Tumbleweed


 * For tumbleweeds (dried up plants), see Atmosphere."Tumbleweed? A lonely, godforsaken place. Some people say its haunted. It was quite a town back in its day, then they built the railroad to Armadillo and went clean past Tumbleweed. And that was that."

- Marshal Johnson.

 is a location featured in Red Dead Redemption in the Gaptooth Ridge region of the New Austin territory.

Red Dead Redemption
Tumbleweed is a ghost town and a gang hideout. However this was once a bustling 1800's town in its prime. There are many different theories about how it got abandoned, but the most logical is that is was abandoned because the railroad was built to Armadillo and had gone completely around Tumbleweed. Not long after, everyone had moved away, causing bandits to overrun the town because of the lack of authority.

The Leigh Johnson mission "Hanging Bonnie MacFarlane" ends at this location. The Seth Briars mission "A Gentle Drive with Friends" ends here and leads directly to the mission "Let the Dead Bury Their Dead" which takes place entirely in this location.

A portion of the Stranger side-mission "Who Are You to Judge?" takes place in this location.

Outlaws to the End
A sizable battle with Walton's Gang occurs here in the Outlaws to the End Co-op mission "The Escape".

Undead Nightmare
During the Undead Nightmare, Tumbleweed has one of three New Austin cemeteries that will need to be cleaned of the Undead to complete the mission "Get Back in That Hole, Partner".

Like Jorge's Gap, Tumbleweed is filled with undead making exploring the buildings dangerous.

It does not need to be saved from undead, as it is one of the few Gang hideouts which are abandoned.

Buildings
Tumbleweed has several buildings all in various states of disrepair.

Church


Located on the far east side of the town, the small church in Tumbleweed is white clapboard with a small steeple. It is all one room and has only eight pews with a pulpit at the front. Despite a few holes around the building, it may be the most well preserved structure in Tumbleweed. Also, inside there are words written on the pulpit that read, "The devil has got into that beast." And, if you stand facing the pulpit at night, and turn the camera around to the left behind the pulpit, you can see a blurry vision of a demonic face near the bottom of the glass. Outside, there is a small shed and a small cemetery. Oddly enough, some of the headstones look new, while others have long since faded. The entire property is enclosed by a stone and wrought iron fence. In the northwest corner of the graveyard is a slightly crumbled grave marker of a lady named "Elenora Riddick", if you throw a fire bottle at this grave it opens, revealing what appears to be an empty coffin. This is the grave that Seth was searching on his last mission.

General Store & Assay Office
The General Store is located on the east side of Tumbleweed, and is made of wood reinforced stucco. Inside are three barrels, a counter, a small shelf, and a cash register. Remnants of curtains flap in the wind.

An assay office is an institution set up to assess the purity of minerals. This suggests Tumbleweed was a mining town, possibly servicing Gaptooth Breach before it went bust. A further hint that Tumbleweed was a mining town is mentioned by Marshal Johnson in the mission "Hanging Bonnie MacFarlane". The assay office in Tumbleweed was owned by the Spickin Mining Company. Inside the office is a desk, shelf, counter, cash register, and brick kiln. The office is located directly north of the General Store.

Saloon


A typical western saloon. The Tumbleweed saloon is the northernmost structure in Tumbleweed. It contains an old bar littered with empty and broken liquor bottles, a piano, the remnants of various mounted animals, a wagon wheel chandelier, and an office upstairs. Curiously, the clock on the wall is still functioning despite age and neglect. In Free Roam there is a Bolt Action Rifle located in the office.

Sheriff's Office & Jail


A large, one room sheriff's office. All that remains is one desk, and 3 chairs. It is on the west side of town. Next to it, a derelict brick jail, separated into three rooms, with the rusted remains of one jail cell. It can be found at the northwest side of town, to the west of the Saloon.

Residences


On the south side of the town, there are three unmarked buildings in a row that were probably apartments and/or houses. They all contain at least two beds and several moonshine bottles.

Barn


The southernmost structure in Tumbleweed, this barn was meant for keeping horses. The area is littered with junk like anvils, spittoons, and wagon wheels. Sometimes, tamed nags (old horses) will spawn in the corral.

Mansion


The mansion is by far the largest structure in Tumbleweed. It is situated on a ridge at the westernmost part of Tumbleweed. The grounds around the mansion host a small stable, a gazebo, abandoned wagons, and various garbage. The wooden mansion was built on a brick foundation with a cellar. It is one of a few buildings in the game that has a cellar. Some players claimed that there's something in the middle window of the mansion after reading the in-game newspapers. Could it be a spirit's face? A ghoul? A fairy? Or something else? For the moment it remains as a mystery.

Cellar
The cellar is walled in brick with three unevenly sized brick support posts, and a wood wall creating a horseshoe configuration. The floor is dirt and littered with garbage. There are various containers, boxes and chairs, as well as a casket, and a mattress. A bull's skull marks the location of Calhoun's Gold.

First Floor
The first floor contains the front room, storeroom, and kitchen. In the front room, there is a piano, two overturned sofas, a wooden crate, a large fireplace, and a fully functional grandfather clock. The floor is littered with garbage and fallen ceiling panels. The kitchen contains a stove, long table, and several broken chairs. The storeroom has a desk with some pots on it, some barrels, and a broken shelf.

Second Floor
There are two bedrooms. Each have their own bedroom space as well as an adjoining sitting room. These rooms are populated with various furniture such as beds, chairs, desks, armoires, nightstands, etc. While each room are both in disrepair, one has a surprisingly intact chair.

Use as a gang hideout
Tumbleweed has a history of being used as a gang hideout. It plays host to several bands of gangs and unaffiliated criminals. In Single player, the protagonist can help a sheriff named Claude Banfield, to clear the town of criminals.

Tumbleweed as a ghost town
Several characters and events throughout the game vaguely hint to Tumbleweed being haunted by ghosts. This could be simply for atmosphere or some other effect; however, due to the large quantity of similar rumors concerning other Rockstar games, it is not implausible to consider that Rockstar has inserted Easter Eggs into Red Dead Redemption.

In the News
This text appears in one of the newspaper about Tumbleweed, revealing what the citizens think about the ghost town:

"TUMBLEWEED HAUNTED? Following recent reports of ghost sightings in the abandoned town of Tumbleweed, visitors are continuing to tell of unnatural happenings and strange feelings. Some visitors claim to have seen spirits of the dead. Others ghosts, still others, ghouls and fairies. Our reporter on the scene found no evidence but we urge readers to send us reports of any unnatural happenings in the area."

"MORE GHOSTS TAKE UP RESIDENCE AT TUMBLEWEED The town of Tumbleweed, long believed by local residents to be possessed by evil spirits has claimed the lives of dozens more men. The area was found strewn with dead bodies and weapons leading the more educated and rationally minded amongst us to conclude that this is the work of mortal rather than unearthly beings. Rumors of riches hidden in Tumbleweeds abandoned mansion may have been the catalyst for the altercation, but for the moment it remains a mystery."

Multiplayer

 * In multiplayer Free Roam, the Bolt Action Rifle is located here. Americus Roe, who can be found in the mansion, sometimes spawns with a Carcano Rifle as well.
 * In multiplayer gang matches, this map is home to the Double-action Revolver, Double-barreled Shotgun, Henry Repeater, Sawed-off Shotgun, Carcano Rifle, and the Schofield Revolver.
 * In Capture the Bag, this map has two Gatling Guns, and one mounted Smoothbore Cannon.
 * Sometimes when playing competitive multiplayer matches in this location, rabbits and skunks can spawn to the area, but they will not do any harm to players.
 * Tumbleweed is the location of the "Undeadwood" map in Undead Overrun.
 * With the addition of the Myths and Mavericks DLC a Stronghold match can be played in this location.

Bugs

 * Occasionally, enemies in multiplayer will be stuck inside the large rock near the church, resulting in seeing only their arms and the barrel of their gun. You will be unable to shoot them if this happens, though on rare occasions a close-up shotgun blast will do the trick. Dynamite works for this problem; throwing it in the direct vicinity of the trapped enemy will often work. Leaving the area and returning is the only way to correct this issue if unable to kill the entrapped enemy.
 * If you shoot the hung victim's noose rope it will extend to the ground and the victim will still be attached to the rope, this is only confirmed with the Evans Repeater.
 * If you shoot the rope suspending the chandelier in the saloon, it will slowly disappear and the chandelier will remain suspended as if the rope was still there. If you continue to shoot the rope, the rope will extend toward the moose antlers and the chandelier will stay in the same position.
 * Sometimes when calling your horse, it will get stuck in the wall facing the front of the mansion in the cellar. When you arrive down after the horse's icon on the map disappears, you will notice it is running and only its tail and hind legs stick through the brick walls.

Trivia

 * In the church the words; "The devil has got into that beast," are scrawled on the top of the pulpit. This is possibly referring to the Dark Horse, or the extremely eerie dog barking. There is also a strange design in the back of the bottom shelf of the pulpit.
 * The reports of strange noises being heard in Tumbleweed by players as well as the reception the claim has received is reminiscent to the Sprunk Factory in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV as well as the many urban legends surrounding the countryside in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
 * A glitch can occur when attempting to complete the Tumbleweed gang hideout during Multiplayer. When killing the outlaws near the church, a criminal can spawn inside of a large rock. He retains the ability to shoot out of the rock, but the player cannot kill him with guns but throwing dynamite at the rock will kill him.
 * The name of the town might be a reference to the 1968 Clint Eastwood western film Hang 'Em High. This is possible because in the film, a wagon full of criminals is called the "Tumbleweed Wagon" and the town of Tumbleweed is full of criminals
 * The third treasure in the Treasure Hunter Challenges is located in the mansions basement underneath a cow skull in Tumbleweed.
 * Tumbleweed resembles Tarnation of Red Dead Revolver, both being ghost towns that are overrun with criminals and gangs.
 * Many NPCs travel the road towards the Mansion, but are not attacked by any gang members. If the player travels this road, they will not attack as long as one doesn't attack them. However in Multiplayer the gang members will attack the player if they go through Tumbleweed.
 * It is possible to get the Winchester Repeater immediately after the second mission; Just fast travel to Tumbleweed and clear it to receive a Winchester Repeater (the lawman must be kept alive in order to receive the weapon).
 * The Undead have a large presence in Tumbleweed, even after you clear the graveyard. Usually one-two can be found in each residence, and more are shambling around the town. They also spawn in hordes outside of the Mansion. Inside the mansion there are several Undead that will wander out of the rooms and attack Marston. But if entered as undead Marston, they will stand motionless until provoked.
 * Moses Forth's father is buried in the graveyard. The inscription ironically reads, "This is one grave he cannot rob."
 * In the Mansion, the player may sometimes hear a chicken clucking even though there is no livestock in the town.
 * According to a campfire tale, Walton Lowe can be seen sleeping in the Tumbleweed jail at midnight.

Red Dead Redemption
Completing the Tumbleweed hideout is associated with these gameplay achievements:

Undead Nightmare
Cleansing the cemetery at this location contributes toward the following Achievements/Trophies:

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