Abandoned America: 10 Most Shared U.S. Ghost Towns

By Katherine Foreman on April 11, 2016

From the creepy to the quaint and everything between, America’s ghost towns have inspired much speculation and intrigue throughout their lonesome life spans. Once bustling territories of commerce, the small cities and villages are now home only to an air of mystery that’s hard to resist. To pique your interest and get that ghost town bucket list started, we’ve rounded up 10 of the most popular ghost towns on social media—if you think you can handle it.

1

Johnsonville Village, Connecticut

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This quaint Victorian-era ghost town has been abandoned not just once, but three separate times throughout its eerie, vacant history.

Messy Nessy Chic

2

Kennecott, Alaska

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Once a popular mining camp at the onset of the big copper boom in the early twentieth century, the neighborly country club atmosphere ran dry right after the ore did.

Urban Ghosts Media

3

St. Elmo, Colorado

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This eerily empty ghost town was once thriving at the turn of the twentieth century, and turned vacant seemingly overnight.

Roadtrippers

4

Cahawba, Alabama

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Once the capital of Alabama and a Civil War hub before a city wide flood pushed everyone out, this Spanish-moss entrenched antebellum wonder is equal parts quaint and creepy.

Cahawba.com

5

Garnet, Montana

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Perhaps the best preserved ghost town on the list, this old mine town's buildings are still perfectly intact—they even have all the old dishes and furniture collecting dust inside.

Wide Open Country

6

Flagstaff, Maine

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This long-abandoned ghost town has one eerie perk that none of the other's possess—this old village has to be toured by boat. After a dam was built around the area in the 1950s, the entire city was submerged. But, if you know where to look, you can still see chimneys, rooftops, and the occasional half house peering out from above the murky surface.

Only In Your State

7

Dogtown, Massachusetts

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This forest enshrouded ghost town has quite the vivid history—Thoreau even once wrote of visiting in 1858.

Yankee Magazine

8

North Brother Island, New York

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This 20-acre island, located on the East River, was built specifically for its isolation, serving first as a quarantine island for smallpox patients and then as a rehab facility for veterans and heroin addicts. Due to environment and safety concerns, the Department of Parks and Recreation has barred it from being visited, making it America's loneliest ghost town.

Christopher Payne via Slate

9

Calico, California

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This old 19th century mine town in Southern California was abandoned by just 1907 after the price of silver dropped and everyone fled. One third of the original town can still be visited in all its authentic wild western glory.

Review Journal

10

Centralia, Pennsylvania

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Prepare for nightmares of young girls in nightgowns staring at you from upstairs windows. This abandoned ghost town was the inspiration for the popular horror film Silent Hill.

Flickr/Lyndi & Jason via Business Insider