Abandoned desert gold mill hides 3 extremely rare and classic lost cars

A YouTuber has discovered three classic lost cars in an abandoned California gold mill.

Remote Trooper gave his subscribers a close look at the gold mill of Bill Keys, which has laid desolate for almost 60 years.

Among the ruins of the Wall Street gold mill were the remains of some vintage cars.

And when I say vintage, I’m asking you to cast your mind back to a time when silent films were still playing in theatres.

READ MORE: 3 supercars have been locked in abandoned Chinese dealership for 12 years

The vintage cars of Bill Keys’ gold mill

The first car shown by Remote Trooper was a 1929 Lincoln Model L2 limousine that had been converted by Keys himself into a station wagon.

Inspecting it closely, he said: “This is quite literally the most majestic thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

He also came across a green 1930 Lincoln L Series pickup truck, which was looking worse for wear.

Its wheels were half buried in the ground and nearby bushes were covering up most of it.

By comparison, it looked in better shape than a fellow 1930 Lincoln L Series truck, which had completely degraded front tires.

Lincoln has been producing cars since 1917, when it was founded by Henry M. Leland.

Named after the US President Abraham Lincoln, the company was acquired by Ford in 1992.

They have remained its parent company to this day.

Why was the Wall Street gold mill abandoned?

But what about Bill Keys?

Why had his gold mill been left abandoned?

The land upon which it was built had been purchased in 1930 by Keys, who was a rancher in the area.

In the 1940s, he got wrapped up in a feud with his neighbor, Worth Bagley, over access to the land.

On May 11, 1943, Keys killed Bagley in a shootout and subsequently went to prison on murder charges.

Five years later, he was released after it was decided he had acted in self-defense.

Upon returning to the Wall Street Mill, Keys placed a stone there that read: “This is where Worth Bagley bit the dust from WF Keys’ hand, May 11 1943”.

Keys would die in 1969, three years after the mill was last used.

It remains one of the best-preserved gold mills in the Joshua Tree National Park.

Car graveyards are a real treat for any car enthusiasts who know their history.

One graveyard exists in Germany, full of vehicles built in 1950.

The owner, who himself was born that year, bought them explicitly to watch them rot.

You can check out Remote Trooper’s videos on his YouTube channel.