America is thick with ghost towns, from long-forgotten mining camps abandoned in a hurry to mouldering former villages wrecked by fire or flood. But which state has the most? Geotab has mapped the USA's ghost towns from coast to coast – so read on to discover where America's deserted settlements can be found and learn some fascinating history along the way.
It makes sense that the tiniest state in the US (Rhode Island's area is just 1,214 square miles/3,144sq km) has the smallest number of ghost towns – and it's a far cry from the gloriously intact shells of those in the West. The scant remnants of Hanton City are swaddled by a forest near the northern town of Smithfield. Little is known about this Colonial-era settlement, but the remains include cellar holes, stone walls and wells.
Bucolic New England is not known for its ghost towns. In Connecticut, the bones of just four abandoned settlements are scattered across the Constitution State. They include Johnsonville Village, a once-booming mill town populated in the mid-1800s and now privately owned by a church group. Pictured is the elegant Emory Johnson Homestead in the abandoned village.
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Another New England bolthole with a handful of abandoned spots, The Pine Tree state has a total of five ghost towns. The most famous of all is the eerie Perkins Township on Swan Island (pictured), some six miles (10km) off the Maine coast. Perkins began life in the mid-1700s, built on industries including fishing and ice harvesting. But by the 1930s, a faltering economy and concerns about the pollution in the nearby river meant residents had abandoned the town.
Vermont is better known for quaint ski resorts than rugged ghost towns, but there are still five dotted about the state. Among them is Glastenbury, which was washed away by a flood in 1898, still haunted by ghost stories. There's also the mining town of Tyson Furnace, which folded when its stores of iron ore ran dry. Beyond the towns proper, travellers will also spot cracked barns (like the one pictured), isolated resorts and deserted train stations.
The diminutive East Coast state of Delaware has few more ghost towns than its New England counterparts. The skeletons of six historic towns can be found across the state, with the most striking ruins including that of the Bancroft Mill complex (pictured), a once-thriving centre for textiles on the Brandywine Creek that closed in the 1960s. Beyond the deserted mills, Delaware is home to Glenville, a 20th-century housing development swallowed by a flood in 2003, where a cluster of isolated buildings remain.
New Hampshire is another state with just a handful of ghost towns. Among them is the White Mountains town of Zealand, which was once a logging hub – eventually the depletion of timber in the area caused the thrumming town to dwindle. Aside from the actual ghost towns, the most fascinating and photogenic abandoned place in New Hampshire is Madame Sherri's Castle (pictured), the ruin of a once glittering estate that belonged to an eccentric socialite.
Perhaps the most famous ghost town in all of New England is Massachusetts' Dogtown. The settlement sprang up during the American Revolutionary War and again during the War of 1812, when people in the region were forced inland to try to avoid attack. But as the threat of conflict lowered and industry on the coast flourished, residents moved away from Dogtown and returned to the water. Today all that remains is a series of hulking boulders, carved with inspirational words – unemployed stonecutters were commissioned by an affluent entrepreneur named Roger Babson for the project, following the town's abandonment in the 1800s.
New Jersey is better known for holiday hotspots like Cape May and Atlantic City than dusty old ghost towns. But Batsto Village, in the state's South Central Pinelands, is one that's worth visiting. It sprang up in the mid-1700s around the Batsto Iron Works and included various mills, an elegant mansion (pictured), workers' cottages and a general store. When the ironworks fell into decline, the town had a brief stint as a centre for glassmaking, though that business experienced a downturn too. The last house actually wasn't vacated until 1989 and now the abandoned village is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Think of the sultry Southern state of South Carolina and creaking ghost towns probably don't spring to mind. Still, there are a smattering, including historic remnants at the Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site. The town of Dorchester, down on the Ashley River, got its start in 1697, but was abandoned at the onset of the American Revolutionary War. There are still haunting remains, including what's left of a hulking brick bell tower of St. George's Church and a fortress crafted out of oyster shells.
While there are 12 ghost towns scattered across Tennessee, the most curious among them is wedged deep into the Smoky Mountains. At one time, Elkmont was a thriving logging camp, serving as a base for the Little River Lumber Company (established at the turn of the 20th century). A railroad was also built in the early 1900s, leading to the area becoming a popular holiday spot for the most affluent folks in the region – a clubhouse and hotel were eventually built. However, when the Smoky Mountain National Park was proposed, Elkmont's logging and holiday businesses were ultimately suspended and homes were sold off to the National Park Service. The abandoned buildings that remain are protected as a Historic District.
Venture across the breadth of the Bluegrass State and you will find 13 crumbling ghost towns in various degrees of ruin. The town most worth discovering is Barthell, a one-time coal town that mushroomed at the beginning of the 20th century. The settlement's history is marred by various tragedies, including a mining accident which killed six men. It eventually declined and was deserted in the mid-1900s. Today it's possible to tour what remains – preserved structures include a barber shop, company store and doctor's office.
The cracked remains of 14 ghost towns lie deserted in the Empire State. The most noteworthy is Tahawus, in the northeast – another mining town gone bust. Abandoned houses line trails that route through the verdant Upper Adirondacks, with the star attraction being the deserted MacNaughton Cottage. This was the house that then-Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was staying in when he learned the news that President William McKinley had been shot. Roosevelt ultimately assumed the presidency upon McKinley's death.
There are few bonafide ghost towns in Maryland and greenery-choked Daniels (pictured) is among the most intact. It began as a lone textile mill in 1810 and – such was the mill's success – became a buzzing industrial settlement by the 20th century. All manner of shops and residences existed, alongside a school and a railroad station. However, when the mill closed in the 1960s, the workers and residents left, and a tropical storm in the 1970s damaged much of what remained. Now, a melange of crumbling stone buildings are still hidden in the woods.
The coastal state of Georgia has some 16 abandoned settlements, whose ruins include everything from blink-and-you'll-miss-it foundations to entire preserved structures. Among the most intact is Auraria, whose name in Latin derives from the word for 'golden' – as its moniker might suggest, the town sprang up during the Georgia gold rush in the 1830s, when prospectors flocked to ancestral Cherokee lands in the hope of finding a fortune. A collection of run-down buildings remain today.
Henry River Mill Village, one of North Carolina's 16 ghost towns, is one of the most haunting places in the South. A hub for textile production, the now-abandoned village bloomed from 1905 and consisted of some 35 workers' residences, a dam and the mill building. However, as milling competitors overseas gained ground, the state's textile industry went into decline, while a ravaging fire caused by a lightning strike in the 1970s brought the village's lonely fate even closer. Still, though, the resolute remaining residents would not leave their homes until the 1990s – now the district is best known for its role as District 12 in The Hunger Games franchise.
Little remains of most of Louisiana's ghost towns, but the decaying ruins of Cheniere Caminada, around two hours south of New Orleans, are a reminder of human might and resolve. The small fishing town was swallowed by a disastrous hurricane in 1893, which killed hundreds of people and almost entirely destroyed the settlement. Some residents chose to stay behind and rebuild the fated town though, sadly, their efforts were in vain. Cheniere Caminada remains a chilling ghost town today.
Almost 20 haunting ghost towns are sprinkled across Virginia. Though very little remains of Matildaville (pictured), it was once a hive of activity. The town grew up during the construction of the Patowmack Canal, serving as a home for labourers and the main headquarters of the Patowmack Company. But when the company folded, the town did too (construction of the canal was taken over by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Company, who ultimately also abandoned the project in 1830). Today a patchwork of stone ruins are the only reminders of the former town.
From former tourist resorts with bathhouses and hotels to once-blossoming industrial hubs, Arkansas has its share of interesting ghost towns. Make time for a trip to Rush, a haunting site that now sits on the National Register of Historic Places and is protected as part of the Buffalo National River site. The town first emerged in the 1880s, when zinc ore was struck upon along Rush Creek – however, the mining operation declined and residents had leaked out by the 1960s. Today, curious travellers will find rocky foundations, mouldering homesteads and decaying log cabins.
Abandoned resorts and decaying sugar mills are reminders of Hawaii's past. The some 21 ghost towns offer a slice of history too. Venture to the island of Lanai, specifically the remote ghost town of Keomoku, a former fishing and ranching settlement that was propped up by the Maunalei Sugar Company. Homes, shops and a railroad swelled around the mill, but it eventually closed after a plague swept through the area in the early 1900s. By the middle of the century, the town was abandoned.
Of the 21 ghost towns that can be found scattered across Missouri, Red Oak II (pictured), in the state's southwest, is the most fascinating. You'll find it along the fabled Route 66. It owes its existence to a man named Lowell Davis, an artist who left his home in Dallas to return to his rural Missouri roots. However, when he arrived in his home town of Red Oak, he found it deserted – a veritable ghost town. A bemused Davis set about moving the structures from the original Red Oak (and others from nearby towns that had suffered a similar fate) to his own farm, dubbing the site Red Oak II. Today it exists as a kind of pseudo-ghost town, complete with a blacksmith shop and general store.
West Virginia has a long history of coal mining and a slew of abandoned mining towns to go with it, including a cluster in the New River Gorge (an area protected as the USA's newest national park). Amongst them is Nuttallburg (pictured), where rugged hiking trails lead to a series of historic foundations and creaking mining buildings. The complex was first established in 1870, then shuttered in the 1950s.
Mostly historic gold-mining settlements, ghost towns are dotted across the northwestern state of Idaho. They include Leesburg (pictured), which was first settled in the 1860s, when the precious metal was discovered – the town thrived, soon mushrooming to some 2,000 residents. However, it faced a decline that same decade as reserves quickly dwindled. Some mining continued in the years that followed, but all operations were shut down by the 1940s. Now a creepy string of deserted wooden buildings remain.
Of the 26 ghost towns that exist across Iowa, there's something especially haunting about remote Buckhorn. The old milk co-operative squats just off Highway 64 and comprises a creaking old creamery building (pictured), an eerie white church and a cemetery. It's thought that the town was abandoned when swathes of property were bought up by a commercial dairy in the mid-20th century.
There are 26 ghost towns spread out across Ohio, telling tales of the state's mining and railroad history. Ghost stories also surround Moonville, an old railroad town thought to have been established in the 1850s, where a creepy railroad tunnel remains. Another stirring former railroad settlement exists near Findlay, in the state's northwest. Pictured here is the moulding and deserted railway building, which sits alongside an old store and rusted cars.
Mississippi has 27 eerie ghost towns, some of them spread out in the mighty Mississippi Delta, swaddled by greenery. Fitting this description is Rodney (pictured), two miles (3.2km) from the mighty waterway, in the southwest of the state. It's thought that the town built up in the 1820s, but went into decline after the Civil War, when the Mississippi River slowly changed course. Two raging fires sounded the final death knell. The Rodney History and Preservation Society now takes care of the remaining buildings, which include a striking red-brick Presbyterian Church.
It's not surprising that Alaska has more than 30 ghost towns. The stark conditions of the Last Frontier mean that, throughout time, its residents must have been hardy to survive. Today the most intact ghost town is Kennecott (or Kennicott), a former copper-mining camp that grew up in the early 20th century. Residents flooded out when the copper reserves were depleted and the settlement was abandoned by the late 1930s. Today visitors can take ranger-led tours or explore the striking old mining buildings solo.
Wyoming's healthy dose of ghost towns speaks to its Old West history – gold, silver and lead have all been mined in this state throughout the centuries, and formerly industrious towns are scattered across its sweeping plains. One of the most impressively preserved is South Pass City, which sprang up in the 1860s following the discovery of gold ore. When the industry dwindled, the town was deserted and its buildings were totally abandoned by the 1930s. Now treasures including the city mercantile, the saloon and the jail remain: their exteriors can be seen on a walking tour. There are even plans to open up the mine for tours in future.
The sunbaked, desert-laced state of New Mexico has its fair share of ghost towns, many of them scattered along historic Route 66. Highlights include Glenrio, which straddles the border with Texas and was once served by a busy railroad, plus Shakespeare (pictured), an old silver-mining town with an outlaw history. It's thought that both of the outlaws Sandy King and 'Russian Bill' Tattenbaum were captured and put to death in this now-abandoned settlement.
Alabama has more chilling ghost towns than any other Southern state. Among the state's 55 ghost towns are the decaying ruins of Old Cahawba, which was once Alabama's capital. However, in 1826, the capital was moved to Tuscaloosa and, later, Confederate soldiers used the town as a prison site. Ultimately, the once mighty town was abandoned, though its chilling, Spanish-moss-covered ruins remain for modern visitors.
The Midwestern state of Minnesota has more than 50 eerie ghost towns, ranging from emptied settlements on the banks of Lake Superior to deserted boltholes scattered in the woods. Close to the Iowa border is Forestville, which was once an important stagecoach stop. In the 1860s, it had around 150 residents, however, inhabitants leaked out when an anticipated railroad was never routed through the town after all. The eerie buildings have now been deserted for more than 100 years, although the town is open for visits every summer.
The Oregon gold rush began in the 1850s, though many of the state's rowdy prospector towns folded as quickly as they began. That's certainly true of aptly-named Golden, which bloomed in the mid-1800s and was totally abandoned in the 1920s, when gold reserves finally ran dry. Golden was of a different ilk to many a mining town, however. In the place of buzzing saloons and bawdy brothels was a pair of churches. Today a deserted church remains, alongside a school and a general store.
If all you know about Illinois is that it's the home of big, buzzy, Blues-filled Chicago, then the fact that the state has some 82 ghost towns might come as a surprise. The ghost town of Cairo (pictured) has a prime position on the Mississippi River and was once a busy port and railroad stop. However, a history of fierce racial tensions (a young Black soldier was reportedly murdered while on leave here in 1967) and a sharp economic downtown in the 20th century led to the town's ultimate abandonment.
Mining history is in Colorado's bones. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are almost 100 ghost towns sprinkled across the Centennial State. One of the best spots to visit is St Elmo, which was founded in the 1880s after gold and silver was found in the area. It's thought that there were around 2,000 people here during St Elmo's zenith, with a busy railroad pouring further prospectors into town. However, industry dwindled and, so the story goes, St Elmo's inhabitants boarded the last train out of town and never looked back, leaving the settlement entirely deserted from 1922.
Pennsylvania is the first state to top 100, with crumbling ghost towns running the gamut from long-deserted mining settlements to a village abandoned due to the construction of a nuclear power plant. Perhaps the most curious of all is Centralia, where a coal mine fire has been burning since 1962. Multiple attempts to extinguish the blaze have failed and most inhabitants were moved out by the Eighties. While many buildings in the dangerous town have been torn down, the striking blue-domed church (pictured) remains.
A whopping 106 rickety ghost towns exist in Montana, one of the largest states in the USA, with a strong mining heritage to boot. The most picturesque of all is Bannack, which began life in the 1860s, when prospector John White struck gold. Although the value of gold declined, the town's beauty did not; now, visitors come to explore the 60 impressively preserved structures, which include a purportedly haunted historic courthouse. There are ghost tours in autumn too.
The Silver State matches Montana when it comes to ghost towns, with 106 scattered across Nevada's vast, desert-stitched landscape. You'll find so-called 'living ghost towns' like Paradise Valley, where a small population still lives outside the deserted downtown core, and once-lawless mining settlements such as Techatticup. Photogenic Rhyolite (pictured) should be on the list too: it was once a mining town of more than 5,000, but now its deserted train station and bank building are the preserve of tourists and filmmakers (the town is a readymade movie set).
This sprawling Pacific Northwest state is best known for its natural wonders – think electric blue glaciers and sky-scraping peaks – but, as it goes, it has a mighty share of ghost towns too. A scenic hike will lead you to one of the state's finest: Monte Cristo, which was built up in the 1890s around a mining site. Various factors sealed the town's fate, however: the vital railroad was flooded and the mines faced various funding issues. Operations folded by 1907 and today a series of decrepit structures remain.
Michigan's 128 ghost towns range from lakeside outposts turned vital bird habitats (Vermilion) to forgotten lumber towns left to rot (Shelldrake). Little evidence remains for many, but Fayette (pictured), in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, is one of the most impressively intact. The town burgeoned from 1867 when a charcoal pig iron operation began – when the iron industry declined, Fayette enjoyed a brief stint as a resort, but that had also diminished by the mid-1900s. Now its hollow remains exist as part of Fayette Historic State Park.
Rusted out cars, creaking mining buildings and long-left-isolated cabins can be found across the length and breadth of Arizona. A fine example is Vulture City, which grew up as a gold-mining camp in the 1860s. Around 5,000 people lived in the town at its peak, but an emergency measure that closed all non-essential mines during the Second World War sounded the death knell for the town. Now the site is remarkably well-preserved and you can discover restored buildings including a post office and a dining hall.
Some 136 abandoned settlements are tucked amidst the breathtaking red rocks of the Beehive State, evidence of Mormon pioneer settlements and former railroad and mining boomtowns. One of the most fascinating is Grafton, situated immediately south of Zion National Park. Mormon settlers established the town in the 1850s, though the original settlement was quickly washed away by a flood. It was reestablished in the 1860s, and the remaining deserted homes (left behind when inhabitants moved to other areas) date to that era.
Though the Great Lakes state of Wisconsin has more than 150 ghost towns, many are barely intact, with a few scattered buildings or foundations. Among them is Dover, where a historic marker and a cemetery are the lone reminders of this former town. Around 700 settlers once called the place home, having been moved here by the British Temperance and Emigration Society. At its mid-1900s peak the town had everything from a wagon shop to a hotel. However, when the town was overlooked by the railroad operators, residents moved to nearby Mazomanie instead.
The Sooner State has more than 200 ghost towns, mostly the result of settlements built up after land runs and abandoned as quickly as they were built. Offering a slightly different story is Picher, in the far northeast of the state, which has earned the unfortunate reputation as 'the most toxic town in America'. Some 20,000 people once lived in the former mining boomtown, but dangerous levels of lead pollution meant the settlement was all but deserted by the 2000s.
The northwestern state of South Dakota has more than 200 ghost towns, mostly knitted into the region's rugged Black Hills. They exist in varying states of decay and Ardmore, in the far southwest, is particularly creepy. The town – which now unfolds in a patchwork of decaying cars and decrepit houses – was founded in the 1880s and was a stop along the New Burlington Railroad. A series of devastating droughts spelled downturn for the town, which was ultimately abandoned by the railroad. Residents fled and the town was left deserted.
Imagine the Sunshine State and Mickey and Minnie might be the first thing that comes to mind. Nevertheless, Florida is much more than those dazzling Disney parks and, surprisingly, it has more than 250 ghost towns. Travellers will find everything from haunting forts (Fort Dade) to old Danish settlements (White City), and once-buzzing villages like Eldora. The latter built up during the 1870s and was a hub for affluent citrus farmers before becoming a winter resort. It was eventually deserted as tourism here declined. Now you can see sights such as the historic Eldora State House (pictured).
The giant state of California is home to golden beaches, fine wine country, world-renowned ski resorts and the vast Mojave Desert – and it also plays host to almost 350 ghost towns, mostly the result of the fabled California gold rush in the 19th century. Possibly the most famous ghost town in the entire US is Bodie, a haunting abandoned spot in the Eastern Sierra. The town boomed from 1877 to 1882 and supported some 10,000 residents. Now all that's left is a string of around 200 creaking buildings which can be explored on self-guided tours.
Unsurprisingly, given Texas's sheer size (its area is second only to that of Alaska), the Lone Star State has more ghost towns than anywhere else in the US, according to Geotab. The celebrity spot is Terlingua, a stirring abandoned settlement close to the Mexico border. It developed at the end of the 19th century, when miners came to the area to extract cinnabar, a kind of mercury ore. However, residents leaked from the town during the Second World War, plus prices for cinnabar rapidly declined, so the town was quickly left to rot. Fading buildings and mouldering cars are now all that remain.
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