[Ads-l] Ghost Town

Tue May 5 02:41:04 UTC 2020

Below is an article published in an Omaha, Nebraska newspaper on
November 27, 1893 presenting the text of an address about Sitka,
Alaska delivered by Mrs. Peattie. This article may help to illustrate
the genesis of the current sense of "ghost town".

Peattie uses the phrases "Sitka is a town of ghosts" and "Sitka, the
city of ghosts". However, she does not use "ghost town".

Peattie uses the phrases "rotting wharves", "vanished industries",
"strange foreign houses speak of vanished civilization", "dismantled
castle of a vanished power". This is compatible with the current use
of "ghost town" as a label for an abandoned or partially abandoned
town.

Yet, she also mentions the ghosts of the dead ancestors of native
inhabitants. In addition, she mentions the ghost of a Russian leader
who built a castle in Sitka.

Date: November 27, 1893
Newspaper: Morning World-Herald
Newspaper Location: Omaha, Nebraska
Article: Odd Corners of the Earth
Author: Mrs. Peattie
Quote Page 5, Column 3
Database: GenealogyBank

[Begin excerpt]
The natives will tell you that any dark night the ghosts of their dead
ancestors appear there among the mighty trees. The rotting wharves of
Sitka speak of vanished industries, the strange foreign houses speak
of vanished civilization, the dismantled castle of a vanished power.
Truly, Sitka is a town of ghosts.
[End excerpt]

The article mentions "Baranoff's castle" which Wikipedia suggests was
built by Alexander Andreyevich Baranov. Baranov founded New Archangel
(Sitka), and he died in 1819. The newspaper article is confusing
because it asserts that Sitka was founded in 1839. The article also
refers to the ghost of Baranoff (Baranov):

[Begin excerpt]
The ghost of this man is the chiefest of the ghosts that seem to the
mind’s eye to parade the quiet streets of the present Sitka.
[End excerpt]

[Begin excerpt]
I saw mountains, grand, melancholy, with fires yet fuming in their
hearts, and endless, endless reaches of bay and sounds, haunted by the
white gull, and shadowy and still. But it was of Sitka that I wished
to tell you—Sitka, the city of ghosts.
[End excerpt]

A similar article appeared in a Troy, Kansas newspaper in May 1894.

Date: May 3, 1894
Newspaper: The Weekly Kansas Chief
Newspaper Location: Troy, Kansas
Article: Sitka the Ghostly
Author: Mrs. Peattie
Quote Page 1, Column 8
Database: Newspapers.com

[Begin excerpt]
SITKA THE GHOSTLY.
The Alaska Town Seems to Live Chiefly in the Past.

Sitka is a ghostly place, take it for all in all. Across the little
blue island-dotted bay in front of it a burned-out volcano still shows
the traces of dead fires.
...
The natives will tell you that any dark night the ghosts of their dead
ancestors appear there among the mighty trees.

The rotting wharves of Sitka speak of vanished industries, the strange
foreign houses speak of vanished civilization, the dismantled castle
of a vanished power. Truly, Sitka is a town of ghosts.
. . .
I saw mountains, grand, melancholy, with fires yet fuming in their
hearts, and endless, endless reaches of bay and sounds, haunted by the
white gull, and shadowy and still. But it was of Sitka that I wished
to tell you--Sitka, the city of ghosts.--Mrs. Peattie.
[End excerpt]

Garson O'Toole

On Sun, May 3, 2020 at 11:22 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Bill Mullins wrote:
> > I saw that quote, and did not use it because I wasn't sure
> > if it meant "deserted town", as we use the phrase "ghost town",
> > or a town literally associated with ghosts (and I did find several
> > examples of "ghost town" where it was clear that "association
> > with ghosts" was the intended meaning).
>
> Excellent point, Bill. The OED and other dictionaries may be unwilling
> to accept the 1894 citation.
>
> The bracketed citation for "ghost town" in the OED is intriguing. The
> town itself is ghostly.
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> [1875   Cincinnati Enquirer 2 July 5/1   The deserted mining towns,
> like the ghosts of their departed prosperity.]
> [End excerpt]
>
> An early citation containing a deserted town labeled a "ghost town"
> because of a spectral presence would be entertaining I think. Perhaps
> you might share a citation - if you wish. Citations of this type would
> illustrate one conjectural transitional path to the modern sense of
> "ghost town".
>
> Garson
>
>
> > ________________________________________
> > From: American Dialect Society [ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole [adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM]
> > Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2020 2:58 PM
> > To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Subject: [Non-DoD Source] Re: Ghost Town
> >
> > ----
> >
> > The citation below from 1894 contains the phrase "all that remains of
> > the ghost town". Interestingly, the phrase "ghost town" has more than
> > one interpretation. Spiritualists attempted to found a town, but their
> > enterprise did not succeed. The remnant was called "Spookville", and
> > the journalist also referred to it as a "ghost town".
> >
> > Date: April 22, 1894,
> > Newspaper: The Times
> > Newspaper Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
> > Article: A Spiritualists' Boom Town
> > Quote Page 22, Column 7
> > Database: Newspapers.com
> >
> > Caution-https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50148310/ghosttown/
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > A SPIRITUALISTS' BOOM TOWN
> > IT STANDS A MELANCHOLY WRECK ON CALIFORNIA HILLS.
> > "SUMMERLAND" WAS ITS NAME
> > Now It Is Known as "Spookville" and Town Lots Are Very Cheap There
> > Because the Town Was Struck by a Storm Late One Night.
> > From a Correspondent of The Times.
> > Los Angeles, Cal., April 20.
> >
> > One of the many amusing features of the "boom" towns and colonies of
> > California was the recent attempt of a number of spiritualists to
> > found a colony, where those who could not see into the future were not
> > permitted to dwell. A few of the leading Spirits bought a large tract
> > of land on a promontory overlooking the ocean, about twenty miles
> > south of the Santa Barbara.
> > . . .
> > The dismantled place is now known as "Spookville," and as the train
> > whirls by the passenger who is looking for California curios is shown
> > a tent on a hill—all that remains of the ghost town.
> >
> > The only occupant is, or was, a hermit, who for a time lived in a
> > cave. The neighboring ranchers reported strange noises, and at once
> > the report spread that "Spookville" was haunted—a sure-enough spirit
> > had come to the deserted town-site to mourn over the losses of the
> > colonists. But it was only the hermit, singing or talking to himself,
> > while sitting out upon the front steps of his cave on moonlight nights
> > and enjoying the cool breezes from the ocean.
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > Garson
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org