Boom towns sprang up all over the west at new mining sites. But once the gold was gone, the towns often turned into ghost towns. Although some towns became completely barren, many actually did keep a small population. Some towns became market centers for the surrounding region or established mills. Those that were abandoned were usually stripped of everything the settlers could carry, because building materials were so valuable. Most ghost towns were not left with empty buildings, but rather with just the foundations of those buildings. Today towns like Virginia City, Nevada; Central City, Colorado; Tombstone, Arizona, and Nevada City, California, have been restored and turned into tourist attractions. Also good is a peek at the Newspapers of the Old West.