Man who has spent four years living in abandoned California GHOST TOWN he bought for $1.4 million attempts to turn desolate mining post into a tourist hotspot by building a luxury HOTEL in the center of the empty community

If you build it, they will come – at least one man hopes that’s the case, after buying an abandoned town and building a hotel to attract visitors.

YouTube creator Brent Underwood and his investor friend, Jon Bier, owner of boutique PR agency Jack Taylor PR, purchased Cerro Gordo from family owners in July 2018 with plans to turn it into a tourist attraction.

The 300-acre estate, which contains 22 buildings, is located about 220 miles north of Los Angeles.

The treacherous journey to the historic city is made on a single-lane gravel road that ranges from ‘600 meters above sea level to 2500 meters above sea level’.

“Since the coronavirus outbreak, I moved from Austin, Texas to the city and have been living alone in this abandoned ghost town trying to make it a place that more people can enjoy,” Brent shared in a clip to his channel.

According to the creator, the city was originally founded in 1865 and the silver of Cerro Gordo was responsible for building LA..

Brent has previously said that he was drawn to Cerro Gordo’s long and bloody history. At its height in the 19th century, the community of 5,000 people was a haven for violent crime, as the nearest law enforcement agencies couldn’t be bothered to police due to its remote location.

“The prosperity of Cerro Gordo required a larger port city and forced LA to develop rapidly,” he wrote in the description of a YouTube video.

Brent and Jon are currently undertaking the ‘project of all projects’, rebuilding a hotel in the city.

The American Hotel tragically burned down in 2020, in what Brent described as a “gut punch,” and has vowed to rebuild.

“There will be six rooms on this top floor, all rooms will have a postcard view,” he explained, showing off the panoramic view of the city.

Currently, the hotel still has a long way to go as there are no roof and supply issues to make it difficult.

“The hotel is an exercise and patience,” he explained. “There’s only so much I can do. A large part of this work must be done by approved contractors and so it is currently a matter of waiting and waiting.’

Another major challenge facing Brent, who spends his days hiking and mining the abandoned mines, is getting water into the buildings.

“Living without running water is no joke, but it has also led me to some of my greatest adventures here,” he said in the clip.

Brent said he had a hydrogeologist come to town, who advised him where he thought the best area to drill for water would be.

To balance the scientific approach, he also sought the advice of a water dowser – or ‘water witch’ – who uses rods or pendulums to find groundwater, buried metals or ores, gemstones, oil, claimed radiations, graves and evil ‘earth’. localize. vibrations.’

Brent contacted a popular water dowser to ask if he could come to the mine site.

“I originally read about Rob in a New York Times article that was about these huge, multi-million dollar vineyards in Napa that used Rob to find their source locations during a drought,” Brent explained.

“Oil companies swear by him, vineyards swear by him.”

Rob does much of his dowsing remotely, printing out a map of the area and using various pendulums to find the location of the water.

For Brent, he located two key areas where a well needed to be drilled to supply the city with water.

“(Number one) is in a very easy-to-drill location, it’s very convenient, it’s a lot closer to town than the one the hydrogeologist came up with,” Brent explained.

“And the second location Rob found was right behind the museum there, so if you want the best, it’s quality there, if you want the most gallons, it’s here.”

Brent goes on to explain that getting running water to the city is one of his top priorities, especially as the hotel is being built.

“I think 2024 is going to be a big year for water at Cerro Gordo,” he said confidently.

Brent has previously spoken about his experiences in the ghost town, admitting that he didn’t believe in ghosts before living in Cerro Gordo, but had his first supernatural experience on the property.

He told a story about the time he had some friends over, so he went to stay in the dorm on the property, but noticed the light was on in the kitchen.

“I was walking up to the dorm here and I looked out that first window there and the curtain was all closed and a curtain was opening and closing and a little face was looking out and the light was on in the kitchen,” he recalled.

“I went to Robert, our caretaker, and I said to Robert, how long do the contractors stay in the bunk, and he turned and looked at me. He said the contractors left two weeks ago. So that was a little scary.”