enough to thoroughly occupy their minds and body..." So this is where we find YOU?
I grew up in Colorado, so I appreciated the pictures of towns there. I've been to almost all of them.
I was born in Co. Springs, 1949, probably visited these places as a child, and still vaguely remember some the old towns. Wild, hauntingly beautiful country. I was inCripple Creek visiting relatives quite a few times, another old mining town! Saw lots of ‘fool’s gold’ specimens.
Perfect music for these awesome pix!! Excellent job putting this together, a true winner!
What a wonderful ride through time ,one can almost here and feel the life ebbing as the gold and silver played out and the people drifted away from their home towns searching ,and reeling from the pain of starting over. A vivid reminder of just how fleeting life is . Thanks again for the ride.
Nice shots. Real nice.
OUTSTANDING music !
Old pictures from anywhere are fun to see. Thanks for taking the time to put this together!
Those last few really were too good to leave out.
Man I enjoy this great job thank you for sharing
Thanks I always enjoy this type of photo history. Thanks
Ps I grew up in c springs and still miss the towns of the mountains
Wonderful set of shots....I can't believe how sharp they are!
Thank you for taking the time and putting this together. I always enjoy the videos you post. I will sit here, pause the video and just study the images.
I like how you gave us enough time to read the caption AND study the picture. Very nice.
Thank you for sharing these. I live in Colorado and was interesting to see what was still here
THE PHOTOS ARE EXCELLENT SOO CLEAR BEST I HAVE SEEN
I could watch these forever.
In the 50's I was a cowgirl , a real 5 year old cowgirl! I would go to Denver to spend time with my grandma and I wanted to go to Silverton and Georgetown with my cowboy boots, cowboy hat and my cap guns in their holsters! Now, I am 75 and I have some silly pictures. Thanks ☺😢 for the memories.
Beautiful old photos and some of those old houses are to die for in style and detailed finish
ROFL...live in them...it would change your perspective. I grew up in a house quite-similar to several shown here. Yes, solid wood, good nails...could withstand amazing windstorms...BUT...your 'insulation' was layered newspapers in the walls (if you HAD double-walls on your home...some, did not). Sun and wind 'shrink the boards'...so over time, you find a calm time between spring-and-summer, you take ALL THE OUTER BOARDING OFF...re-space it, and nail it back on! Outhouses-scorpions-and-rattlers are NOT to be under-rated, either! Few houses pre-WWII had plumbing, other than maybe a hand-pump at the sink, too.
As for 'a house in that style'...you can have that today. The Amish and Mennonites will build a 'salt-box' house for you REALLY CHEAP, if you have a lot with standing timber, they'll bring and use their own, and you give them cut-rights to your trees...they have sawmills to process it...(just mark your good 'hardwoods', like walnut, cherry, etc...because they KNOW the value, and they'll take it first).
Only big catch: You have to provide them accommodations on the grounds to camp and provide them all the food they will consume...their 'crew' can eat like a herd of horses, too! 100-lbs of dried beans, 50-lbs corn meal, etc. (they will bring a cook). Friend of mine did this in 1999, two story house reminiscent of 1940 architecture, with porch and stairs, cost him $19,400...with wood swap-out, no interior (he finished his own interior...and they will ask you, so they know whether to take a 'week break' while you run your electrical and plumbing...which they can, but prefer not to do).
@@skeetersaurus6249 That was a terrible point in almost everything you said. We are talking about craftman manors from the 1870s to 1900s.
It's so sad to see that beautiful scroll-work rotting away due to neglect. To replace it would cost an arm and a leg today.
Fascinating pics of the history of the USA. When I was 4 I spent a yr. living in CO, and remember it fondly. It's so sad to see what our country has become.
What’s so sad? Literally, everything is better these days; more representative voting, wealth spread much more evenly throughout the country and it’s a big country, better dental and medical care and getting better all the time, more responsible policing to name a few.
So great to see photos of Leadville, Colorado! My father-in Law was born there in 1921, and raised there as well. We have a few paintings of Leadville from his brother that hang on the walls of our log cabin here in the coastal redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains (Bonny Doon) ⛰👨🌾🌲✝️
Although all the photos were exceptional I was impressed with the picture of your Great Uncle Art Moss and friend complete with 6 shooters intact. Thanks so much for the additional photos.
I love this channel, thank you 😊
Thank you for the wonderful pictures. ❤️
Awesome pictures of Colorado where I had the pleasure of visiting. Nice job. Thanks
These are fantastic.
Thank you
Beautiful pictures. I'm old enough to have experienced some of what was shown. Nice memories. Music is lovely. Your channel is very relaxing. Thank you 😊
Perfect the way it is. Music is good with the photos. Totally enjoyed it. Amazing how much our world has changed. Peace!
Enjoyed the Colorado pictures. I was raised in Durango Colorado and spent a lot of time in Silverton... Very Special!
Great photos, makes me feel like I’m there.
Unbelievably artistic photos on display. You just want to be transported back into a better world!!!
You used all four of my favorite songs for this one! 😉👍. Great job, really enjoyed it! 🥰
My father's side of the family is from Colorado, so this is awesome.
Very interesting. Thanks especially for the last few from the late 1800s.
For those who think of "better and simpler times". Yeah, sure. Thanks for these great photos!!!!
My people settled in Placerville, Colorado. My father's graduation class was about 80 people. His step-father was a miner. What a different life and different world from the one I grew up in! I was the first kid in my Northern Virginia neighborhood to have a home computer in 1981. Before disks, we have cassette tapes with games on them. Sounded like 1990s dial-up when I wanted to load a game to play. This is one of my favorite things on the internet.
I could sit for days listening to older people (I’m 58) talk about their lives growing up. Their memories and nostalgia about how things used to be. In a nutshell imo… today sucks.
No telephone, no electricity, no television, no internet - it was paradise.
@@meangene98 Good grief.
Telephone (check), electricity (check), definitely televisions (check), and no internet. That was paradise, this isn't 1841, it clearly said 1941, Is that how unadvanced you thought the 20th century was?
Says someone posting a comment using modern tech.
and death by desease at 25
This is a fabulous collection of pictures!!! I have lived out west my entire life (I am now 70 years old) and have been to just about all of these places. I am from Colorado and have travelled all over the state for years. The pictures of Silverton, Central City, Georgetown and Leadville are particularly interesting. I have lived in Nevada for 27 years and frequently spend time in the Ruby Mountains and Ruby Lakes. Fort Ruby was located on the southern and of Ruby Lake and there is a marker there but other than a few rocks left from the foundation you wouldn't know it ever existed. It was also a Pony Express Station and recently they are thinking of reconstructing part of the fort and station for historical value. Living in Colorado I frequented the state of Wyoming many, many times. All the small ranch and farm towns are pretty much long gone now. and the only way you know they were there is because of the dirt tracks you see crossing the prairie. I used to fish in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming in the early 1970's and scattered around were the remains of cabins and homesteads. There were still the remains of fences and an occasional pile of wood that was once a wagon. The funny thing is that the Colorado towns which are pictured in the video have all come back from being ghost towns and are now thriving tourist attractions full of people especially in the summer months. I have watched the western United States change over the years and I must say it has been for the better.
Thank you ever so much for the walk down memory lane. I've been to quite a few of those places as we camped a lot every summer, my mum and dad loved getting out to see the history.
Thank you.
While I look at these photos, I also have Google maps running. On street view I have found some spots pretty close to where the photo was taken.
Thanks again, please keep them coming.
Though much younger than the photos here (I'm in my 60's), I grew up in West Texas...and many of the things from my childhood were quite similar, in many respects. There were still general stores, horses tied-off in front of stores, board-and-batten houses, quite a few old 30's and 40's cars still being used (daily) in the streets, and 'tall-slim' cowhands around. Our general store was pretty-much a 'one-stop', where you could have 'Sears & Roebuck' orders delivered to (mail was general delivery to the post office then), and I won't ever forget the big candy jugs on the counter...a piece of hard-rock candy for $0.01, a twist-wrap of 'Double Bubble' chewing gum for $0.02...and many times, I'd be caught short to get the 'Double Bubble'...only to have the owner (who lived in his apartment-home on the 2nd floor of this giant store, so it seemed), 'spot me' the extra penny until my dad came in (I also learned the valuable lesson of 'borrowing without asking dad first', upon running up 'an account' of $0.22 that he wasn't aware of). Of course, where you saw me, you saw my dog 'Joe'...a Redbone Coon Hound (it was so hot in the summer, most of our dogs were 'built like him'...)...I had to 'leave him on the porch by the soda chest (an ice-bath Coca Cola cooler)...he couldn't come in, he'd always go to the candy bar isle and steal Mars bars...that I couldn't afford. In the back of the store, all the old men would sit back there in the winter, beside what was one of the largest 'pot belly stoves' I've ever seen in my life...I was told it came from Colorado...it was 5-feet tall, 3-feet in diameter, and once kindled from empty, took almost a quarter-cord of wood to 'fill up'...but it heated the whole place! The old men in the winter would sit back there for hours, smoking pipes, cigars, chewing-and-spitting in one of two giant brass spittoons. 'No snakes, no betting' sign hung over where they sat...which is quite humorous as to the origin of that sign, now that I look back on it. Times were simple, but hard back then...many young men in my time would get out of high school and head for the oil fields afterwards...and 'welfare' were for those that 'were touched', or that were very old or obviously disabled (paraplegic, etc.).
Sorry, my bad...that old stove took a 1/4 Rick of wood...not a 1/4 Cord (my god, that would be a LOT of wood! I think now that most refer to it as a Face Cord).
Beautiful Nostalgia...
Thanks for sharing!
I could sit for days, listening to older folks (I’m 58) talk about the “ good ole days “ and their memories/ nostalgia of growing up. Today sucks!
Times were better then my friend. The new democrat party is wrecking this nation
Enjoyed these pics. Thanks for sharing
This was very interesting for me, not just because of the subjects but of knowing what made the photographs so great....I used a sheet film 4x5 press camera for years....This type of large format view camera has the capability of correcting for converging lines, making the walls of buildings true and parallel ....The photographer would be viewing these images upside down in his camera as well....Great care was taken even in the simplest of these images....And such depth and clarity is the hallmark of those 'antique' cameras......I am at peace, thank you...
Reminded me of an epic trip to Bodie, CA years ago. Thank you!
Nice pictures! Sharpness and contrast in black and white let us see details of rural towns after the mining business ran dry. Quiet, lonely places many of which are still there today. My mother was raised in the ghost town of Pony, Montana, and some of the old homes and public buildings are still standing, just like the ones in this video.
A most enjoyable collection of photographs.
My siblings and I went to a one room school house in Wyoming outside of Casper one year. One teacher for all. I was the only one in second grade, and I would often leave and run home without telling the teacher. We came from West Texas to Wyoming, city school to country. From dresses to jeans. and horses! The horses were the best part! Many years ago! In the early 1960's
That was fantastic, thank you for putting that together.
Fantastic. Thank You
Wonderful old photos, thank you!
thank you... that was _wonderful_
(from Bolivia)
thank you for the wonderful education via photos
Glad you liked them!
Superb photos! Thanks.
the people who lived in this era were truly, America's greatest generation.
They were simple, honest, hard working, Patriots. They loved their god, AND COUNTRY. They were willing to voluntarily defend them all with their lives.
Sadly, unlike most people today.
Love these videos! Keep em' coming!
Very, very, very nice pictures. Museum class.
Outstanding photographs of our history. They say photography is a dying art, I certainly hope not because every photo saved is a moment in history that is preserved for us to understand and cherish. Great video. Please share more.
I moved out to Colorado 50 years ago and I loved going to Central City. It was a beautiful town. Now it's like a mini Las Vegas just casinos everywhere. It's so sad.
So interesting! Thanks a lot.
Seeing those old cattle guards on the railroad tracks reminds me of my childhood in northeast Colorado. (I was born in w1940) They were used for more than railroad tracks around there.
I grew up in Ft Morgan. How about you?
@@billolsen4360 Sterling Colorado. Raised on a farm/ranch about 10 miles northeast of Sterling. Kind of between Sterling and Iliff. only on the south side of River. Left the farm in middle of Freshman year in high school. Moved to Sterling and graduated there class of '59.
@@rolandemartin854 Did you know the Ertle family in Iliff? Long time family friends.
@@billolsen4360 Can't say as I remember the name. I only attended school there one year in late forties. ( 2nd grade) Is hard to bring up memories that old any more. Some I do remember--Bert Calendar, Georgia Debus, Arnold Olson, but no Ertle.
Nice to see someone elses history and country, back in the olden days when you worked for every little thing just to survive, not like the modern world we have today.
I really enjoyed these!
These are wonderful images!
Great stuff. Real American.
I remember seeing lots of those old abandoned houses from northeast Colorado to south central Nebraska. Also many abandoned barns as well.
Thank you❗️🥰
That one of the sheep herder in Douglas co.Nev. looks to be south of Carson city or Minden area, the camera is looking west and I'd say it was taken in March/April judging by that rare white stuff on the mtns.
The pictures are very interesting to look at but I have to say, I enjoy the music very much, too. I’ve heard it a lot in other videos but I still like it.
Georgetown CO is all built up now, like a fake fancy suburb of Denver. Some of those old buildings were used for a movie in the 1970’s.
Leadville still looks similar (some 80 years on). Central City still has the old houses & famous opera hall, but, nearby, Black Hawk's skyscraper-style casinos are overwhelming.
As usual… They had to ruin the town’s history “for profit “ 🤬
*The average Life Span for a man at the turn of the 20th century was 48*
*With the average Life so Brief, the good old days weren't so good.*
I think that's misleading, though. The average was dragged down by higher infant and child mortality. People who made it to adulthood lived longer than 48.
@@robertromero8692 *- 50% lived shorter lives than that.*
*There were a lot of Diseases back then. Poor Oral Hygiene and Dental Care. The old days were Dirtier, and the list goes on.*
@@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8 I didn't say that adults lived as long as they do today. But you'd have to show me what the average was once once infant and child mortality is factored out.
@@robertromero8692 *- Let me give you another example.*
*The Plumbing Trifecta is referred to as, a Shower, a Flushing Toilet, and Hot Running Water.*
*In 1940 40% of Americans did not have this, and as late as 1960, 20% of Americans did not have the 'Plumbing Trifecta.'*
@@Ford_Raptor_R_720hp_V8 So what? You're making a strawman argument, ie arguing about something I didn't even bring up. All I said was that it's misleading to talk about average lifespan without factoring in infant and child mortality.
I live in the wrong part of time!! I'm an ol soul in this modern era!!
Do you have pictures of western gun shops, I collect early black powder cartridge guns and would love to see early anything with the old 1860s-1900 firearms. Thanks, great work.
Reminds me of Calgary Alberta, Canada. No, I am not that old, but I am a history buff. I love these old buildings and we have Heritage Park in Calgary with the actual old bldgs from around Alberta. With the old train and everything from the early 1900's. It is worth visiting if you come up north.
We were traveling through the mountains of Colorado
one cold night looking for
a motel, - any motel. We
had been driving seemingly forever trying to find a vacancy - ANYWHERE. Nobody had one - EVERYWHERE we looked.
Then, it was very late, and we were so tired we thought that we were going to be sleeping three people to a two-door Pontiac Le Mans.
We came over a rise through our mountain search and came down into this real small, - real old, now hippie town - it was SILVERTON COLORADO !
We did actually find a 'motel' or whatever it was.
It looked like a super old boarding house actually.
10 dollars for the night.
I was scared. Everybody looked like Charles Manson's extended family.
I couldn't tell you what Silverton looks like today though, cause that was 50-
60 years ago.
Beginning with the revolutionary 1960's certain places in the country became like 'Meccas' for the hippie crowd; Colorado was a popular destination - and SILVERTON must have been the county seat ! !
I remember leaving the 'motel' that night, walking the streets, looking for someplace to eat. I didn't want to leave our room, - I was pretty scared, but I was really hungry.
Yeah we found one, - I'll bet that was the fastest I ever ate anything in my whole life !
I was scared of those natives on the streets that night. Dudes be lumbering along, staring down like they just couldn't recall a long-lost dream they'd had when they were knee-high to a caterpillar. Beard, stash, and hair reaching for the sidewalk as they walked along. This wasn't all that long after that blue-ribbon maniac Charles Manson cut up those poor folks like they-all were just so many more potatos and carrots.
So ANYBODY that 'looked' like Charlie kinda scared shitless this 12 year old.
I wish I would have known Silverton then - what I know now. The COOLEST little town, super old. That old 5 story house we stayed in looked like 3 people to each room and opened in 1870 !
10 bucks a night ! - and I don't remember the rooms filled with vermin or the house filled with serial killers selling drugs for extra money.
I actually slept well and had a good night.
I wonder what 60 years has done to my little old west fantasy village.
LONG comment, - I only wish that my memories were just as long, still, -
they're good ones 👍
Really enjoyed your memory thanks for sharing my friend.👍
Interesting story of your stay in Silverton. I'm 63, and my parents loved to head for the rockies, to escape the West Texas heat. In the late sixties, the southwest hadn't gone through so many droughts, so there was plenty of melting snow and running rivers and waterfalls in the months of May-June. Lot's of wildlife too. As a teenager I loved too see all these sights, including the abandoned mines that seemed to be everywhere. Texas has some wild west history, but Colorado has some real facinating stories, especially in all those old mining towns, which were everywhere. Our favorite drive, was from Durango to Silverton, then to Ouray, where we would often spend the night. Silverton still looks alot like an old town from the 1800's, just has a new coat of paint. My brother and I, spent the night on the outskirts of town, next to the river around 1981. We nearly froze to death in the back of a Toyota pickup, with a camper on it. So it was cheap hotels after that. Ouray is my favorite Colorado town, one of the most scenic small towns in America. After leaving there, we stopped in Ridgeway, where John Wayne starred in the 1969 movie-True Grit, which is my favorite western. Telluride, which is on the other side of the mountain from Ouray seemed to be a ghost town in the early seventies, it ain't that now. Anyway your little old west fantasy village...Silverton...is still there, you can still take an old steam locomotive there from Durango, I believe.
Must have been tough back then, but at least they really lived lives. I think it was better then than now.
Leadville, is shown a couple of times! A decade or so back a guy bought a old cabin their, he he found cans from 1880s under the cabin, it turned out to be worth 4-5 times what he paid for the cabin est. $30,000. (They only survived, because they fell on saw dust!)
Them days people grew up never seeing paved roads. I would have died in childhood because I would have died on about two separate occasions without antibiotics.Them days people grew up never seeing paved roads. I would have died in childhood because I would have died on about two separate occasions without antibiotics.
I’ve thought of that too-I would have died as a child back then as their were no antibiotics. Hard times for people, and I won’t lie, glad I wasn’t there.
@@LynneC44 you would have survived if you were born in 1900 and actually lived in a decent area outside of the middle of nowhere. And yes there were paved roads you nutcases.
Those days.
Me personally I wouldn't mind going back 🔙 in time ,,,look what we have now ??? Nothing good , crime, homeless, high cost of living,,, nothing to miss here ,,,
This is as close to time travel as we can currently get.
History caught on film.
6:10 Georgetown is not a ghost town now.
I've been to Virginia City Nevada. Cool town, no one stays there at night unless you want a paranormal experience!
Looking at these old photos just shows how important the mining industry was. So many of the towns were built for the miners ... how many towns would be around if there was no mining, and how different would it be?
I like the ones from the latter decades of the 19 the century the most!! But they're all wonderful!!!! A lot of people have this notion that life back then was really hard, in actual reality wasn't as difficult as you may think.......
Life may have been hard work but it was better than today with all the perverse things that’s prevalent now
"Perverse" however you define it probably just wasn't as visible back then. I think there's even less bestiality nowadays. 😂
Yah... like yer name.
Today's times, IMO, doesn't suck any more than it did back then -- just different difficulties. I love going online to read old newspapers and have learned it wasn't THAT much different. Many modern things are awesome, could not live without since I've experienced them. I love the old style of many things and, as people do, romancing the times past but they were working, raising kids, trying to survive as we do today only we have frozen foods, microwaves, better coffee, better access to huge information that we all have to remember to use due diligence and common sense to get the truthfulness. I like that we can question more. Wish people engaged their brains more, though than believing weird conspiracies and hyped untruths. Shrug. It happen back then too, though.
I really liked the old signage
I was struck by the 100 years behind look of places on the eve of World War 2, knowing what the face of cities, major and minor, looked like in comparison.
I used to live in Elko, Nevada 1969-74
One car tells me some of these pics are the ‘30s.
Title says mid 1900's. So even 1950 would be included. Give or take even.
What is the name of the songs used in the video? I like them a lot
*They're in the Description*
Certainly didn't need to worry about a Wi-Fi connection back then
In most of these old photos the horses look sickly, undernourished and about to keel over and die. That’s one of the things I find very depressing about these old photos…..how badly people took care of their work animals in those days.
I disagree. It's well known that people (especially ones that used horses for their livelihood) treated their horses better than they treated other people. Livestock was an important part of survival and could mean a matter of life or death.
I only saw a few examples of pics with horses and they all looked physically fit to me.
Everything was so exspensive back then 5 cents for a loaf of bread , 5 cents for a beer and 15 cents for a gallon of gasoline
Fascinating history and bit sad
These photos remind me of the TV show, Northern Exposure