![]() Since the chairlift and incline railway are the only ways tourists can access the park, they both required constant repair. Coburn’s ownership, Ghost Town suffered from a lack of maintenance and mismanagement. The Red Devil, featuring a red and white paint scheme, opened in September 1988 with little fanfare. Unfortunately, its summer opening was delayed due to construction and harsh weather conditions. He hoped the new attraction would bring in 25-30% more guests. The new coaster was part of a park refurbishing plan by Coburn. In 1988, he hired Hopkins Rides to build a new $2 million steel roller coaster on the side of Buck Mountain. Coburn sold Ghost Town in 1973, but bought it back a decade later in 1986. The town was completed in May 1961 and consists of about 120,000 square feet of building space. Approximately 300,000 feet of lumber, 200,000 feet of plywood, and 20,000 pounds of nails went into the construction of Ghost Town. When construction began in 1960, over 200 locals were hired to build the 40 replica buildings that comprised the Western Town, located at the mountain’s peak. It moves at a rate of 310 feet per minute and scales 3,370 feet. The chairlift is the longest in North Carolina and the second-longest in the United States. In the spring of 1962, a two-seat chairlift was added parallel to the incline railway to take visitors up the mountain. ![]() Tourists could only reach the mountaintop amusement park by riding the incline railway or the chairlift up to the top. The railway created an exciting ride up to the top of the mountain with varying slopes ranging from 30 to 77 degrees. The incline was created with a 25-ton bulldozer attached to a winch secured to another bulldozer, which pulled the bulldozer up the mountain. A double incline railway was constructed to bring visitors to the top of Buck Mountain. At its peak, Ghost Town attracted over 400,000 visitors each season. New rides and attractions were added throughout the years. The heart of the park is the Old West town that includes two saloons, a school, a bank, jail, and church. Each hour a gunfight was staged in the middle of the street with guests lining up to watch. The park is divided into several towns located at different elevations of the mountain, each with a different theme. The park was designed by Russell Pearson and constructed at a cost of $1 million. In 1960, he purchased Buck Mountain at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains for the location of his new attraction. Coburn was inspired to create a Western-themed amusement park after visiting several ghost towns in the American West. Coburn, a Virginia native who moved to Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Ghost Town in the Sky was the vision of businessman R.B. As Dollywood and Pigeon Forge soared, Ghost Town began fading. It was promoted as “North Carolina’s mile-high theme park.” At one time, Ghost Town served as a worthy rival to the pre-Dollywood Silver Dollar City/Goldrush Junction theme parks. In the upper right-hand corner you can see GLEN INGLIS in green and a notation for the Azalea Station.Ghost Town in the Sky opened on May 1, 1961, and quickly became one of the state’s most popular tourist attractions. They informed me that Glen Inglis still shows up on some property deeds and directed me to Map 214 (circa 1926/29). My knowledge of places in Buncombe County isn’t bad, but I still only had a vague notion of where Glen Inglis community was. In 1892 a young Charles Gudger wrote to Uncle Frank’s column in an Asheville newspaper.Īnd then there was exciting news about a local turnip contest! It had been in operation from September of 1890 until November 28, 1909.Ī search of yielded a couple of intriguing clippings. The post office was located between the Azalea and Swannanoa stations and referred to as Long’s Post Office. I learned from writing a previous post on Tennalina that there were reference books listing the history of post offices in Buncombe County (and almost anywhere else) to consult. When the card arrived a few days later, I was dumbfounded the find that the postmark was from Glen Inglis!Īrmed with that discovery I hurried down to the North Carolina Room to do some research. Quickly consulting my handy North Carolina Gazetteer (Second Edition), I found that Glen Inglis was a community (not exactly a ghost town) in central Buncombe County. ![]() I placed my bid, even without being able to decipher the postmark in the photo. I couldn’t resist the allure of a “ghost town” in Buncombe County, let alone one named Glen Inglis. ![]() I love an intriguing, if not hyperbolic description of an item on eBay like the one I stumbled on the other day. ![]()
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