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Nearest ghost town to my location- 8 Ghost Town Near me in US & Overseas travel notes and guides – travel guides
Colorado is full of fascinating ghost towns located throughout the state, some of the best preserved around. These towns were abandoned for different reasons, some due to mining or economic struggles, others due to natural forces like cold winters.
Some high elevation former mining camps are only accessible in the summer. While few…. Which ghost towns are near what Colorado towns? Read More. Colorado is a state filled with a rich, Wild West history, which can be easily experienced with a trip to a ghost town. During the Great Gold Rush in the second half of the 19th century, settlers headed west in search of their fortune. Mining camps boomed. Saloons, shootouts, cowboys and sheriffs were commonplace during these glory days.
When the heyday passed, most villagers left the often high elevation mining camps. Now, these towns remain stuck in their 19th century life as ghost towns. Many of the ghost towns in Colorado are considered to be national historic treasures, and are preserved and visited as such.
Being able to enter centuries-old saloons, still furnished with original 19th century stools and bars, is an unforgettable rush. There are well over fifty ghost towns to visit. Each has its own local flavor, so many tourists decide to visit multiple during a journey through this beautiful state. Most towns are absent of any full time residents. They make for a relaxing day trip and fun addition to your travels.
Depending on the route back, some can be accessed in the winter, while others are best saved for spring, summer and fall. Tucked away on the side of Independence Pass outside Aspen, Independence also houses a large number of original homesteads. Graysill Mines is a good choice if you want to see the lifestyle that miners led, or Homestead Meadows if you want to check out the remnants of buildings that the earliest Rocky Mountain settlers once called home. It has many original buildings remaining.
Both have a good amount of historic structures to explore. Many of the ghost towns in Colorado contain little evidence of previous inhabitants. There may only be one building or a few scraps of wood remaining. Bowerman , Hancock and Teller City each have only a select amount of ruins left.
Historians and explorers aside, there is another major group of people who enjoy taking a trip to local ghost towns. There are many ghost towns to visit, and there are a lot of nearby resorts that accommodate adventurous travelers in search of Western history and hauntings. One of the most notable towns is Saint Elmo , which is cited as one of the best preserved in the entire state. It houses forty-three buildings, including a still operating General Store, open summer and fall, as well as an abandoned railroad and a cemetery that definitely leaves a haunting impression.
A different type of ghost town exists in Southwest Colorado, which is much older than former mining towns. Unbelievable cliff dwellings and mesa top villages are waiting to be explored year round. You can camp at all three parks. Gorgeous aspen groves, tons of festivals and events, as well as numerous outdoor activities make Colorado…. Top things to do in Greeley, Colorado Read More.
Haunted places are located all around the world and Colorado is no exception. With a long…. View more ghost towns articles. Rent an ATV and explore the mountain backcountry. Finding ghost towns is a cinch with a Jeep. Some historic mines offer tours into the mine. Menu Skip to right header navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer.
While few… Which ghost towns are near what Colorado towns? Gorgeous aspen groves, tons of festivals and events, as well as numerous outdoor activities make Colorado… Fantastic Fall Activities in Colorado Read More. With nearly , residents, Greeley is a big plains town with plenty of things to see… Top things to do in Greeley, Colorado Read More. Disclosure: Uncover Colorado is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.
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Nearest ghost town to my location
Scroll down to find out. Peter Ling Professor of American Studies. Ghost towns are primarily associated with the Wild West frontier and people flocking to areas with valuable mineral resources, including gold and silver in the Rockies and oil in Texas. Just as it was important that the mines of Colorado and California could ship their riches out by rail, the vast cattle ranches of western plains needed to reach the rail head to turn their steers into cash.
So the majority of ghost towns date from the period of westward expansion and industrialization. Great Plains states such as Kansas, Oklahoma and the Dakotas have the ruins of farming communities destroyed by the Dust Bowl and economic downturns of the s.
In recent decades, heritage tourism has given some ghost towns a second chance to thrive, attracting visitors from around the world. Named by German prospectors who came looking for gold, Berlin was a company mining town.
Established in the s, the town was largely abandoned by the s after the mine closed in response to strike action. The well-preserved structures are now part of Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, known for fossil discoveries of a prehistoric marine mammal. Nearest city Hawthorne, NV. The mines were depleted by and the town largely abandoned. Since the s, the town has become an increasingly popular tourist destination. Nearest city McCarthy, AK. It also served as a prison during the Civil War, then became a quarantine station and a navy refuelling point before it was abandoned in due to hurricane damage.
Fort Jefferson has been a National Monument since and is open to tourists. It continues to be the largest brick structure in the U. Nearest city Key West, FL. In the s Garnet was a thriving mining town with a population of over a thousand served by up to 13 saloons. The community emptied as miners left for World War I. A revival of gold mining in the s was halted by World War II, and the town has been abandoned ever since.
Around 30 buildings remain today, and an annual Garnet Day allows visitors to experience life in this 19th-century mining town. Nearest city Missoula, MT. Established as a mining camp in , Bodie boomed after sizable gold discoveries during the s.
The town was in decline by the s; the newspaper ceased publication in , and the railway was abandoned in The last mine closed in as dynamite and other resources were redirected towards the war effort. Today, the town is open to visitors with around structures still standing. Nearest city Bridgeport, CA. This well-preserved ghost town attracted over 2, residents by the s, when gold and silver mining were at their peak. However, increasingly poor quality ore sent the town into decline by the end of the decade.
A new mine temporarily revived prospects in the s, but the industry abandoned the town for good in A few inhabitants remain and its picturesque setting is a favorite summer tourist destination. Nearest city Buena Vista, CO. Castle Dome was established as a mining camp in and at one point attracted more than 3, residents. In the long run, the mines became profitable as they supplied lead for bullet manufacturing during both World Wars.
The last mine was operating as recently as the s, but has since been converted into a museum. Nearest city Yuma, AZ. After a flood in , the residents of Harrisville named after settler, Moses Harris relocated upriver to form Harrisburg. Problems, including drought, led to the departure of much of the population and the town was effectively abandoned by Interstate 15 runs through the site of the town, structures of which are still visible.
The last intact building is the Orson B. Adams Home, named for its original inhabitant, which has been maintained and restored by the Bureau of Land Management. Nearest city St. George, UT. Founded in , Bannack was briefly the capital of Montana. Up to 10, people lived in the surrounding area, hoping to make their fortune in gold, but by all the easy-to-reach ore was gone and the population rapidly declined to the hundreds. Newly developed electric dredging methods led to a brief revival after , but by the s the town was deserted.
Today, about 60 intact structures remain. Nearest city Dillon, MT. It was initially established in the s after gold, silver and copper discoveries, and in a rock quarry opened to provide ballast for the railways.
Since the surviving buildings have intermittently been open as a tourist attraction. Nearest city Lordsburg, NM.
Nearby ghost towns Shakespeare, NM. Facebook Twitter Embed. Alabama 55 ghost towns Talladega County contains the most, with 6. Arcola, Hale County. Alaska 32 ghost towns Nome contains the most, with 7. Kennicott, Valdez-Cordova. Arizona ghost towns Yavapai County contains the most, with Arkansas 20 ghost towns Marion County contains the most, with 3. Rush, Marion County. California ghost towns Kern County contains the most, with Bodie, Mono County. Colorado 99 ghost towns El Paso County contains the most, with Elmo, Chaffee County.
Connecticut 4 ghost towns. Delaware 6 ghost towns Sussex County contains the most, with 5. Florida ghost towns Polk County contains the most, with Fort Jefferson, Monroe County. Georgia 16 ghost towns There are 9 ghost towns within 50 miles of Augusta. Hawaii 21 ghost towns Honolulu County contains the most, with 6.
Idaho 26 ghost towns Lemhi County contains the most, with 4. Illinois 82 ghost towns Macoupin County contains the most, with Indiana 42 ghost towns Warren County contains the most, with Corwin, Tippecanoe County.
Iowa 26 ghost towns Buchanan County and Clayton County each contain 3. Kansas ghost towns Shawnee County contains the most, with Kentucky 13 ghost towns There are 9 ghost towns within 50 miles of Covington.
Creelsboro, Russell County. Louisiana 17 ghost towns Pointe Coupee Parish contains the most, with 9. La Balize, Plaquemines Parish. Maine 5 ghost towns Somerset County contains the most, with 3. Despite being home to one of the best road trips in the U. But Fayette was an early settlement that actually beamed with life. Established in , it was a hub of the iron rush along the limestone bluffs of the southern Garden Peninsula. The ruins of Fayette now reside in a state park, with nearly 20 remarkably sturdy buildings still standing, including a hotel, opera house, and a definitely-not-creepy industrial furnace complex whose towering brick frontage serves as a brutal contrast to the deep blues of the shore from which it rises.
Forestville was doing pretty well for a while in the mids. The southeastern town had hotels, shops, and a couple of mills. Then it all fell apart when a new railroad bypassed the town in As population centers developed elsewhere in Southeast Minnesota, businesses closed and the area descended into ghost town status. Fortunately, it's been preserved and restored in Forestville State Park with a farm, bridge, and fully stocked general store.
Feel free to also tour the mile Mystery Cave , the longest known cave in the state. Built on the cotton trade and slave labor in nearby plantations, Rodney was a thriving port town on the Mississippi River in the mids and saw its share of Civil War gunfire. Before all that, it was actually three votes away from being named the state capital.
Eventually, the river shifted course away from the town and the population dwindled. Prone to flooding, much of Rodney has been washed away over the years, leaving behind a haunting, historic ghost town.
A few buildings remain, including the Zion Baptist Church and a dilapidated cemetery. The most notable structure is the two-story Presbyterian church, which still has much of its interior in place behind broken windows. When former resident Lowell Davis moved back to the area in the '80s, he was sad to learn that the places from his youth were wasting away, so he bought the abandoned buildings and moved them to his property about 20 miles away.
Davis restored all the notable structures from his childhood, including his grandpa's blacksmith shop and his father's general store. He dubbed the cornfield-turned-refurbished ghost town Red Oak II, and now it's a full-blown attraction, complete with a town center, a schoolhouse, a diner, a jail, a Phillips 66 gas station, houses, artifacts from other abandoned towns, and original art pieces created by Davis himself.
Part ghost town, part art installation, and part outdoor museum, it's a colorful look at rural life before desertion. Former home of the famous frontierswoman Calamity Jane, this old gold-mining town est. Still, it briefly served as the capital of the pre-statehood Montana Territory the capital was formerly in Bannack , another excellent ghost town and grew to a population of around 10, When the gold ran out, the city lost momentum and became the Victorian-era time capsule it still is today.
Along with restored original buildings and live music performances, Virginia City's got plenty going on for tourists' enjoyment. Want ghost stories? Fascinated by trains?
Like luxury? Ride in style to the most important historic spots. Prefer novelty? Learn about the town on an old fire truck. The settlement of St. Derion ran a ferry service across the river separating Missouri from southeast Nebraska in the late s. However, the economy turned south as more people turned to rail travel, and by a series of floods washed most of that good fortune away. Today, recreations of a log cabin, schoolhouse, and general store provide a glimpse of what life was like when settlers were exploring the Old West.
Deroin is popular with hikers passing through Indian Cave State Park and remains a source of folklore and spooky stories. The creepiness is elevated by the presence of two cemeteries. Founded in and perched on the edge of Death Valley , Rhyolite managed to become the third-largest city in Nevada , complete with hotels, a hospital, an opera house, a symphony, a red-light district, and its own stock exchange.
By , it was deserted. Visitors will still see the skeletons of a three-story bank, part of the old jail, the general store, and the train station. Just outside of town lies another notable attraction: the free and open-to-the-public Goldwell Open Air Museum , perhaps the oddest roadside attraction in a state known for its off-highway weirdness. As an early New England settlement in the s, Monson Center was originally part of Massachusetts, but the land wasn't suited to agriculture and was abandoned.
The only home that remains, the Gould House , is now a small museum. Visitors can also explore old stone walls, cellar holes, and trails for hiking, biking, and dog walking in the surrounding park. Some ghost towns are spooky. This one is serene. As far as ghost towns go, this one has been incredibly well-preserved, with rickety, wooden worker homes contrasting with a castle-like steepled mansion to highlight the differences between the haves and have-nots. The local economy was driven by an ironworks operation that made big bucks during the Revolution, but the acre site also includes a dam, wheelwright shop, general store, and two mills.
After becoming a promising company town for Dawson Fuel Co. Today, this ghost town features more ghosts than town: The only notable landmark left is the Dawson Cemetery , where a sea of white crosses represents the nearly people who died in the mine explosions. Visitors report seeing phantom mining-helmet lights and hearing moans, in addition to spotting specters among the graves. So, um, have fun with that!
Deep in the wilds of Upstate New York , you expect to encounter a lot of things, though typically the most jarring is a wayward Brooklynite shilling overpriced jams at a repurposed general store. Lots to unpack here. Brunswick offers a unique glimpse into the history of both the American Revolution and the Civil War.
After establishing itself as a Cape Fear River port town, the community was destroyed by the British in Left in ruins, it was turned into Anderson Fort as a stronghold for the confederate army in Between the foundations of colonial structures and what's left of the fort, it's a fascinating trip through time.
The site was creepy enough to be used as a shooting location for the Sleepy Hollow TV show. South Dakota might have the more famous ghost towns, but the quieter Dakota brings some serious game in smaller doses, mostly harkening to the railway days. Many of these towns share the common feature of dilapidated schoolhouses, which somehow persevere after decades of being battered by the prairie winds and shows.
Nothing to see here, just some crumbling foundations and an old cemetery tucked into the lush Zaleski State Forest. In fact, the most notable feature in this deserted southeastern outpost is a huge, dark, brooding train tunnel opening like a hellmouth into the forest of southeast Ohio.
The Irish spirit remains strong in Shamrock, even if only a handful of people are still around to celebrate it. Old empty buildings line Tipperary Road, formerly a hub of activity and excitement during the rush for Oklahoma oil in the early s. After 10 years as an incorporated town, Shaniko dried up in , the victim of a new rail line and wildfires.
Other surviving buildings include the Sage Museum, Shaniko School, city hall, jail, post office, and a wool barn. In the late s, Centralia was a thriving coal-mining town with a population of around 2, Technically, technically , Centralia is not a ghost town, since as of five people officially live there.
However, it makes up for this in eeriness and potential for actual ghosts because Centralia is literally on fire—and has been for decades. Even the smallest state in the nation has a ghost town, although just barely. The legend of Hanton City is far greater than its history. Some records don't acknowledge its existence at all. Conversely, some maps include it. However, if you explore a trail off Decotis Farm Road in Smithfield, you may get lucky and stumble across a few remnants, including a well and crumbling stone walls.
Whether they really date back to colonial times, as rumored, is anyone's guess. The creepy cemetery on the other side of the road is a more compelling distraction. How far back do you want to go?
Dorchester was founded in and abandoned at the start of the Revolutionary War. Just 15 miles from Charleston along the Ashley River, it's now part of a acre park with a church bell tower and walls from an oyster shell tabby fort providing a well-preserved look at life during the colonial south.
Shipping wharves are often visible during low tide, too. Founded in , Mystic became known as an exporter of timber and gold. It endured destructive floods and fires and the Great Depression with panache. But once WWII ended and the trains stopped chugging past, it finally met its demise.
When the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created in , residents were given two options: take a pay-off to move away or negotiate a long-term lease, the last of which expired in When it was all said and done, more than 70 structures were left over, creating a creepy ghost town of summer cabins and second homes.
At least 19 were preserved for historical context near a large Smoky Mountain campground, including the Spence Cabin , which is rented out for weddings and other gatherings. Come during early summer when it's mating season for a particular species of firefly that blinks in synchronicity. Texas has more ghost towns than any other state in the Union. If you only pick one, visit Terlingua, a few miles north of the Mexico border.
Once the largest mercury mining operation in North America, the town fell into ruins but was revived in the s with the first-ever chili cook-off competition in the world. In recent years, the population has increased from 5 to 50, an old theater is now a restaurant, and the general store has become a gift shop.
Overnight guests can stay at the historic Perry Mansion or casitas renovated from old miners' homes collectively the Big Bend Holiday Hotel. A Day of the Dead celebration takes place every November with candles honoring unmarked graves in the cemetery. And yes, the chili cook-off is still a thing. Just south of Zion National Park , Grafton was settled in the s by Mormon farmers who eventually abandoned the town due to unpredictable flooding from the Virgin River.
The reddish-brown adobe clay used to build the two-story schoolhouse and church matches the road and contrasts sharply with the colorful Southern Utah mountainscapes.
Visitors can also see at least three homes and what's left of a cemetery. Glastenbury is the center of the Bennington Triangle, a large area of Vermont wilderness where hikers mysteriously disappear.
Let that be a warning. Glastenbury is far from tourist-friendly. The town was founded on logging and charcoal production, with the steepest train in the country required to reach its remote location. When the industry faltered, facilities were turned into a resort and casino with an electric trolley to bring in visitors. Yet the elements proved too harsh and the town was effectively abandoned and absorbed into what is now the Green Mountain National Forest.
Ambitious hikers might come across some rail tracks, the ruins of charcoal kilns, and a few bricks left over from buildings decimated by mudslides. Travel the back roads of Southern Virginia and you'll notice little of note among the stretches of farmland.
Things take an ominous turn when passing through the old downtown neighborhood of Union Level. Formerly an active hub on the horse and carriage routes of the early s, the area gradually faded over time, leaving behind a strip of unoccupied brick and wood businesses and abandoned homes.
Unlike its trendy ghost town counterpart in California, this Bodie is falling apart, seemingly swallowed by the lush forests of northern Washington and slowly digested in plain sight since it was forced to close during WWII. Probably for the best. Deep in the wilderness of New River Gorge is Nuttallburg, home to an elaborate coal-mining complex that's been completely restored in recent years. The facility, dating back to and owned by Henry Ford at one point, includes a tipple and towering conveyor that dramatically crawls up the mountainside.
Surrounding trails offer some of the most scenic hikes in West Virginia, passing by the ruins of an old church and schoolhouse. The southwest Wisconsin town of Pendarvis was founded by Cornish immigrants looking to cash in on lead and zinc mining in the mids.
The homes, built of wood and limestone, held up long after the population dwindled in search of greater prosperity. Fully restored cabins and cottages are now a museum and preserved historical site. Cross the street and take a walking tour of the Merry Christmas Mines that once fueled the local economy, if only briefly. The town thrived in the mid-to lates before drying up due to the expense of mining and selling gold. Currently, the state preserves and maintains the community as an authentic tourist-friendly slice of the Old West.
Visitors can explore what's left of Main Street, where hotels, restaurants, saloons, and even a bowling alley once operated. The most imposing structure, the Carissa mine and mill, is just north of town. If you want to make a ghost town "crawl" out of it, visit Miners Delight and Atlantic City: All three towns, collectively the Sweetwater Mining District , are within 10 miles of each other. Want more Thrillist? Skip to main content. Travel Ghost Towns.
By Thrillist Travel. Alabama: Spectre. Alaska: Kennecott. Arizona: Ruby. Arkansas: Rush. California: Bodie. Colorado: St.
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