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The Bizarre Mystery of the Village of Table Rock
Josh
Monday
9:58 am
I drive I-80 through Wyoming several times a year — it’s one of the most boring drives in existence. The stretch of road between Rock Springs and Rawlins is exceptionally bleak. Nothing but rocky plateaus and sweeping expanses of valley punctuated by sagebrush. Services are often 30-40 miles apart.
Welcome to the next 300 miles.
But there’s been a mystery that’s always confounded me on this nod-inducing drive, and this time I decided to investigate.
At mile marker 150, there’s an exit marked “Table Rock Road.” There is an abandoned, boarded up gas station at the entrance, and just beyond that, an exact replica of a 1980s suburban neighborhood parked right in the middle of the desert.
It’s astounding. In the middle of nowhere is a small loop containing 30 identical perfect houses. They’re all split level homes, common in the early 80s, with two car garages, decks and swingsets. At the center of this development is a large common building.
I’ve wondered about it every time I breezed by at 80 MPH, but never stopped. Until this time.
Armed with only my cell phone camera, my wife and I pulled off the road for a closer look. To add to the creep factor, every one of these homes were abandoned. Several had broken windows, and any semblance of lawn had long since dried up.
There are numerous no trespassing signs, and a gate that generally does a pretty good job of keeping vehicles out. I wanted to wander in on foot for a closer look, but some giant piles of firewood stacked near some of the houses told me that someone — or something — was still living there.
“What was it?” my wife and I wondered for the next few hundred miles. A Spielbergian movie set? A former polygamist compound? A military training site, should they ever have to invade suburbia? Some kind of fake nuclear testing facility? The site of a T-virus unleashed on an unwitting town?
Well, thanks to some Google Fu, we now have an answer.
The Table Rock Village as seen from Google Earth.
According to The Internet, The Table Rock Village was constructed in the late 1970s as company housing for the Colorado Interstate Gas employees that worked in the area. Due to several subsequent mergers and the increase of technology, automation and telecommuting, a company called Anadarko Petroleum found itself owning this creepy little community. Faced with the liability of owning a microtown and not enough employees who needed to live there, the neighborhood was shuttered up in 2003.
Allegedly, Anadarko is going to bulldoze the remaining homes, but it still stands there today, a bizarre shrine to model communities of a generation ago.
Or, at least, that’s what the company wants you to think. My money is on the fact that the town was built on a Native American burial site, and the denizens were slowly driven mad by the spirits of the former inhabitants of the area, eventually breaking their windows and vandalizing their properties before running off into the desert.
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Reader Comments
This article makes me want to live, here…
At first, I thought that this might be the result of that real estate mogul that built an entire community and had buyers of every home, but failed to secure the services rights resulting in a town of bought homes that no one could live in.
But in ever way, I would love to get into this town to do some derelict photography of the old buildings and try to capture that ghost town atmosphere. I think that would just be fun.
God that’s so awesome! Funny the first thing I thought of when I started reading was maybe it was an abandoned Spielberg set!
Wow. This is double weird for me. I grew up in Rock Springs, and went to school with kids that lived in Table Rock. I had no idea it had been abandoned…I guess it’s been awhile since I drove that way. There are a lot of little abandoned spots throughout SW Wyoming, though. I had a Ford Bronco in high school in which I did some really stupid 4-wheeling in attempts to find abandoned mines and minetowns. Ah, adventurous stories for another time… But seriously, you want creepy – let me tell you sometime about how Rock Springs is run by the mob. Not kidding.
I’m dying to get in there and do some photography — but I have the feeling the place is inhabited, at least on some level, by people who don’t take kindly to unarmed nerds.
And, Zeblue — you can live there if you like. Just bring a gun and some firewood.
So firewood is currency?
And that is the creepiest thing I have ever seen…
And is Google Earth made to make Wyoming look like a post-apocalyptic wasteland, or is that natural to the state?
Last time I drove through Wyoming it was covered in snow. That is a good thing.
Nick — I’m going to go easy on you, son, since you’ve never driven through Wyoming. It’s a lot like northern Canada, but without trees and water.
I grew up in Table Rock Village, and it was hell. We had to travel 45 miles to get groceries or go to school. We attended school in Wamsutter and then in Rock Springs after 8th grade. Everyone knew the next person’s business, and homes were completely spotless because the jobs were held by men and women had nothing to do but fight amongst themselves, have affairs, and clean. I am glad no other kids will be raised in that hell hole.
Why people lived there: Employees living in Table Rock were provided with free television services, free housing, no water or utility bills, free paint for rooms – any color any time, free trash service, even free trash bags, free new carpet every few years, and excellent health insurance. That’s why.
J. Theresa — that’s fascinating! I *knew* the place was giving off sinister vibes! Thanks for sharing your story!
Although, hell, I’D live in Table Rock Village for free carpet every few years. My living room is looking pretty stubbly…. : )
I’ve always wondered about those roads on freeways, especially after driving cross country. Way more interesting than your average tourist trap. Makes sense though, the more you think about it.
I drive a truck and drive by there every morning at 2:00AM there is never any light and when the moon hits it. you can see the snow never melts off the roofs. Hence; no heat. No one lives there. so take some pics, would love to see them.
Next time I drive through Wyoming, I’m totally going to stop and take detailed pictures.
That said, Brian — you’re the one driving through every day — show us what you’ve got!
Nobody lives there anymore. Many of the houses have been moved into Rock Springs beside Veterans Park, which is behind Sands Cafe. All of the houses that are still left are clones of one another, except the paint.
Check out the Facebook page, Table Rock Memories. It is open to anyone. Some real weirdo memories.