Empire, NV, America's newest ghost town, was once owned by US Gypsum, a mining and processing company that specializes in sheet rock. The company opted to close the factory in Empire on January 31, 2011, laying off 95 employees, and forcing the residents of the small desert community to evacuate the town. Today the houses, churches, and playgrounds many people called home are surrounded by fences and barbed wire. (Photo by John Rose ©2011)