Dawson, New Mexico
Dawson, New Mexico takes the cake when it comes to tragedy because there hasn’t been just one tragedy but several. Things just went from bad to worse for the people of Dawson. The grim picture above probably can give you some idea as to just how awful the history of this town is. But with all of this sadness, it really put the ghost in ghost towns.
Dawson was supposed to be a nice little town for the Dawson Fuel Co. when it started out in 1901 but quickly became a disaster (thrillist.com 5). Explosions quickly became the norm in the town: “Three lives were lost in 1903, over 250 perished in 1913, and 123 died in 1923” (thrillist.com 5). From a population that reached about 9,000 at its height, made up of immigrants from Europe and Mexico mostly, to becoming a literal ghost town, Dawson never stood a chance at being a successful town (thrillist.com 5). The last mine closed in 1950 and most of the structures were demolished, leaving Dawson almost completely behind (thrillist.com 5). The Dawson Cemetery with its 400 unmarked white crosses, pictured above, is what is left of this town today (thrillist.com 5). The extreme loss of life in Dawson is very sad and hard to imagine how devastating it was for the survivors who had come to America for a better life.
Within this cemetery though, paranormal activity is thriving. Many visitors have said they’ve seen “lights like those on a mining helmet dancing around, hearing untraceable moans and voices, and coming across ghostly figures that vanish if you get too close” (thrillist.com 5). Sounds like a good place for Ghost Hunters to go film a show, if they haven’t already. I think these spirits are trying to figure out how to come to rest after all of the pain they endured as well as seeing their families pack up and leave Dawson. Will they ever be able to finally rest in peace? Who knows.
