Brent Underwood bought Cerro Gordo, an abandoned silver-mining town near Lone Pine, California, for $1.4 million in 2018, using his “life savings” and a high-interest loan to purchase it.
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Underwood → buy → it
“I’ve always had a love of history and hospitality,” Underwood told The Post, recalling a childhood spent watching Gunsmoke with his grandfather.
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Underwood → have → grandfather
“There’s a romanticism to the West that’s pulled millions of people out here, and it had a hold on me early.”
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it → ’ → me
More recently, he explained to the Daily Mail what it has been like living in the desolate town and working to rebuild it.
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it → explain → it
“I’ve always been a bit of an introvert, so the solitude doesn’t bother me much,” he said of the village.
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he → bother → village
“I don’t have neighbors for dozens of miles in any direction, which means any way that I look there is an adventure to be had.
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I → have → direction
I love that.
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I → love → that
There isn’t the ambient noise that you have in cities but don’t really realize until you’ve left,” he added.
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he → be → cities
Underwood also explained why nighttime in the area is especially appealing to him.
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nighttime → explain → him
“The stars here are as bright as stars can be, because there is no light pollution to interfere.
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stars → be → ?
I feel much more in touch with nature and my thoughts since being here,” he told the Daily Mail.
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he → feel → Mail
“I never run out of things to do and even after six years, feel like I’m just scratching the surface.”
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I → run → surface
He recalled how he first found out about Cerro Gordo in 2018.
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he → recall → 2018
“I was sent the listing for Cerro Gordo from my friend.
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I → send → friend
He sent it in a text in the middle of the night, mostly as a joke,” Underwood explained.
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Underwood → send → joke
“[He sent] the listing with a [text that said], ‘Haha, this might be your next thing.’
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this → send → text
I woke up in the morning, researched everything I could about the town, and booked a flight out to see it.”
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I → wake → it
Underwood explained that photos of Cerro Gordo don’t do the town justice.
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photos → explain → justice
“You drive and drive and finally come around the last corner and the town reveals itself, a beautiful collection of buildings that looks like it’s frozen in time from the 1800s,” he said.
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he → drive → 1800s
In the 1880s, Cerro Gordo had a few thousand residents and more than a hundred buildings.
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Gordo → have → residents
However, most of those structures were eventually lost to fires and other weather-related hazards.
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most → lose → fires
“When I first bought the town there was about 20 buildings left, all in different states of repair,” he said.
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he → buy → repair
Underwood added that there were also about five cabins dating back to the 1800s, but they were taken down by strong winds.
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they → add → winds
He explained what remains in the town today.
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what → explain → town
“There is an old general store that I’ve turned into a museum.
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I → be → museum
There is an old brothel, a church, a movie theater, a bunkhouse and the ‘hoist house’ – which inside contains the main Union Mine – a mineshaft that goes 900 feet straight down,” he continued.
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he → be → Mine
Underwood admitted that before buying the abandoned town, he had no idea what it would really take to bring it back to life.
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it → admit → life
His goal is to open a hotel along with eight cabins that visitors can rent.
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visitors → open → that
He also wants to have a restaurant and bar.
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He → want → restaurant
“The plan has always been to preserve the history here and introduce some accommodation so people can stay overnight,” he explained.
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he → preserve → accommodation
“I want people to be able to experience the [nature] here.
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people → want → nature
It’s stunningly beautiful.”
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It → ’ → ?
Underwood explained that he has made progress, including stabilizing buildings that were falling apart, but he has also faced some serious challenges along the way.
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he → explain → way
One of those obstacles was an electrical fire that burned down a hotel that was nearly fully remodeled, forcing him to start over.
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that → burn → him
“I feel that since moving up here I’ve had to learn dozens of new skills out of necessity,” he told the Daily Mail.
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he → feel → Mail
“[Mostly, I’ve learned to] plan better.
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I → learn → ?
If you forget a part, the closest real hardware store is two hours away, you can’t just run down the road to get something.
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you → forget → something
So you have to plan a lot better up here.”
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you → have → ?
Underwood expects his dream hotel to be completed next year, but for now, the town is open to day visitors.
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town → expect → visitors
It’s open every day from 9-5; self-guided tours are free, and guided tours of the main mine building are available on the weekend for $20.
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tours → ’ → 20
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
