Where do ghost towns stand legally? Are they like protected sites that people can visit but not modify? Or if like, a hundred people decided to suddenly go live there, could they do that?
Ah, are we talking about cities being abandoned for one reason or another?
If so, I would think it would depend on the magnitude of the sight. Had settlers be in that city once and say, a mystery epidemic swept through and wiped most of the population out, then yes, I would suspect the area is protected for historic and scientific purposes. As to whether people can visit, like tourism, again it would depend on the historic nature of the spot.
However, if it was just a city, and just that, a city, and the residents pack up and left, maybe the protection under the federal and state law would be moderately different. First, no one just leaves without cause or reason, but if the reason was as simple as the earth went bad for planting, then, well, that's not as exciting.
Didn't really answer your questions specifically but given the fact that I often visit historic towns, the land, go inside houses, and visit battlefields, these are my opinions based upon my experiences.
If there is any great historical significance to the site, chances are it will become a national monument.
National monuments are covered in signs that humans are responsible for all the evils in the world, that humans are ruining the historical site you're visiting, and that you shouldn't even breath while you're there. There are usually fences around anything interesting, and paved trails with signs along the sides telling you to "STAY ON THE TRAIL."
The gist of the "informational signs" is "Stay out, stay away, stay home."
There's usually a parking lot, an outhouse, maybe a toll booth at the gate, and picnic benches.
That's what happens if a site is "lucky" enough to be preserved.
However, I've been to honest-to-goodness ghost towns that are about 150 years old with three to six standing buildings where it's impossible to tell that there has been any human activity since the owners left.
If the ghost town is on private property, then they're usually in excellent condition and as long as you have permission from the owner- or you don't get caught- they're really fun to poke around in.
There aren't many private ghost towns left, though. Most ghost towns I've visited are in the national forest. There are usually old cemeteries complete with decrepit gravestones. Not everything is right next to the center of town, though. If you poke out from around the main buildings, there are usually other smaller houses/sheds and even old, broken wagons. Depending on how accessible the site is, there might be a lot of vandalism and graffiti. The more remote you get, the more in tact the site will be.
I've actually been waay in the boonies and seen furniture and even an ancient, broken muzzle loader. Once, I found an old china plate. Except for the chip out of the corner, the plate was in near-perfect condition.
I left it there for others to enjoy.
...now I'm rambling, but the point is that a lot of towns just become abandoned and nobody really gives a puke about what happens to them. I've only ever been to two private ghost towns, and they're usually not as big or exciting as the larger ones I've seen on public land.
But yeah, most ghost towns go untouched by the government.
If you have any questions about ghost towns or whatever, you could PM me and I could plumb the depths of my experiences.
I'd be curious to know what state or province you're from Scotty. As my profile under my avatar suggests, I'm from Vermont, which known for being remote in itself. And believe me, I've done my fair amount of hiking around fields, the outskirts of town and deep in the thick of the forests throughout Vermont - South as far down as Arlington to as far North as Saint Johnsbury. I have never seen the remains of wagons but I believe this is because I'm in New England.
In Colorado however, it's a different surrounding altogether. When the Louisiana Purchase went into effect, and not long after, nearly everyone packed up and went west. High in the Rockies, about 30,000 feet above sea level, once where I was camping with my uncle we hiked a few miles from camp, walking in a remote field. We found tin cans and a cellar hole. We thought that discover was unusual. We had walked roughly two miles, and the nearest town I believe was thirty to forty minutes away. Shrugging, we walked in the same direct, due north, according to my uncle's compass. Half a mile or so we figured, there was yet another cellar hole. That was all for the remains of the houses. The tin cans were rusted, so much that the rust ate through the metal. We're not sure but we thought there might have been a small community of families or perhaps only one judging by how close the cellar holes were.
It's a shame when I was seventeen that I didn't take pictures of the terrain and the cell-er holes for documentation. If he had not run low on water, perhaps we might have stumbled upon the remains of headstones. Unlikely, but I've been fooled before.
Just a side story, thanks to Scotty in reliving the memory.
North Idaho, by the way, is extreeemly different from Southern Idaho.
North Idaho is like Alaska.
Southern Idaho is like New Mexico/Utah.
Idaho ranks second in amount of unroaded public land- being outdone only by Alaska. Of course, there are trails everywhere- that's how I get to different ghost towns. But yeah... Idaho is extreeemly remote. The nearest city is two hours away in Washington and it only has 200,000 people.
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