Aladdin WY

Another ghost town, Aladdin WY is along Highway 34/24 between the Black Hills and Devils Tower. And once again, we certainly would NOT have stopped had it not been for a geocache.

15 citizens may be an exaggeration

there supposedly are 15 buildings in Aladdin

including Cindy B's Cafe, known for her homemade pies

and the Aladdin Motel

(I saw the motel, but I did not see Cindy B's Cafe)

the building was built in 1890 as a saloon and miner commissary

it became a general store in 1915

it is still a general store, a saloon, a service station, 

 a post office AND a museum

the post office section

I saw the mail arrive in several cartons

the driver who parked too close to the orange

cones was told to move

she did

wondered if the sign was accurate

but then I saw

over the years the building was also a telephone office and barber shop

and served as a depot and freight station

the saloon on the end opposite the post office

the Aladdin General Store is one of 5 mercantile stores 

of the 19th century in Wyoming showing the 

architecture and economics of that time period

a very old gas sign

someone did stop to pump gas

I was surprised the guy knew how to operate

the old pumps

bought some post cards

it seemed that most of the locals who stopped

walked out with cartons of cigarettes, many cartons

the city park with modern bathroom

there was a cowgirls outhouse behind the gas pumps

and a cowboys outhouse behind a garage

for a mere $1.5 million....

Just two miles east of Aladdin is the remains of a coal mine.

this is a tipple

a chute to move coal to waiting train cars

Black Hills Coal Mine started the mine in 1895

coal supply dwindled and the mine closed

About 2 miles west of Aladdin, General Custer made an appearance in 1874.

pretty rolling hills

today, Aladdin depends on ranching and the logging industry