I never got to visit many ghost towns sites in Arizona, and most of them were in the northwestern corner of the state. But I did manage to run across a few good ones.
Cerbat is located about ten miles north of Kingman, AZ, off Highway 93. It's accessible via dirt road, and there was a road sign at the tunroff when I visited in 2004. Cerbat was a mining town, with operations beginning in the late 1860s. By 1872, the town had incorporated and a post office was in operation. Cerbat grew so much it was eventually named country seat of Mohave county, but the good times didn't last. As the mines started producing less and less and nearby Kingman grew with the arrival of the railroad, Cerbat's population moved on. It lost its county seat status, the post office closed in 1912, and by the end of World War I was totally deserted.
Cerbat had a surprising number of wooden structures which have been preserved by the dry desert climate. However, they have all "imploded," collapsing through lack of maintenance, like the ones below.
Cerbat is located about ten miles north of Kingman, AZ, off Highway 93. It's accessible via dirt road, and there was a road sign at the tunroff when I visited in 2004. Cerbat was a mining town, with operations beginning in the late 1860s. By 1872, the town had incorporated and a post office was in operation. Cerbat grew so much it was eventually named country seat of Mohave county, but the good times didn't last. As the mines started producing less and less and nearby Kingman grew with the arrival of the railroad, Cerbat's population moved on. It lost its county seat status, the post office closed in 1912, and by the end of World War I was totally deserted.
Cerbat had a surprising number of wooden structures which have been preserved by the dry desert climate. However, they have all "imploded," collapsing through lack of maintenance, like the ones below.
There are quite a few mining structures and relics left in Cerbat, although I don't find these as interesting as houses and other buildings used by town residents.
I was surprised on my visit to Cerbat to see renewed mining activity, but this time using modern equipment and techniques. However, I expect all the workers commute from Kingman, and I doubt Cerbat will ever stir back to life.
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