I explored a ghost town that was once a religious colony for a post-apocalyptic world. Here’s a closer look at the crumbling buildings that remain.
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Home of Truth was built in 1933 as a religious colony for a post-apocalyptic world.
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It once had 100 people but was abandoned in 1937 after the leader tried to resurrect a dead member.
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On a trip to Utah, I toured the perimeter of the ghost town and explored its history.
In 1933, a wealthy widow from New Jersey, Marie Ogden, believed the world was ending, according to Atlas Obscura. It was reported that she thought everywhere and everything would be destroyed except for a plot of land in Dry Valley, Utah. There, she said, Christ would have his second coming.
Source: Atlas Obscura
In response, Ogden founded Home of Truth in Dry Valley, and by 1935, 100 followers joined the commune, Atlas Obscura reported. But as quickly as the religious colony formed, it fell apart. By 1937, seven people remained and the abandoned buildings turned into a ghost town, according to the same source.
Source: Atlas Obscura
In May, I drove through southeast Utah’s red sandstone desert and sagebrush terrain to explore the abandoned town. It’s located outside of Monticello, Utah, near the entrance to The Needles section of the Canyonlands National Park.
As I approached the town’s coordinates, a massive rock came into view, and I knew I was close. According to Atlas Obscura, some believe Ogden’s followers attempted to hollow out the rock to build a church inside, hence how it earned the name “Church Rock.” In reality, ranchers dynamited a section to use as storage for salt licks and cattle feed, according to the same source.
Source: Atlas Obscura
As I approached the site, cows dotted farmland. To the left, I noticed a spattering of wooden buildings sitting below the mountainscape.
According to The Canyon Country Zephyr, Home of Truth was divided into three areas called portals. As I turned onto a dirt path, half a dozen wooden structures came into view, which formed one portal.
Source: The Canyon Country Zephyr
Today, the ghost town is privately owned, and Atlas Obscura reported that its new owners are restoring the buildings for tours. In May, I could only see the ghost town standing on the shoulder of Utah State Route 211. But even from a distance, I was fascinated by the remains of the colony.
I noticed the buildings appeared to be crumbling under the desert sun but they had a few signs of their previous life. I spotted a cross in the doorway of one wooden structure, and window frames falling out of another.
I looked around the empty buildings, which were built by the settlers, who lived without personal belongings, alcohol, tobacco, and meat, The Canyon Country Zephyr reported. During the desert’s cold winters, the same source said they relied on wood stoves and homes insulated with newspaper.
Source: The Canyon Country Zephyr
As I drove farther down the road, a wooden sign bleached from the sun confirmed I had reached the second section of the ghost town.
I later learned through The Canyon Country Zephyr that this was called the Inner Portal and where Ogden lived. The settlers who joined her pledged to do whatever God dictated via Ogden through letters on her typewriter, the same source reported.
Source: The Canyon Country Zephyr
Ogden’s home included a wraparound porch. The Canyon Country Zephyr stated that it had several bedrooms and a two-car garage underneath the structure.
Source: The Canyon Country Zephyr
I wondered if items like the picnic table were new or part of the original commune.
While there were reported to be about 100 residents at the commune’s peak, the town was largely deserted in 1937 following the aftermath of an attempt to resurrect a dead member of the commune, according to Atlas Obscura. A woman died of cancer and Ogden refused to bury her, insisting she could bring her back to life, the same source reported.
According to Colorado’s The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, Ogden hadn’t buried the dead follower, and every day, members of the colony gave the body salt baths to keep it clean and milk enemas for nourishment. The same source wrote that when word got out about the body, members became disenchanted with Ogden, and the colony was abandoned.
Source: The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
The details of the ghost town’s creation and its demise were some of the wildest stories I have heard. As I merged back onto the road, I was thankful to be heading back to my life in Colorado instead of one under Odgen’s leadership.
Read the original article on Insider
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