Chesterfield is a well-known restored agricultural ghost town in southeast, Idaho. Our photos of the town can be found here: http://www.hisandhersphoto.com/ghost/hhchest.htm. I recently spent a day with photography friend Bruce Grayum exploring lesser known abandoned buildings in Gem Valley not far from Chesterfield.
The big surprise was this wonderful old school, "Hatch School 1915" according to the sign. I thought I knew the area pretty well but had no idea this was here. The schoolyard is used for farm equipment and hay storage now.
The snow is about gone so the fields surrounding this log homestead are being prepared for planting.
Many farms were abandoned because of the harsh winters, strong winds, and the shortage of water in dry years. Equipment like this disc harrow was sometimes left behind.
These windows were part of a much newer, shingled house that even had electricity and running water at one time. The ruins of a nearby log cabin gave us a clue that this house was the second one on this site.
An old Diamond T truck lies abandoned near the shingled house. The photo was converted to black and white using a filter function in my Pentax K20D camera. I'm sure there is more to be found and photographed in beautiful Gem Valley, Idaho.
