Beyond the Beyond: Local Lore – Cerro Gordo

Beyond the Beyond – Local Lore – Cerro Gordo

Up high in the Inyo Mountains and overlooking the Owens Valley is a small silver mining town that has long since been abandoned. Well… mostly abandoned. Founded around 1865, Cerro Gordo means “Fat Hill” in Spanish, referencing the mineral richness in the area. Miners extracted silver and galena (a lead ore often containing silver), which was smelted on-site in furnaces and shipped to Los Angeles via mule train. This was a key factor in L.A.’s economic development, and by the mid-1870s, Cerro Gordo had over 4,000 residents.

Brothels, hotels, saloons, and blacksmiths dotted the street. It was a bustling place and a destination for many, even though the town garnered a reputation for lawlessness early in its existence. Some say there was a murder a week there at its worst. Silver flowed like water from the Sierra, but so did blood.

But like many of these mining towns dotting the mountains during the century before last, Cerro Gordo’s prosperous times were short-lived. The ore supply became exhausted, and the price of silver dropped, leading to a decline in revenue for the people keeping the town alive. By the early 1900s, only a handful of miners remained. By the 1950s, the town was abandoned.

But maybe there is something still alive there, or some things. A common “paranormal hotspot” is called The Belshaw House, a place once home to smelter owner Mortimer Belshaw and that is now one of the best-preserved structures on the property. Visitors there often report hearing footsteps when no one else is in the building, disembodied voices, and seeing doors that open and close on their own.

The American Hotel was once the most popular building in town but was lost to a fire in 2020. Visitors there reported seeing glasses moving on the bar on their own, cold spots in the building, and strange, phantom-like apparitions standing in the halls and doorways. A new hotel in its place is being rebuilt and, as of 2025, is fully framed and nearing completion, with period-correct exterior finishes and modern code-compliant infrastructure. For travelers making the trek up the area, they will even find their phones can connect to Wi-Fi.

The Union and Union-Forman mines, as well as many others, sprawl miles underneath the once abandoned town. Some say picks striking rocks can be heard occasionally in those sprawling tunnels. Others claim to have heard the shouts of a miner who is said to have been sealed in one of the shafts after being caught stealing. Shadowy figures have been seen out of the corners of eyes, and the feeling of being watched has been experienced by many.

Today, Cerro Gordo is privately owned by a man named Brent Underwood, who acquired the historic silver mining town in 2018 alongside a group of investors including his business partner Jon Bier. Tourists are always welcome, and John has dedicated himself to restoring the town to what it once was and sharing his journey through his YouTube channel Ghost Town Living. I was up there not too long ago and enjoyed the hospitality, historic buildings, and even some of the little domesticated critters I encountered up there. As far as ghosts go, I didn’t see any. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something there. Maybe, as Mr. Underwood once said, “Cerro Gordo never died — it just got quiet.”

Have you had a sighting? Message @beyondthebeyond1 on Instagram.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Eastern Sierra Now. Readers are encouraged to conduct further research and consult with relevant experts or professionals before making any decisions or taking any actions based on the information provided in this article.

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TM Rush