Secluded Ghost Town in the Mountains | Spruce, West Virginia
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ธ.ค. 2024
- The town of spruce is a Secluded Ghost Town sitting high in the mountains of West Virginia. You will see how remote this place is and why this town was abandoned more then 80 years ago. Check out the journey for a never seen before drone perspective of this abandoned Ghost Town.
Spruce was settled in 1902 along Shavers Fork of Cheat River. The principal industry in the area was logging, and later coal mining. In 1904 the West Virginia Pulp and Paper Company (later known as Westvaco) built a pulp mill nearby.
The pulp mill in Spruce closed in 1925, and the equipment was moved to the company's paper mill in Maryland. As a result, the town declined and it eventually was abandoned.
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For more history info on this town, check out msrlha.org/spr... as well as shaversforkcoal...
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#sprucewv #exploringhistory #aerialexploration
Thanks for stopping in and checking out my video! If you enjoyed the video then please smash that like button for me to help out the channel! If you want to see more videos like this then check out my West Virginia Wild Wonderful playlist here th-cam.com/play/PL2URYmnZme99_KtMAhTHPpnwfC_5fu1HR.html. Have an awesome weekend everyone!
Is WV red, blue or purple on the political spectrum?
When I was a college student in Elkins WVA. back in 1975, we would jump trains from town and ride them down here to Spruce. What a fantastic place to explore!! Thanks for the renewed memories!!
That’s awesome!! It feels so desolate when your out there
Thanks for that. I have been to Spruce a number of times. Runs to Spruce are made from Elkins and Cass as limited runs. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks man. Glad you enjoyed that 🤘
As I like to say, the place has been abandoned so long that even the ghosts have moved on. Durbin and Greenbrier Valley / West Virginia Central trains make infrequent trips to Spruce (there are no longer any regular "Cheat Mountain Salamander" trains out of Elkins to Cheat Bridge), but the tracks see occasional use for engines using the cut-off over to the Cass Scenic Railroad. Believe it or not, the F units and Geeps of the D&GVR go down Cass Hill to the shop for heavier maintenance that cannot be done in Belington! Of course, those diesels are run singly and without cars on that stretch of railroad. One of the nicknames for the Western Maryland was the "Wild Mary", and the isolated lines between Elkins and Webster Springs gave it the "Wild".
This is awesome info! Thanks for sharing that 🤘. Love to hear history bits!
What a cool place and awesome way to present it. It's a real documentary with a little history lesson and awesome pictures in one product. Great!
Thank you 🙏. That means so much! There’s so much time that goes into making these videos. It’s great to hear that from another fellow TH-camr that understands.
There was actually still people living there all the way up until the 1980s when the last family moved away and the state decided to tear down the majority of the remaining buildings, leaving what only what you can still see today. Fun fact West Virginia's record low temperature was set right at spruce in night 1922 when it was a bone chilling -46°f. The Permafrost was still present at this time. Legend says that there is civil war gold buried somewhere near Spruce/Old Spruce, several wagon loads!!
That’s freakin amazing! Thanks for sharing that info! I couldn’t imagine -46F. That’s insane! Appreciate it brother!
Thats such a cool place. Fascinating history, amazing it never had roads. That must have been a really cool place to go exploring. Really excellent video mate. Really glad you decided to use the footage and make this. Very well done.
Thanks my man! Footage was...mehh 🤷♂️. GoPro was shaky and all over the place which is why I did fast cut scenes to bring in the film at the beginning. Glad I did an edit of it. Looks like people really enjoyed it 😀
Thanks for the history AND the tour, LOVED IT!!
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed!
Thanks for sharing Cody. I've been there several times by train, but you don't have the time to explore like you did. Awesome footage, Maybe one day I will make the trek on foot. I love seeing videos of abandoned towns and you did an excellent job by linking in some old photos. Glad you decided to share it with us.
Thank you. Yeah the GoPro footage was shaky and all over the place is why I did like a fast adventure approach to the video to start. I would like an entire day of filming there. That would be nice. But I hiked into there and by that time half the day is burnt and it looked like it was going to storm really bad so I didn’t get to film a bunch. I guess I had enough for a short little video. Looking back I wish I would have gotten a lot more angles of the entire area
@@CodyCarr I wonder if you could backpack in and camp overnight? Would make for a great overnighter at least.
Absolutely you can. I’ve heard people camping in there many times
Great grab! Cody. I enjoyed the history behind this place. Well done! Brother.
Thanks fella! Appreciate that! I was itching to edit something and I haven’t been out in a while so..... yeah. It’s so blue balls cold here that I’m not even trying to fly right now
Keep them coming Big Cody!!!!
Thanks again buddy!! 🤘
Awesome thank you so much for uploading ! I remember when i was little my granddad wanted to take us there but passed before we could plan the trip i actually don’t live too far from that area and hopefully one of these days i can visit like we had planned to do almost 20yrs ago
There’s not much left there and it’s so far out in the middle of nowhere. It’s beautiful out in there though
Nice of you to hold on to those B&W stills for so long. :P That overgrowth is pretty cool. Awesome work with the dynamic zoom on the stills as well. Enjoyable creation!! WOOP!
"I see dead people". ;)
Thank Nate! I’ve been sitting on those B&Ws for years 🤣. Hope your getting a bunch of footage where your at!
@@CodyCarr
Haha! Did your pal from the RRoad hook you up with the stills?
We’re back home...had to settle for the single location for aerial footage. Sending a teaser toward you and the boys in a bit. 😳
Sweet! 👍. Those pics I showed came off the internet on history info sites. There’s not many pics of that place
Oh and I’ll add that after sharing the video to a wv Facebook page, there have been several people contacting me telling stories of their families that used to live there. Pretty cool to hear some of those stories
@@CodyCarr
That’s awesome! 🙌🏼
This is a very interesting video and history. I love old abandoned places. Thank you so much for sharing this video with us.
Absolutely pal! Not sure why I sit on the footage for so long. Guess I felt it wasn’t good enough to put into a video but with editing all those little bits up, I’ve proved myself wrong. Very interesting place for sure. Lots of history
Love abandoned places, always so interesting to hear the history behind them. Enjoyed the vid mate, as normal, killer edit and footage. loved 2:17, shadows and light, nice stuff mate. Liked the old pics as a perspective to what it is now. Well done mate, enjoyed :)
Thank you Matt! Loved your latest video as well! Your image was soooo crisp!
Great video, I've read about Spruce, cool to see what it looks like today
It’s very unique. Not much left from long ago but it still is really neat to explore around so far in the middle of nowhere. Wish I had more time that day to actually film. Looking back there were so many shots I wish I had gotten. I hiked in too late in the day and didn’t stay in there but for about an hour before I had to turn around and hike back out before dark. I didn’t think the footage would be that interesting but I got to thinking that hey, there’s so history here and it would be neat to explain it. A lot of people even around here in the same county doesn’t know it exists
Hey Cody, that was interesting, and pretty cool to explore. I liked hearing the history, and seeing the old photos. Hard to find old places now, they get torn down so fast. Sounds like this town was really out there in the mountains.
It is. It is way out in nowhere land. There’s not much left at all from what it used to be. I wish I had more footage from there. Didn’t decide to go til the afternoon and by the time I hiked into it I had about an hour to explore before having to hike back out before dark
Very cool Cody! Super interesting..thanks for sharing!
Thanks buddy! Wasn’t planning on sharing this but I haven’t got out to fly in a while and I’ve been sitting on this footage for too long. Plus it’s just a cool place to share
Congrats on this video, Cody! Well done!⭐🙂👍
Thank you 🙏. Wasn’t even supposed to be a video but it seems everyone loves it. It’s a very interesting place for sure
Cool place pal, great perspective from the drone shots! Sweet edit as always.. 🤘
Thanks buddy! Haven’t seen you in a bit. How’s everything your way? I need to check out your videos. I haven’t got caught up with everyone’s work for a while. I’m behind.
@@CodyCarr I'm good thanks pal, still enjoying life over here in South Korea.. Great to be travelling again and making content! Not easy pal, keeping up on here.. Full time job without doing your own stuff! Take it easy, enjoy the rest of your weekend! 🤘
You too buddy!
Wow Cody, i think you need to be a documentary presenter now mate. I know im late to the party but almost 5k people crushed me on this one :)
I hope the family is safe and your all back out enjoying yourself. Well done on another quality production mate it came out fantastic :)))
Thanks brother! Wasn’t planning on anything out of this footage and people want more of it 😂😂😂😂. Now what to do lol. We are all better here and awaiting better weather. As I’m responding the temperature here is currently 5 degrees. That’s not Celsius. I think Celsius it’s around -15. Yeah it nasty here right now
stunning content Cody Carr. I killed that thumbs up on your video. Keep on up the really good work.
Thank you for that! Really appreciate it! I wasn’t even planning on releasing the content to this video because I didn’t think I had enough to share ….. but wow 😯. Everyone took interest in it
Great film and great story :D wow!
Thank you 🙏. I really appreciate that!
This was seriously cool!!!
Thank you 🙏
Thanks for the history lesson great video
Appreciate it buddy! 👍
I;am Your Newest Subscriber Great Videos
Thank you 🙏. Glad you enjoy the content! Nothing professional here 😆. Just some adventurous fun with some views
Great video!!!
Thank you 🙏
Great Video my Friend! Thank you for sharing
Thank you 🙏. Appreciate the feedback. Wasn’t planning on doing any video of sorts out of these clips but man was I wrong in thinking it wouldn’t be good enough 😂. TH-cam puzzles me 😆
@@CodyCarr I agree! Great video - enjoyed the drone views and history
Thanks buddy
Is it really full of history, or is it just some old craftsmanship?
Beautiful place...I'm in fayette county.... love your videos ❤️
Awesome! How’s the weather over there? It’s too cold here to get the drone out and fly 🥶. Thanks for watching my videos! Glad you enjoy them. I have a lot of fun filming and editing them together
Cold and sunshine right now...have a great day
You too
wow incredible stunning place!
Thank you 🙏. It sure is out there in nowhereland 😁
Awesome, video man I am now currently doing a series at a ghost town/neighborhood in the Appalachian mtns.Great editing and great video
Thanks brother! Appreciate that! I wasn’t even going to upload what little I had of this place but everyone loved it lol. TH-cam confuses me 😂
@@CodyCarr lol it does me too bro 😂😂
😆
Awesome footage, great editing👍😎
Thank you 🙏. How’s the weather your way? Too cold for flying here right now 🥶
@@CodyCarr Also ice cold here, I still flew my drone but I just sat in my Vehicle and flew LOL. It turned out to be a great idea.
I’ve done that many times lol
It's a wonderful footage. BGM and editing are good.
Thanks for sharing.
Awesome! Thank you 🙏. Glad you enjoyed😁
Hey Cody. That was really cool. The history of the town was interesting and I liked the way you told the story. How long of a hike to get in there? Glad you hit record buddy. Enjoy your weekend.
To hike to it, it’s around 9 miles into the wilderness. There is an old railroad that does tours that will take you there by old steam engine trains. Yeah... the ground footage was shaky and all over the place because like I said I wasn’t really planning on making a video out of it. Not sure why I’ve sit on this footage for this long but it’s a unique area and I love preserving and exploring history from the skies. It’s really neat to see old photos of the town and try to find the same angles
@@CodyCarr true true. I forgot to mention the old photos blending right on line with the footage. I thought that was so cool. Must have been a chore to get that right on.
Well..... I wasn’t for say planning to line up shots when I got there. I just pulled stills from my clips to match. The thumbnail of the video was a bastard for what it’s worth lol. I had to stretch parts of the photo and fit the best I could
@@CodyCarr where is the best place to hike from near Snowshoe? The name of the trail?
Oh wow... not sure the name of the trail. It’s a service type road. I couldn’t drive very far down it. But I did go in from snowshoe way. I have a buddy that took me in to it so I haven’t a clue of the trail/road name 😞 sorry. I know you can actually ride the cass train to it on the top of the mountain which is how most people have seen it
I'm from Webster Co, Spruce has always interested me. I have a question years ago my dad and a few of my friends and I got lost while four wheeling, we sat at a step hillside for a long time, it looked like people had been taking dirt bikes etc up and down the mountain side & I found a plaque that had a guys name on it and a really sad poem. Im positive we was at spruce knob do you or anyone else know what I'm talking about? It's bothered me for years. This was appox 20 years ago
Oh wow 🤔. Not sure if I’ve heard of that one. Sounds very interesting!
That's a shame. So sad seeing history just let go. The area is so beautiful. I'm surprised nobody hung on there. Good editorial brother. I enjoyed this video👍🙏I haven't seen you around in awhile. I'm already a sub to your channel👍Like 56
Thank you 🙏. Haven’t been flying much for the past month with crazy weather. Had covid at one point and that had me down as well. Can’t wait to get back out and film more!
@@CodyCarr Sorry to hear that. I hope you've recovered fully. I've avoided it and that says a lot living in an area with 16 million people and an ER Nurse wife. Stay safe and God bless
Wow. Yeah you have lucked out!
Lincoln County West Virginia in the house
That's very interesting. You say there is no road so I'm assuming the way in and out of that place was by railroad? Is this how you accessed this place? Walking along the railroad tracks?
Yes. It was just railroad in and out. Today there is a maintenance road that leads in a good ways. Then you just have to walk in from the tracks. You can also access it by riding the cass scenic railroad. They take you all the way to it on the old historic train
Born and raised in WV you won't find a prettier state anywhere in the U.S. the New River Gorge National Park where people come from all over the world to Bungee Jump off the highest Bridge in the country. Black Water Falls. I've taken many a dip under those falls. Cass Railroad is a beautiful place to camp. Being one of the poorest states in the country doesn't deter those that live here from giving you there last dime and the shirt off there backs. You won't ever meet more honest, God fearing, kind, down home, generous, down to earth, pull no punches group of people anywere. They don't call it Wild Wonderful West Virginia for nothing. I invite anyone that has a vacation coming to come visit WV you won't regret it. Hiking, biking, camping, kayaking, bungee jumping, motorcycle riding, horse back riding, bird watching or if you are in to just kicking back, relaxing and taking in the scenery I suggest you do it here. All are welcome!
Been binging your channel all morning man. Let me know if you're interested in doing a Timberline or Thomas / Davis video. It would be cool to do a WV collab or I'd just tag a long to see the process!
Thanks man 😊. I love doing these videos! I never plan anything out though😆. It’s just whatever I’m in the mood to film I guess. I’m always up for the adventure so I maybe
@@CodyCarr Sounds good man. Drop me a comment or message whenever you're interested and I can give you my contact.
Sounds good 👍
When they moved the machinery from Spruce WVa. They sent it to " WESTVACO in Luke, Md. ... I'm from Western Maryland ( Cumberland ) .. I've always known of the Papermill in Luke, didn't know they machinery was moved here from there, in fact, I've never heard of Spruce, WVa?
But seems like the papermill here in Luke has always been here, I knew alot of ppl that worked there, they have since had a shut down and layoffs, alot of ppl lost their jobs and moved away..sad!!!
I think they were polluting the Savage River that runs thru the town of Luke?
I worked at the papermill 1 yr for the summer ( Temp jobs) when they had a lay off, we were known as "SCABS"!!!
They had picket lines an all up there, the workers and their family's didn't take to kindly for us working there...
I have no idea what's goin on there now, I think it's still open, with a skeleton crew working, I'm not that sure!!!
But I never had a clue that alot of the machinery came here from Spruce. Wva?
Guess you learn sumthing new everyday!
Love the content and I'm gonna be another follower of yours.
Love your channel and videos...
Keep up the great work man...can't wait for your next video...
Cheers my friend...👍
Thank you for that! Love the backstory as well. Also there are many that live close to the old town of spruce and don’t even know about it. That was the first time I had explored it. It’s so far out in there though
This year cass reopens this line with excursions
Nice!
John Denver's "Mountain Momma" is slowly reclaiming itself.....
You can ride the salamander train from the town of Durbin to Spruce
Great history all over this state. Bad that you can’t fly in the New River Gorge as there are many old ghost towns and coke ovens all over.
I wanted to fly that new river gorge so bad! Definitely can’t now for sure being that it a new national park. That’s a no no for drones. I missed my chance 🤦♂️
Nice 🤝🔔🤙👍😙🙏🌷⚘🌻💐🌸🌸
Thank you 🙏
they used to have what they called grist mills along the rivers here a big stone wheel in a small building to grind grains is what they said they were for
There is a few of those left in this area here and there. They are always neat to see!
Ironic that trees are now growing in the crumbling ruins of the town built for a lumber company.
Yes. It’s crazy to believe how long things have stood still there as nature is reclaiming everything
Do you give tours?
I don’t. But you can ride the Cass train to spuce. There’s a stop they do at the top. Other then that it’s a longggggg hike to get there
Thank you! Definitely want to visit!
@MVozar25 it’s beautiful! It’s so far out in the middle of nowhere. Great history as well
How far from spuce knob is it?
From spruce knob I’d say it’s a good couple hours driving wise. Then hiking into it another couple hours
Wonder how you get to it
Whirlybird with a camera😋
Dude, there is literally nothing left ! Did the owners dismantle the town ? Surely even America buildings can survive longer than 71 years ?
Yeah the town was pretty much wiped out due to making a train terminal there. The land was bull dozed over. Yeah there’s not much left. A lot of people that live here has never heard of the town even.
How do you get to it?
Easiest way would be to ride the cass train to it instead of hiking all day like I did
Their is an access road leading to it from Snowshoe Mountain but the last gate is usually locked. It’s about a 30-45 minute walk from the gate. It’s also possible to go out their if you pay snowshoe for a horseback riding session but I’m unsure if they go all the way to spruce or just to the first train bridge.
We're not saying you can't own a gun, we are not even saying you can't carry a gun. We're just saying you can't carry a gun in town!
❤
Thank you 🙏