Did crops die in ghost towns?

Answer 1

Mining towns became ghost towns because the mines ran out of ore or the oil wells ran out of oil or some other source of income vanished and the people abandoned the houses. The farmers and ranchers in the surrounding area still had a market for their crops, so they did not leave the area. In fact, they used much of the lumber from the abandoned houses to build barns or for firewood. You can ride through places and see towns on old maps and wonder what happened to the old houses that should be empty. You may not see the empty houses. You might see farm houses with chimneys.