Visit Santa Claus, one of Arizona's ghost towns
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Arizona has plenty of ghost towns — at least 19 with free-standing structures, according to an Axios analysis.
State of play: Most are remnants of our mining days and some, like Jerome and Tombstone, have been given new life as tourist destinations.
- But there's one jolly spot we hadn't heard of: Santa Claus.
Flashback: Nina Talbot founded Santa Claus in 1937 on land she owned northeast of Kingman. Her plan was to create a Christmas-themed town to attract tourists, and eventually land buyers, to the remote desert area, per Atlas Obscura.
- There were several kitschy buildings and children could meet Santa any day of the year. The post office was particularly popular in December, as children delighted in receiving mail postmarked with the town name.
Yes, but: The tourist trap never gave way to the real estate empire Talbot envisioned. She sold Santa Claus in 1949.
- The town restaurant survived until the 1970s. The gift shop shuttered in 1995. Weathered Santa signs, burnt-out Christmas light bulbs, graffiti-covered buildings and a derailed miniature train were the only remnants of the place for decades.
The latest: You won't see much if you venture to the town today. In 2021, the remaining buildings were razed. It's been on the market since at least 2015 but does not appear to have sold yet.