An enterprising young woman bought an entire ghost town in Northern California and turned it into a laid-back feminist paradise BETSY ANN COWLEY was nearly 3,000 miles away from home, vacationing in the Caribbean with her family, when she got the news: Northern California was in flames. And Pulga, the town where she lived, sat in the fire’s path. The Camp Fire, which ignited November 8, 2018, in Butte County, had already practically destroyed two nearby towns, Paradise and Concow.
Men standing in front of the old train station, circa 1915. The town was known as Big Bar before it became Pulga in 1906Pulga’s history is rooted in the indigenous Concow Maidu tribes that once lived on the land. The town proper was founded in 1885 by William King, whose family operated a sawmill. By 1906 it had a post office and was attracting residents who were mining for gold and “Pulga Jade,” an apple-green mineral also known as vesuvianite sought by the iconic jeweler Tiffany & Co.
That’s when Cowley stepped in. A friend had told her about a town up in the Plumas National Forest that was for sale—an entire town—that consisted of four purchasable lots. It may seem outlandish, but it’s not uncommon for unincorporated rural towns like Pulga—towns so small that they have no local government but are instead under the jurisdiction of a larger county—to go up for sale, and Cowley, 28 at the time, was intrigued.
Despite the lingering damage and sadness, though, Cowley’s world still feels idyllic. A narrow, paved road—one of only two in Pulga—winds through the remote hillside town. Walk it day or night, swallowed by the shadows of trees that still tower, and you might feel like the only person left on the planet.
Unlike other former ghost towns, Pulga can support electricity, running water, and working toilets. There’s no cell reception, however, and if you want to log onto Cowley’s lone Wi-Fi network, she’ll probably give you the password, but you’ll need to trudge up to the town’s northwestern tip to connect to its signal.
That event was the culmination of everything she’d been trying to create in Pulga. “I loved the idea of it—we were going to bring 100 women here and allow them this safe space,” she says. “It was about trying to tear down the patriarchy and its structures. And Sarah coming in and believing in me,” she says of Lacy, “she really took a leap of faith for me.”
goals
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: bust_magazine - 🏆 151. / 63 Read more »
Source: TeenVogue - 🏆 481. / 51 Read more »
Why Korean Women Are Hesitant To Label Themselves Feminists‘Maybe I’d say I’m a feminist if I wasn’t in Korea, but there’s a certain stereotype and stigma that comes with the title here.’
Source: WomenintheWorld - 🏆 150. / 63 Read more »
Source: RedMagDaily - 🏆 312. / 61 Read more »
Source: BusinessInsider - 🏆 729. / 51 Read more »
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »