Brent Underwood purchased the abandoned California mining town of Cerro Gordo for $1.4 million in 2018, transforming a remote property defined by historical disasters into a long-term preservation project. According to Business Insider, the purchase was funded through a hard-money loan alongside contributions from several friends.
Logistical Realities of Ghost Town Ownership
Living in Cerro Gordo presents severe daily hurdles due to its remote location at the end of an eight-mile dirt road, roughly an hour away from the nearest store. According to Business Insider, Underwood experiences extreme isolation without running water, facing frozen pipes and deep winter snows that make basic tasks challenging. Since taking ownership, Underwood stated in a Business Insider as-told-to essay that the property has endured multiple severe weather events, including storms, fires, a flood, an earthquake, and a blizzard.
Historical Disasters and Local Lore
Cerro Gordo was a prosperous silver and lead mining hub during the 1800s, but its past includes industrial tragedies. Underwood manages the property’s rich history while navigating the psychological weight of isolation, noting in Business Insider that he initially heard mysterious sounds and once spotted a shadowy figure in a bunkhouse window.
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Preservation Goals and Daily Operations
Underwood splits his time between managing ongoing restoration projects on the historic hotel—with plans to eventually host overnight guests in cabins and campsites—and working his day job for Brass Check, which produces content like the Daily Stoic platform, podcasts, and newsletters. Rather than treating the acquisition as a short-term investment flip, Underwood told Business Insider that he views Cerro Gordo as a decades-long commitment aimed at preserving the historical integrity of the American West mining settlement.
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