In honor of Halloween week, we’re visiting a few Wyoming ghost towns.

Many of the state’s ghost towns are related to industry - either coal or the railroad. The town of Gebo was right at the intersection of those two for most of its short history. According to County10, New York entrepreneur Samuel Wilford Gebo represented a group of investors when he formed the Owl Creek Coal Company in 1906. The already operating Jones Mine in Hot Springs County became known as Gebo #1 and the town of Gebo formed nearby. It was perfectly located to supply coal to the nearby Chicago, Quincy, and Burlington Railroad. Then, when World War I arrived, it shipped coal worldwide. With over 2,000 residents in its heyday, Gebo was the largest town in Hot Springs County -- and one of the largest in the state. But, the advent of the diesel locomotive in 1934 started spelling the end for Gebo. With the more efficient mode of travel, the railroad no longer needed coal. However, the mine continued to run for local use until the early ’60s. Riverton residents often got coal from Gebo instead of the much closer Hudson coal mine because its coal was harder and produced more heat. Gebo was bulldozed in 1971, but a few crumbling buildings and the cemetery remain.