What's a Living Ghost Town like?

Adam and I rented a car and left Phoenix for a late-night drive to New Mexico. We passed through stretches of empty highway and entire towns devoid of lights before reaching Lordsburg, the first spread of buildings that seemed to number more than the single digits.

We found a town that was neither dead or alive.

It was 3 in the morning when we arrived and our criteria for the night was simple: find a motel that least resembled a scene from The Shining. Despite our best efforts, when we woke up the next day, it was hard to imagine a more perfect setting for a chainsaw massacre. Hollow buildings sat soullessly next to deserted gas stations. Store fronts had long been emptied of merchandise and once in a while, a swing on a faded playground would creak gently in the breeze as we walked by.

Lordsburg was founded in 1880 as a freight destination for the Southern Pacific Railroad and a rest stop for people traveling to and from the West. In fact, it was the biggest pitstop between Arizona and Texas in the 60’s, buzzing with motels, cafes, and service stations. 

As major interstate highways were built, railroads declined, and Americans no longer needed to pitstop between major cities, Lordsburg, like other towns that stood neither here nor there––were gradually abandoned.

One of the few businesses standing in Lordsburg––a rock shop.

As Adam and I wondered around town today, it felt as if the whole of Lordsburg had stood still in time, rusting away under the life-drenching sun. Neither of us had ever quite experienced a place like this: neither dead or alive. But this was exactly what we’dbeen looking for: stories on the road and from the points in between.

We finally happened upon a small diner, buzzing with 4-5 regulars.