I've Been Living In A Ghost Town Almost 4 Years!

The new American Hotel is looking amazing!

Dear Brent, I can’t tell you how much your story has helped me. I’m a Paradise resident who fractured my back just months before the fire ripped through our town and took everything. I lost my home and business in that fire. And your videos gave me the strength to keep going in what felt like rebuilding in not only a ghost town but remnants that look like hell on earth. It’s the most hardcore thing I’ve ever lived through. New fire codes that required me to build a deck out of 8” x 8” pressure treated lumber. I had to buy a chainsaw to fit my skillsaw to cut them and because I chose a 17 sided heptadecagon, it required angled end cuts! as most builders said it would take years before they could get to rebuilding my home. After three moves from one bad rental to another. I chose to move back to the burnt out property and rented a 5th wheel to live in. So my daughter and I could be here. Rather than travel here everyday. Not thinking about the fact everything was gone. No food, no stores nothing. So you forget after late nights trying to get that project done and you forget you have no food, we had a lot of food trucks in the beginning and still 4 years later some still serve this community. There’s so much more I hope to share with you in person when I actually get the time to come visit in person. Paradise has a bit of mining history too. Dogtown was where the largest gold nugget found to date in California. April 1859 a 54 pound gold nugget was found. But just want you to know how much you inspired me to keep going! Thru every obstacle and really just helped knowing someone else was building there dream. Keep up the amazing job you’re doing. And know many of us are proud of your accomplishments. Can’t wait to come see the Hotel when it’s done. It’s about an 8 hours drive from here but I’m brainstorming everytime I see your videos or read an email, what I’ve learned that would help you. 🙏❤️‍🩹 thank you from the bottom of my heart! Rock on brother!!! 😊

I found your channel during the pandemic, still dealing with lifelong depression. Along with having the opportunity to work hard, stability and some good people in my life, this channel helped teach me to focus on manifesting a positive future rather than lingering on the past. As of this last year or two, I can say with surety that since age 26, I'm no longer depressed. Thanks!

I remember finding your channel when there was only three videos on it. It's been a really cool journey to follow from all the way back at the start of the pandemic and seeing you discover the various secrets and areas no human has been in a very long time. Then seeing you rebuild after the tragedy of the fire has been so inspiring. I hope someday to come up and stay in the revived American Hotel and see all of the work you've done in person. Keep on keeping on Brent, you're a real gem for sharing this adventure with all of us.

Anyone else just feel like Cerro Gordo is like a home? 😂 I’ve watched all of the videos and seeing how far it’s come inside and outside of the mine is just amazing and heartwarming. I pay more attention to the history of this town then whatever I learned in school. Thank you Brent for turning this pretty place into a beautiful place. Also 100% buying a book.

As of this writing, 1.67 MILLION subscribers, and growing! But Brent didn't think he had anything to say. What a humble man. Buy the book.

A lesser man would have given up but a man like Brent doesn't know the word can't, I'm so glad to see where this channel and you have grown over the years. You've done some amazing work with this town and keeping it's history alive, We all wish to leave some small mark in this world and you sir have left yours. Here's to many more years of success

After almost four years, these videos have become so professional, a joy to watch. The book seemingly isn't available in the UK till March 2024, but it's on my wishlist. Proud to have watched these videos from the start. You talk about someday leaving your fingerprint on CG.. You have done already. Be proud of what you've achieved in the time you've been there already. Internet 900ft below ground level... The restoration of the buildings, the library.. and most importantly, the community you are building there. - Someday, somehow... I dream about spending a few nights in your hotel and experiencing just a slice of the joy you experience from CG.

OMG I laughed when I saw you guys working on the collapse with that breaker bar. I helped dig out a full basement under my parent's house in my teens and I used one of those to break up rocks and cut roots. I called it, "the Misery Stick" I still have the damned thing out in the shed. 😥

43 months already! Amazing journey so far, can't wait to see what becomes of the future!

I think what you have done by preserving history is amazing!! Have you ever found any human remains or bones by exploring? (not including when you brought the dog out to the graves)

I wish my uncle was still alive to share this with him. So many good memories messing around in desert mines and hearing his prospecting and exploring adventures. You are living a dream and sharing it with so many, virtually and in real life. Thank you for sparking and making memories.

Jason is clearly a genuine, cool guy. That's a friendship you have that im envious of.

Everytime you release a new episode, I am so inspired by your vision and determination! Congrats!

It's soo amazing to me that you are turning a Ghost Town into a Living Town, it blows my mind after all these years of watching your beautiful town evolve into a thriving community

I remember watching you get stuck in the snow and thinking “what is he doing!!“.. i still think that in pretty much every video. But I have also watched you lead by example that most challenges we face are doable if we just keep going. Sometimes it takes help from people who do have a clue. How incredible to know that this very alive ghost town is the sum of so many peoples’ work! Thank you for these videos so we can follow along from all across our wonderful planet!

Stone markings could also be markers for places that were good hunting spots. "Killed 3 sheep from Here", "Water close by", or "Good Shelter" would be important information to document. I'd hypothesize more about how they'd be messages to the tribe in the seasons to come. Thanks for continuing to share these great videos. Congratulations on the book!

HUGE NEWS! I wrote a book! I have been working on this for almost two years now and I am SO excited to finally announce it. I put my put my heart and soul into this thing and really dug deep on making sense of these past 3+ years living up here. The book has all sorts of new stories, insights, and history of the town. I think it’s the best content I’ve ever made. If you've ever got anything out of this channel, I hope you'll consider pre-ordering the book. It is a HUGE way to show support for everything going on and would mean the world to me. Amazon: bit.ly/3sbkGw1 Barnes & Noble (Signed Copies!): bit.ly/3QrzoYb BooksAMillion: bit.ly/3tNaUks bookshop.org/: bit.ly/3rZb5bN Available in all formats - hardcover, e-book and audio: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709605/ghost-town… If you do pre-order the book (in any format) before Nov. 30th, I have some special bonuses for you: - Buy 1 book and get unreleased pages from the book and an unreleased full video of some of the best mine exploration I've never shown. - Buy 5 books and I'll send you a signed page from the draft manuscript for you to have. - Buy 10 books and you'll get an invite to a VIP party / tour of Cerro Gordo, hosted by me at Cerro Gordo, in April of 2024. - Forward all receipts of the book to: book@cerrogordomines.com/. *If you've already ordered 1 copy and want to take advantage of any higher tier, please forward new receipt to: book@cerrogordomines.com/

Thank you so much Brent for being so driven and inspiring not only me but others. You, my friend, have a special place in my heart, and I can not wait until the next update. Cheers, brother!

Brent, I absolutely love how dedicated you are to the history and restoration of Cerro Gordo. You are living the life that so many of us search our entire lives and never find. You've come so far and conquered so much and that is something everyone admires about you. I pray you continue to bring that HEARTBEAT back to that beautiful mining town and send all of my love from Oklahoma.