Vona, CO

 

Vona was a town built by the railroad in the 1880’s.  The little farming community took hold and became a thriving growing burg on the plains.  It was the premier town in the area.  Then fire struck.  Downtown went up in ashes.  Afterwards very few stores were rebuilt and Vona began its slide in obscurity. 

Couple of old buildings survived and some new ones were built to replace them.  Then the depression came along with the Dust Bowl. Vona became a town of vacant lots along the main drag. 

 

Today one can cruise main and not see much of anything.  Even the trains are occasional.  The traffic jams are the tumbleweeds trying to blow thru town. 

They were able to keep a grade school going and most of the towns population is the teachers.  There is a post office, gas station and grain elevator that still operate. 

Tucked back in among the side streets are some of the old buildings that survived giving one a glimpse of what used to be. 

Today a building like this would be considered an office building.  Back then it probably had a different use. 

Next to the railroad tracks is an old shed, for coal, maybe feed or?  It has aged in the next century and clings on despite the vagaries of nature. 

The old concrete water storage tank has survived and has become a tourist attraction.  A local agency has made a board for some of its history and help preserve it.  A new tank is being built and the ground is all torn up as new pipes are being installed. 

Out on the highway is the service station, the last remaining business on the old highway.  The Interstate flies by south of town a mile or better.   The structure is a compilation of various era.  A variety of additions when there were bountiful customers.  Today it sits for the most part and the times of day passes by.

Poke around the streets, the old machinery, the few well maintained homes, the old rusty car hulks, the neglected buildings.  It is a town of death and survival. 

There is the junk collector sitting over yonder.  A view of life that was once the dream of many, now forgotten.  Dust collects, time passes and the few cling to their lifestyle.