Rust Belt Ghost Towns

The Rust Belt stretches across the Great Lakes states and into the mid-Atlantic, and its ghost towns are the ghost towns of the industrial age. Steel towns, auto parts communities, textile mill cities, and factory towns that built the American economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were hollowed out by deindustrialization, automation, and global competition. Rust Belt ghost towns are often not fully abandoned but exist in a state of profound partial emptiness – blocks of vacant houses, shuttered storefronts, and shrinking populations.

Explore Rust Belt Ghost Towns

Jason Smith has authored ghost town books covering the Great Lakes states and the industrial regions of the mid-Atlantic.

Ghost Towns of Michigan on Amazon

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