I would say the classic example is the American Ghost Town. Typically townships that sprang up during the Frontier Era to serve some transitory economic function (mining colony, overland shipping stop, cattle depot) that were rendered obsolete with the railroads and subsequently abandoned.
Named by German prospectors who came looking for gold, Berlin was a company mining town. Established in the 1880s, the town was largely abandoned by the 1910s after the mine closed in response to strike action. The well-preserved structures are now part of Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, known for fossil discoveries of a prehistoric marine mammal.
Kennicott was established as a mining town in 1903 to take advantage of the area’s copper deposits (the emergence of electric power having increased copper’s value considerably). The mines were depleted by 1938 and the town largely abandoned. Since the 1970s, the town has become an increasingly popular tourist destination.
More of a ghost fortress than a ghost town, Fort Jefferson’s construction began in 1846 as part of Florida’s defenses against piracy. It also served as a prison during the Civil War, then became a quarantine station and a navy refuelling point before it was abandoned in 1906 due to hurricane damage. Fort Jefferson has been a National Monument since 1935 and is open to tourists. It continues to be the largest brick structure in the U.S.
Incidentally, a lot of the “town was abandoned in…” correspond with the Great Depression, when interstate commerce had all but collapsed due to failures of major financial, communication, and transport companies of the era.
Ok I think I get it now, it is basically the flaw behind resource allocation through capitalism. The cost of supplying these mining towns does not match their ability to pay for those supplies after the mine goes bust. Do I have that right?
There’s a virtuous cycle of commerce that can emerge out of a professional services or manufacturing sector if people are willing to invest in it. But if you see the economy as extractive, you stop putting money in as soon as you assume there’s no more wealth to pull out.
Its an interesting way to frame the problem compared to how it might be typically framed as “not enough jobs” or “wages aren’t high enough” or the new favorite among Canadian politicians of a “productivity crisis”
I would say the classic example is the American Ghost Town. Typically townships that sprang up during the Frontier Era to serve some transitory economic function (mining colony, overland shipping stop, cattle depot) that were rendered obsolete with the railroads and subsequently abandoned.
https://www.geotab.com/ghost-towns/
Incidentally, a lot of the “town was abandoned in…” correspond with the Great Depression, when interstate commerce had all but collapsed due to failures of major financial, communication, and transport companies of the era.
Ok I think I get it now, it is basically the flaw behind resource allocation through capitalism. The cost of supplying these mining towns does not match their ability to pay for those supplies after the mine goes bust. Do I have that right?
Functionally, yeah.
There’s a virtuous cycle of commerce that can emerge out of a professional services or manufacturing sector if people are willing to invest in it. But if you see the economy as extractive, you stop putting money in as soon as you assume there’s no more wealth to pull out.
Its an interesting way to frame the problem compared to how it might be typically framed as “not enough jobs” or “wages aren’t high enough” or the new favorite among Canadian politicians of a “productivity crisis”