Thursday, August 23, 2012

adventures with s and d @auraria ghost town (fujica ax-5)

My friend D suggested we explore some ghost towns and sent me a list of several in the southeast. We decided to start with Auraria, Georgia, as it was reasonably close to Atlanta. In 1828, gold was discovered in north Georgia and several miners arrived on the scene. They founded Auraria, which was the first gold rush town in the state. Eventually, the gold ran out and the miners moved west, settling in what is now Denver. A few buildings are still standing in Auraria, Georgia.

On the appointed day, I picked up S and D, as well as M, who rode along for safety, and we drove north on Georgia 400 to Lumpkin County. Upon arriving in Auraria, we parked near Woody's Store, an old wooden building that was open for business into the 1980s.

We all piled out of the car and began taking pictures. S had battery issues with her digital gear, but had fortuitously packed a Nikon FE, so she photographed with that. I found a nicely weathered Coca-Cola sign on the side of Woody's. On the front porch of Woody's, I discovered a groovy old vending machine starting to decay.

Up the street from Woody's, we came upon the remains of the Graham Hotel. I had hoped to explore the interior, but as shown in this photograph of the collapsing Graham Hotel, the building was in an advanced state of decay and entering was out of the question. Across the street from the store and hotel are some unidentified ruins. This foundation and what might have been the roof are all that is left of the building.

Auraria also had an old graveyard. I was unhappy with most of the shots I took in the cemetery, but I did get this photo of a decaying monument. Sadly, no ghosts were encountered in either the town or the graveyard.

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