Today, Jody Stewart privately owns Cerro Gordo. A number of buildings, from various periods in the town's history, remain standing. As funds permit, Jody is performing preservation and restoration work on the structures, including the landmark American Hotel, built in 1871. A town, ghosted or viable, is more than. A town is a place where people live, and die.
Cemeteries open a living gate to a town's past lives.
It's fascinating to view old headstones and read names, places of birth, occupations and ages of the occupants. Some of my favorite final resting places are in Bodie, Columbia, Darwin and Forest City. The final resting place of E. Miller, who died in 1883, in the cemetery at Forest City on the Western side of the Sierras. Roger W. Vargo Italian-born Giuseppa Andrea Fontana, who died in 1884, rests in the cemetery at Coperopolus in California's Mother Lode area. The Darwin Cemetery is the final resting place of Nancy Williams who died in 1877.