Auraria is a ghost town located in Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States. The town was established after the discovery of gold ores in the west. This small town flourished during its operational days but was later deserted and left to rot.

The three musketeers

The Cherokee lands are home to the town of Auraria. In 1832, William Dean was the first to settle in the town. As the first structure between the Chestatee and Etowah rivers, he built a cabin. Nathaniel Nuckolls joined him soon after and built a tavern, hotel, and several buildings to house miners from the nearby mines. The region's riches, like those of the old mining boom towns, drew people from all over the state and beyond. More than 200 people called Auraria home in the first six months.  This grew even more, and within a year it had reached an all-time high of 1200 residents. As if that wasn't enough, more family homes sprouted up, making the newly discovered town one of the region's fastest-growing towns. Stores, law offices, and more than five taverns were built as social amenities. John R. Plummer, a lottery player, owned the majority of the land in the town where the residents lived. A similar but separate courthouse was built to aid in the resolution of land disputes.

Exhausted mines

The relocation of most of the businesses and the county offices from the townsite brought a sharp decline in activities of the town. Highly discouraged by a decline in business as a result of residents’ relocation after the mines were exhausted, most of the business owners left to seek greener pastures elsewhere. In 1849, the California boom would drive the last nail in the coffin when most miners shifted interests to the new mines of the west. This led to the rapid desertion of the once-beloved town of Auraria. As the population dwindled, the history and culture of the town went with it. Auraria town was abandoned and completely deserted by 1900.

Forgotten Auraria

Buildings in the townsite were left for mother nature to reclaim. The majority of them have collapsed while some still stand to date though in poor condition. Woody’s store, a red house that was used as the bank, and some foundations are some of the structures that are still hanging on to life. Extremely unstable structures in the townsite are a hazard waiting to happen. The presence of asbestos is some of the minor but serious health-threatening hazards that dominate most of the 1900 buildings. The town site is open to the general public to visit but caution should be taken while moving into some of the unstable buildings.