In my opinion this is what should be on the history channel not 16 hours of pawn stars followed by 8 hours of WW2 documentaries. You are keeping the memory of old America alive part time explorer. Thank you for this awesome content.
TV is trash regardless... I'm glad PTE is on youtube... As someone not living in the USA I am glad to be able to enjoy these videos without licensing issues and ridiculous paywalls.
while i share the sentiment, they would probably find a way to louse it up! I appreciate earnest, hard work of Tom and his gf. As well as the small community here and on patreon (where I am under a different alias)
I have lived in Montana all of my 62 years of life and I never heard of this place. I built logging roads and did Forest Service road construction all over Montana and find this information fascinating. I would find old cabins and traces of human activity in very remote places and always wondered who the people were and their story. Great video.
I’m a fanatic about checking things out a little further. Keystone is on Google Maps and you can enter it in Google Earth to have a closer look. If you look, you can figure out where the big stones from the overpass on each side of the road are and see them and find some of the ruins he explored. It would be interesting to find out if you did see Keystone and just didn’t know it. Or if you were close.
Imagine working through the middle of bumfuck nowhere and just coming across this old rotting wooden cabin miles from anywhere. I'd nope the fuck out immediately because that's some creepypasta SCP bullshit.
As a child when I would see abandoned homesteads, there was often a family cemetery, with maybe a dozen stone markers. Neglected family plots seemed so lonely surrounded by dry prairie grass.
Yes, they do! You can find beautiful, old abandoned houses in parts of upstate New York, towns like Seneca Falls, which were once factory towns. You can find lonely, abandoned grave yards in New Hampshire and Vermont. So much life so long ago, now forgotten!
What always gets to me about abandoned towns, etc that are in "the middle of nowhere" is the sheer amount of work it took to fell the trees, shape the logs or saw them. Not to mention the work in merely getting supplies to the town. Things like glass for the windows, tin for the roofs, etc. And all the items needed for a general store, or hotel and restaurant (not to mention the bedding, cookware, dinner ware, etc) and on and on. And until the railroad came through it had been brought in by horse and wagon. The very idea of just the above makes me feel tired...
You said it joemackey.... also the massive stumps to be removed after all those trees were cleared.... by machine?, if it was for R/W of the center line of RR track.... most likely pole, axe, saw, rope and a team of oxen, and what with it being mountainous land in Montana I imagine the ground was rocky and unforgiving.
Once upon a time, most every place in the United States was in the middle of nowhere. Building a cabin, furnishing it, etc. would have been monumental tasks but were considered just part of what you had to do…
"Definitely a fixer upper... in today's market this would go for around $450,000..." I love Tom's sense of humor! He's spot on as always! This is such a beautiful, informative and poignant video. Thanks, Tom and Emma and crew! If you ever do see any spooky activity a compilation would be a great Hallowe'en video. :)
Very good video. nice drone shots, good sound and editing. If you had the feeling you weren't alone or were being watched.. you were... heh heh. Not much goes unnoticed by those of us that live in truly rural Montana. Glad ya had a chance to visit during a nice time of year. When it's 50 below zero out it really brings home how tough life was back then, even in what once were nice cabins. I deal and live with horses, winter is tough with modern equipment. Deep respect for the earlier settlers. All the best to you!
Even if the excellent, extensive historical background explanation wasn't there, I'd still be learning so much from all the in-field examples of "This thing is a [...]. That means [...]". Like when you pointed out the direction of the lateral beams and how the roof must have rolled
There are some many ghost towns with a similar story to Keystone. In some ways the story is tragic as it highlights that the hopes and dreams of many were dashed by the failure of the mines.
I am quickly becoming a huge fan of this channel! Future request to consider: Silver Islet, Ontario. Another ghost town on the north shore of Lake Superior.
> I've lived and worked in many US states and anywhere, everywhere there are traces of humanity. Remoteness did not stop the dreams and hard work our nation grew up on. Many times it is only a name on a map that hints to centuries old activity underneath overgrowth, brush and cow pastures or interstates. This land is always changing and many thanks to you two for giving a glimpse of what was our original nation.
This is my favorite type of content on your channel. I appreciate how you take the time to edit in additional footage and narration rather than 100% of the video being somebody standing behind a camera talking and pointing at stuff. I hope to see more videos of your travels in the future, they're very interesting!
Have been to a mining settlement about 9,000 feet up in the Boulder mountains of Idaho, 20 or so miles from Ketchum. It was called Boulder City and was at one point the highest mining settlement in Idaho. Over 700 people used to live up there and much of the original buildings still survive including the stamp mill, some cabins, and a large cabin which was probably a mine office or saloon of some sort. The mine operated from 1883 to 1891 and had brought out a million dollars worth of silver, lead, and gold. One year I went up when there was still snow on the ground and found a burlap Sack with the letter “B” on it. I still have that burlap sack and for 130 years old it is in remarkable shape. The settlement is in this big basin, completely surrounded my mountains and one time we were caught up in a massive thunderstorm, lightning striking extremely close. Very fun and awesome time. I recommend it whenever you find yourself in Idaho.
I discovered your channel two weeks ago while looking for a distraction from the pain of my dog’s unexpected death. I’ve mainly watched the ones about shipwrecks, but this one caught my eye because I have family in western Montana. Your videos are informative, professional, unique, and free of foul language. Thanks for the content and hard work you obviously put into your channel.
this is an amazing and fantastic diversion from your original content. it almost has a tangible feel to it because we can actually see you walk up to the remains and describe them. as opposed to basically being confined to history books, paintings and black and white pictures from so far ago.
The tangible and on foot videos are my favourite on this channel, brings out the hidden urban explorer in me, and the history and drone shots just add to the fantastic video!
What a great location with so much history and character! When I was a teen, we visited a Ghost town close to Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, Canada. There was lots of houses that were just piles of lumber. But one had a stone fireplace that had 1812 on it ! You could feel a bit of the soul and energy from the people that lived there!
There is a pair of ships, a 1950s destroyer and 20s tug boat if memory serves, currently sitting on the bottom of the Columbia river in Portland right by the i5 bridge. Would love to see their stories told
You captured a time in history of if Buildings could talk. A time capsule glimpse of what it took to live back then one can only imagine. And at 13:15 a sighting of a local inhabitant of today.....
I myself am a Montana guy, born and raised. But you do great work with your videos and i love the way you always ask people to show respect and clean up after themselves ❤
I live near a place called Keystone Colorado and whenever I look it up it always shows me other Keystones across the country and this one Is one I once saw in a article about ghost towns. Great video keep it up!
To think about the people who used to call those cabins home. What did they think about? Talk about? What were their dreams? Did they laugh and cry in those cabins?
Be careful! I almost ended up stepping into an abandoned well on a similar property. It was so overgrown I couldn’t see it. No structure, just a deep, deep hole.
As a kid I loved history for the wars and infamous leaders, but your videos and Israeli excavation videos makes me respect and appreciate all the little things that haven’t been touched by humans for generations.
PTE, I watch a lot of professionally produced documentaries on YT because there is nothing informative on TV. I watch History docs in most genres, including war, forgotten history, military history, ghost towns, maritime disasters...etc. I have even resorted at times to watching urban explorers but get frustrated with their lack of knowledge and research, just like ghost hunters. I love seeing inside the buildings they get access to but don't really care about the ghost parts. I just like to learn about factual history. Then one day, your content came up as a suggestion in my feed! I decided to check it out. I am now a dedicated fan! I've binge watched most of your mini docs and always wish they were longer! You may not realize it, but as you've continued to create content and refine your skills, you just keep getting better and better at creating engaging content while being more comfortable in front of the camera and narrating. I look forward to helping your channel grow through Patreon donations in the near future! Cheers!
The handful of times I've been able to do this outside of the archeological tech job I used to do (And we didn't go out into the wilderness) it has been amazing. Course its rural Georgia and not the west or mid-west, but love these kinds of videos and just wish I could go on them myself. Thank you for these little tours.
Just a bit of advice from someone you have probably never met. Find a way to do it before you are too old to do it anymore. Dont wish for it . Work for it. Its the best decision that I ever made. Remember. The biggest regrets most people have in life are the risks they didnt take.
Superior Montana just east of there is my hometown. I've hiked up Keystone so many times. I've gone farther up The Gulch and even inside a few of the mine shafts on the left hand side before they were purposely caved in so no spelunkers like myself would enter, Night Owl #3 was the first Shaft I've walked all the way back into. There are quite a few buildings and mining equipment and even more shafts if you are up for the hike farther up The Gulch.
Part time explorer, I came to say. Thank you for your mini history documentary. On the modest silver ghost town of keystone. Deep in the mountains and wilderness of Montana. Wanted to say, I acknowledge your researching, editing and presentation for the video. As an long time history bluff. The historical significance on exploration videos such as ghost towns. Fascinates me very much. I admire you put tons of research, knowledge and history. Whenever you guys stumble across on emptied, silent and gorgeous destinations. Attractions where they once boom and bustle with trade; commerce and societal communication. Keystone is one prime sample of the many spots. Where residents continued living in the area. Until all of a sudden, much of the town folks packed their stuff and left entirely. Due to locals using and extracting up. All of the sources like silver; timber, etc. Towns such as keystone usually give us glimpse of the past. An sense of who we are as humans. Often abandoned quiet and peaceful locations. Generally leave hints or clues of historic importance. Once the area thrived and boomed. Throughout the years until everybody left. Thank you Emma and Tom. For the skillful and informative content. Y'all upload on RU-vid. Seems astonishing without no profane language, drama nor nonsensical things. Being added to your documents (or other videos).
I found many of these abandoned cabins and houses through out the areas I roamed in western Montana while I was at the U of M. I would make the drive to Montana from PA and back, two to three times a year. I lived there for five years.
Thank you for this. Yes my family was here to visit every ghost town and not ghost towns:)Love the history you speak of thank you and keep doing what you like doing?
I just discovered you and this video. I loved it! I love your narration and the wealth of information. And the photography and scenery was beautiful. Thank you for your work. I think I’ll stick around awhile.
I just found your channel today and have been doing a little binge watching. You do a fabulous job on your videos. My mom went to boarding school near here in the 1940’s. So I have some knowledge of the area. It is a beautiful around there.
I'm really enjoying your videos. Not only are these videos informative, but I also find them therapeutic, and relaxing. With everything going on in the world today, we all can use a little of that. LOL!
I grew up in Mineral county. As kids a lot of those buildings were still intact. We'd go there with our pellet rifles to shoot packrats. There's actually an old cabin way up in the back country that still had dry food goods in jars on the shelves and furniture and cooking utensils and such inside.
One place to check out is Bridal veil Oregon, there was an extensive narrow gauge railroad and it was a logging town. There also was a impressive trestle. Unfortunately there's not much left mostly piles of cans, some of the settlements were well above Multnomah falls.
your content is A1, love the narrative, the drone shots, old reminiscent pictures that takes us to how it would really be, black and white, perhaps still more colorful than our times, so much energy coming off these beautiful lands, one with nature, railroad along the river, so much craftsmanship involved, back breaking work that made boys men, and girls into women, the true pioneer of what our great nations once were.
I grew up in keystone Montana and I was told the reason the town was abandoned was because of leprosy. This definitely interesting. I'll have to share it with my father. The Seymour family was one of only 2 family's that lived up there until my grandma's and grandpa's passing.
What I love to with these videos is get on Google Maps, or something similar, and follow along as best I can and see if I can locate where he is, and where all the landmarks are. It helps make the experience more real.
In years gone by when wells or mines were no longer viable, the people threw flotsam and jetsam down them because concrete was expensive. To protect farm animals and children from falling into them.
We were just in that part of Montana last week. I wish we would have found you before that. What a great video. We love to explore these old places too.:)
The flooring is "linoleum", not vinyl, and it was the cheapest thing you could use .... blocked floor drafts quite well too. My old 1930 Northern Michigan cabins had it.
It's interesting on that last cabin you see on the two visible corners the saddle notches facing upwards. I thought it was just the ridge cap turned sideways but you can see it all the way up on the other corner. I've only seen that one other time and the old man who built it when he was in his teens said he was just learning and made a mistake.
