Having traveled the Interstate 10 many times from Texas to Arizona, I finally stopped one day at a group of ramshackled, abandoned wooden cabin-like structures at New Mexico's exit 3 on the New Mexico-Arizona border. Fenced off with No Tresspassing signs posted, I couldn't go far.

To many, it's hardly worth a stop, but I had the time, so I pulled in to realize there's actually a "Welcome to Steins" sign that is almost in as poor condition as the ghost town itself.

Its history seems to have begun in the mid 1800s with records indicating establishments of a mining quarry and Southern Pacific Railroad stations in the area. Its peak may have been in 1919 with 1,000 residents, but by 1925, the rock quarry closed, and the railroad stop which delivered water to the community was discontinued. In 1944 the post office was discontinued, and in 1964 a fire swept through, destroying many of the buildings.

In more recent years, the land has been bought by private citizens who offered tours to the general public, but it seems that, too, has been discontinued.