The Old West also lives on, they say, through Farmer John. It’s rumored that a ghost exists on the property and he’s been seen by several housekeepers, guests, previous tenants and some of the Lazy Z owners themselves. He’s believed to be living in a house that is 100 years old and occasionally will wander the resort and play tricks on housekeepers and guests. He’s been described as being over six feet tall, wearing a floppy straw hat, denim coveralls, carrying a shovel. But don’t worry – he’s said to be a friendly ghost who just wanders the property protecting his gold find that he never got to spend before his untimely demise 100 years ago.
If you want to get an idea of what life was like back then, then drive 15 miles or so to Columbia State Historic Park, a fun historical park that is ideal for families. Columbia’s Main Street looks like an Old West movie set except that the downtown stores are not just storefronts but actual historical buildings. There are about 40 brick buildings and 10 wooden structures all built back in the day when thousands of miners would come into town to get their supplies before returning to gold claims that ultimately produced $67 million worth of gold between 1850 and 1870. That may not be impressive using today’s price of gold, but when you consider that gold sold back then for just $20 an ounce, you start to realize that this area’s gold production was massive.
