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  • Writer's pictureRicha Shetty

15 Spookiest Abandoned American Ghost Towns (Safeguard Your Vehicle)

While the term "ghost town" may sound like a village haunted by spirits, it also refers to an old, abandoned city. America's western states are full of these towns; many were founded during the mining boom in the late 1800s to serve as home bases for miners. Amid the crumbling walls of America's coolest ghost towns, you'll find glimpses into each state's history. There is something unsettling about walking through an abandoned town, whether the buildings are crumbling and broken or still creepily intact, as though residents just disappeared into thin air. Some ghost towns provide insight into the country's history, while others are steeped in folk tales and ghost stories. Driving to these roads is extremely mysterious. Drive them down on your own risk if you want to. Here are the Top 6 Haunted Roads in India: Drivers/ Passengers should Avoid

  • Today, these historically significant areas memorialize the once-bustling populations that lived there and give visitors a chance to discover a past filled with mystery, legends, and folklore.

15 Spookiest Abandoned American Ghost Towns (Safeguard Your Vehicle)

15 Most Spookiest Abandoned American Ghost Towns:


1. St. Elmo, Colorado

2. Nevada City, Montana

3. Spokane, South Dakota

4. Goodsprings, Nevada

5. Goldfield, Arizona

6. Kennecott, Alaska

7. St. Elmo, Colorado 8. Bodie, California 9. Cahawba, Alabama

10. Virginia City, Montana

11. Glenrio, Texas/New Mexico 12. Rhyolite, Nevada

13. Batsto Village, New Jersey

14. Dawson, New Mexico

15. Garnet, Montana


1. St. Elmo, Colorado

St. Elmo, located less than 83 miles southeast of Aspen, Colorado, is one of the state's best-preserved ghost towns. Formed in 1880 for miners in search of gold and silver, the town's final residents supposedly took the last train out in 1922 – and never returned. This place is known for its ties to shady Wild West outlaws and a spooky town cemetery, also sits nearby. Read More about America's 7 Most Haunted Roads


2. Nevada City, Montana

While enjoying Montana's blue skies and breathtaking scenery, make a pit stop in Nevada City, a ghost town situated roughly 90 miles northwest of Yellowstone National Park. The restored former gold mining town boasts many original log structures along with a collection of antique music boxes, player pianos, and calliopes.


3. Spokane, South Dakota

Located about 10 miles southeast of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota's the Black Hills, Spokane features one of the area's largest collections of original ghost town buildings. You'll need to hike about a half-mile from the road to reach the town, which was built in 1890 near a mine with gold, silver, copper, and more. Once in Spokane, you'll find a large schoolhouse and several old cars lining the streets. To really set the scene, look for the grave that tells the story of a prospector who was shot and killed here. Also, Read What is a Truck Stop? Is it Safe Staying at Truck Stop?


4. Goodsprings, Nevada

Goodsprings Nevada. Situated approximately 40 miles southwest of Sin City, this old mining town is home to around 200 people. It's where you'll find the Pioneer Saloon, which was built in 1913 and is said to be haunted by the ghost of 1930s movie star Carole Lombard, who died in a plane crash nearby. The saloon, where many movies have been filmed, offers a Haunted Lockdown tour that lets you relive the experiences of the TV show crew who filmed "Ghost Adventures" there in 2013. Explore Further What is a Dash Cam? How does it help us get real footage?


5. Goldfield, Arizona

Situated along the Apache Trail about 40 miles east of Phoenix, Goldfield is known as the "gateway to the Superstition Mountains." The town – which was home to multiple saloons, a boarding house, a blacksmith shop, a general store, and a schoolhouse in the 1890s – will give you a true taste of the Wild West as you watch a live reenactment of a gunfight, ride the state's only narrow gauge train and pan for gold. Read more about How Does a GPS Vehicle Tracking Device Work in your Vehicle?


6. Kennecott, Alaska

All that glitters may not be gold, but it can still make you a fortune. Copper lured brave miners to this remote Alaskan spot in the early 1900s after two prospectors stumbled upon what turned out to be $200 million worth of the metal while resting their horses.

They formed what was then called the Utah Copper Company in 1903. Explore what 11 Things To always Keep In Your Vehicle? Which Will Help You During an Emergency or Break Down.

7. St. Elmo, Colorado

Founded in 1880, St. Elmo was once a highfalutin gold mining town and popular whistle-stop on the Pacific Railroad. It boasted almost 2,000 residents and more than 150 mines -- plus enough hotels, brothels, saloons, and dance halls to keep everybody in town happily cutting a rug. When the Alpine Tunnel closed in 1910, however, the music stopped. With the price of silver already down, the last remaining rail service stopped in 1922.

Despite numerous fires charring the canyon over the years, St. Elmo remains one of America’s best-preserved ghost towns. Several original structures are still intact, providing an unfiltered glimpse into life during the mining boom. Read further how important and accurate is GPS Speed in a Vehicle Tracking System?


8. Bodie, California

Like a straight-up Western movie set, Bodie is one of the most famous (and the largest unreconstructed) ghost towns in America. Established in 1859 when William S. Bodey discovered gold in the area, the original camp of around 20 miners mushroomed to some 10,000 during the California Gold Rush -- roughly the same population as Los Angeles. By 1880, the town consisted of 2,000 buildings, including roughly 200 restaurants, 70 saloons, and a red-light district. As the gold vanished, though, so did the townsfolk. By 1942, the last mine had shut down. Explore the 8 Ways to Improve Driver Behavior with a Modern Fleet Management System


9. Cahawba, Alabama

Cahawba has an illustrious history for a ghost town: From 1820 to 1825, it served as Alabama’s state capital before flooding so many times that most of the residents fled for drier pastures (and took the title of the capital with them). It remained for years a hub of cotton distribution. During the Civil War, it was home to the Confederate Castle Morgan prison, where thousands of Union soldiers were kept between 1863 and 1865 -- when another massive flood started driving people out for good. By the early 1900s, most buildings had been demolished, too. Read more about who has the Cheapest RV Insurance in the US? Further, Explore the Best 7 Car Insurance Companies in Canada?


10. Virginia City, Montana

The former home of the famous frontierswoman Calamity Jane, this old gold-mining town (est. 1863) was known for its rough-and-tumble ways. The remote spot didn’t have enough law enforcement or a justice system. As a result, robberies and murders were the norms, and gangs of outlaws known as road agents killed 100 people between 1863 and 1864 alone. Still, Virginia City briefly served as the capital of the Montana Territory (before it was a state), and grew to a population of around 10,000. Also, Read UK: New Insurance Rules Established for the Repair of ADAS-equipped Vehicles


11. Glenrio, Texas/New Mexico

A relic of the legendary Route 66, Glenrio straddles the Texas-New Mexico border, so it’s officially part of both states. This apparently had several benefits: The town’s gas stations were built on the Texas side, where the gas tax was lower, and its bars were wisely built on the New Mexico side, since alcohol sales at the time were illegal in Deaf Smith County, Texas is well known for ghostly stories. So, beware always whenever passing through these roads. Let's Explore What is Truck Stop? Is it a safe place to Stay at the night?


12. Rhyolite, Nevada

Live fast, die young: This Gold Rush town did just that, founded in 1904 and deserted by 1916, despite being the third-largest city in Nevada for a time. Though it’s been abandoned for almost a century, you can see Rhyolite in a number of old Westerns, including The Air Mail. The town is still known for its many bottle houses, and visitors will still see the skeletons of a three-story bank, part of the old jail, the general store, as well as Rhyolite’s train station. Read also: What is Reckless Driving? Is it a Criminal Offense? (Simplified)


13. Batsto Village, New Jersey

With a name derived from the Swedish word batstu (meaning sauna), this Jersey town was once a bustling ironworks that supplied the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

Founded in 1766, it was essentially a “company town” owned/run for 92 years by William Richards before its iron and charcoal production was replaced by a mine in Pennsylvania. Industrialist Joseph Wharton (yep, that Wharton) stepped in and bought the town in 1876, experimenting with agriculture and manufacturing before also throwing in the (terrible?) towel to presumably start his little business school in Philadelphia. Also Read What is FMCSA? USA DOT


14. Dawson, New Mexico

Every abandoned town has an air of sadness, but none compare to the tragic past of Dawson, New Mexico. What sprouted as a promising company town for Dawson Fuel Co. in 1901 soon became home to a series of devastating decennial explosions in the coal mines: Three lives were lost in 1903, over 250 perished in 1913, and 123 died in 1923. At its peak, Dawson’s population reached numbers around 9,000, mostly recent immigrants from Europe and Mexico; when the 1913 explosion shattered the community, people started moving on. Today, this ghost town features more ghosts than a town. The only notable landmark left is the Dawson Cemetery, where a sea of white crosses represents the nearly 400 people who died in the mine explosions. Explore at your own risk. Read more about why are Automotive Industry suppliers migrating from Argentina to Brazil?


15. Garnet, Montana

Named for the semi-precious red gems prospectors discovered there along with gold, Garnet was inhabited from the 1860s through about 1912, when a fire razed half the town. Since the gold had pretty much run out anyway, there wasn’t much point in rebuilding it. Garnet lasted as long as the mines did; which is to say, not that long. Read further about Honda Pays $85 Million as Settlement for Faulty Airbags in Cars sold in the US


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