Bagdad, CA

[Subdeacon Joe]

Quote

Here's another site along old Route 66. This tree is all that's left of Bagdad. Bagdad once had a little town built around a water stop for the railroad. Later a restaurant served travelers along Rte 66. When Interstate 40 bypassed this section of the highway it dried up. The railroad wound up with all the land and bulldozed everything for insurance reasons. The remains of the town are buried there and if you go there you can pits where people have dug stuff up for whatever reasons. People began putting locks on the tree for some reason but that's harmful to the tree. Roland, a man who helped tend the cemetery there asked me to cut the locks so I did. Now there's a sign there explaining the significance of the tree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967]

Columnist Herb Caen often called San Francisco "Baghdad-By-the-Bay."  

 

Hr had no idea....  

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

So pardon the silly question but what was up with the locks?

Regards

    

Gateway Kid

[Dantankerous]

58 minutes ago, Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life said:

So pardon the silly question but what was up with the locks?

Regards

    

Gateway Kid

 

Possibly locks and chains to keep someone from chainsawing the tree down?

 

Neat picture and a cool story. So much of history is lost in a matter of minutes sometimes.

 

 

[Subdeacon Joe]

4 hours ago, Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life said:

So pardon the silly question but what was up with the locks?

Regards

    

Gateway Kid

 

I suspect that they were "Love Locks."  Some fad that got started Lord knows how, of putting a lock on a fence, rail, post, tree, something public, and throwing away the key to "symbolize undying love."

 

Or some such twaddle.