Adventurer who blew life savings on California mountain ghost town reveals how his gamble has gone

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A man who spent more than a million dollars to purchase a California town with plans to turn it into a vacation destination is now telling the story of how it all came together.

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.

“I’ve always had a love of history and hospitality,” Underwood told The Post, recalling a childhood spent watching Gunsmoke with his grandfather.

“There’s a romanticism to the West that’s pulled millions of people out here, and it had a hold on me early.”

More recently, he explained to the Daily Mail what it has been like living in the desolate town and working to rebuild it.

“I’ve always been a bit of an introvert, so the solitude doesn’t bother me much,” he said of the 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. I love that. There’s something very beautiful about living so far away from [other people]. There isn’t the ambient noise that you have in cities but don’t really realize until you’ve left,” he added.

Underwood also explained why nighttime in the area is especially appealing to him.

“The stars here are as bright as stars can be, because there is no light pollution to interfere. I feel much more in touch with nature and my thoughts since being here,” he told the Daily Mail. “I never run out of things to do and even after six years, feel like I’m just scratching the surface.”

He recalled how he first found out about Cerro Gordo in 2018.

“I was sent the listing for Cerro Gordo from my friend. He sent it in a text in the middle of the night, mostly as a joke,” Underwood explained. “[He sent] the listing with a [text that said], ‘Haha, this might be your next thing.’ I woke up in the morning, researched everything I could about the town, and booked a flight out to see it.”

Underwood explained that photos of Cerro Gordo don’t do the town 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.

In the 1880s, Cerro Gordo had a few thousand residents and more than a hundred buildings. However, most of those structures were eventually lost to fires and other weather-related hazards.

“When I first bought the town there was about 20 buildings left, all in different states of repair,” he said.

Underwood added that there were also about five cabins dating back to the 1800s, but they were taken down by strong winds.

He explained what remains in the town today.

“There is an old general store that I’ve turned into a 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.

Underwood admitted that before buying the abandoned town, he had no idea what it would really take to bring it back to life.

His goal is to open a hotel along with eight cabins that visitors can rent. He also wants to have a restaurant and bar.

“The plan has always been to preserve the history here and introduce some accommodation so people can stay overnight,” he explained. “I want people to be able to experience the [nature] here. It’s stunningly beautiful.”

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.

One of those obstacles was an electrical fire that burned down a hotel that was nearly fully remodeled, forcing him to start over.

“I feel that since moving up here I’ve had to learn dozens of new skills out of necessity,” he told the Daily Mail. “[Mostly, I’ve learned to] plan better. 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. So you have to plan a lot better up here.”

Underwood expects his dream hotel to be completed next year, but for now, the town is open to day 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.

Those interested in the town can follow Underwood’s adventures on his YouTube channel, Ghost Town Living.

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