Ashton, MN
County:
Winona
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Ashton is an abandoned townsite in sections 11 and 12 of Pleasant Hill Township in Winona County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
A post office operated in Ashton between April 28, 1891, and November 29, 1902.
Current Status:
It was reportedly on or near present-day County Road 12 about 1.5 miles east-north-east of Ridgeway, Minnesota, but it is unclear whether any vestiges of the settlement survived highway construction in the area.
Remarks:
Beaver, MN
County:
Winona
Zip Code:
55910
Latitude / Longitude:
44°09′12″N 92°00′45″W / 44.15333°N 92.01250°W / 44.15333
Elevation:
709 ft (216 m)
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Beaver is an unincorporated community in Whitewater Township, Winona County, Minnesota, United States. The community is located near the junction of State Highway 74 (MN 74) and Winona County Road 30. Nearby places include Altura, Elba, Plainview, St. Charles, Weaver, and Whitewater State Park. The Whitewater River and Beaver Creek both flow through the community.
Remains:
Beaver was settled in 1854, by people from New England. It was the first community established in the Whitewater valley. The name came from observing beavers building dams on the creek that travels through the site to join with the Whitewater River. Following the example of the beavers, the early settlers decided to dam the creek to furnish power for a mill. The community was platted in 1856 by Albert Hopson, Dr. Sheldon Brooks, and William J. Duley, as 20 blocks on 40 acres (160,000 m2). Beaver had a post office from 1857 to 1906. At one time, the community also had a flour mill, hardware store, general store, Methodist church, blacksmith, wagon shop, saloon (maybe two), hotel, school, and cheese factory. However, the farming practices up the hillsides encouraged erosion, and the high hills produced frequent flooding. At first rich soil came down the hillsides when rains came. Then sand from the underlying sandstone was washed down year after a year covering everything.
Current Status:
Some years because of the flooding the farmers had to plant three times. The flood deposits devastated the area, and today, most of the site is overgrown, and much is swampy. In 1932, the state purchased most of the land, buildings were torn down and the Beaver area became a nature reserve.
Remarks:
Eleanor Putnam, age 89 in 2009, a former resident of Beaver during her childhood in the 1920s and 1930s, recalled climbing the hills around Beaver, and how her family farmed the rugged land. She recalled her uncle struggling to climb the hills to farm the top of a plateau, which can be seen in aerial photos. The Beaver Cemetery, just west of the old community center, is where many of the original settlers of Beaver were laid to rest
Blue Eagle, MN
County:
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Blue Eagle was a settlement founded in the 1870s on what is now the west side of Westbrook, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
When the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Omaha Railway ran a spur line from Bingham Lake to Currie in 1899, they negotiated with Blue Eagle for property rights. However, a dispute led to the railroad starting its own settlement, Westbrook, just to the east of Blue Eagle.
Current Status:
Both towns coexisted for many years, but in the 1950s Blue Eagle was annexed into Westbrook as the “Peterson addition”.
Remarks:
Bodum, MN
County:
Isanti
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
45° 31′ 18 N, 93° 12′ 16 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Bodum is a ghost town in section 16 of Isanti Township, in Isanti County, Minnesota.
Remains:
Bodum had a post office from 1899 until 1903, as well as a store, a creamery, and an ice house. Bodum was not on a railroad line or major road, and never developed beyond a farm community.
Current Status:
Today, the only trace of the town that remains is the old store that is currently being used as a house.
Remarks:
Bruce, MN
County:
Rock
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
43° 31′ 20 N, 96° 23′ 54 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Bruce was the name of a town in Martin Township, Rock County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota.
Remains:
Bruce was platted in May 1888, and named for a railroad official. The community had a post office from 1888 until 1936. It had a station of the Illinois Central Railroad. Most of its businesses and residences relocated to the town of Hills when the Sioux City and Northern Railroad extended its line from Sioux City, Iowa to Garretson, South Dakota in 1890, bypassing Bruce. The town gradually faded afterward. The last buildings were removed in the early 1970s and the Illinois Central tracks were removed in 1982.
Current Status:
The townsite is now abandoned, and no trace remains.
Remarks:
Carnegie, MN
County:
Rock
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Carnegie is an abandoned townsite in section 6 of Rose Dell Township in Rock County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
Carnegie was a community developed in competition with the town of Jasper. Carnegie failed to attract sufficient investment and development, and as Jasper prospered, Carnegie’s residents departed.
Current Status:
Today no trace of the community remains.
Remarks:
Cazenovia, MN
County:
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
44°04’01N 96°22’04W
Elevation:
1,673 ft (510 m)
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Cazenovia is a former populated place in section 21 of Troy Township in Pipestone County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
Cazenovia was founded in 1884 by pioneers from Madison County, New York. It was named for a town and lake in said county. The town had a post office from 1885 until 1938, and had a station of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Chengwatana, MN
County:
Pine
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
45°50′19″N 92°56′15″W / 45.83861°N 92.93750°W / 45.83861
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Chengwatana is an abandoned village site in Pine County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
The former village was located immediately east of Pine City. The center of the village was generally considered near the present-day intersection of Cross Lake Road (Pine County 9) and Government Road.
Current Status:
When the railroad was constructed on the western shore of Cross Lake, a new village, Pine City, was platted — Pine City’s name being a loose English translation of Chengwatana. In addition, Chengwatana and Pine City Townships were also named after the village of Chengwatana. With the railroad, Chengwatana declined into a ghost town. The county seat was transferred to Pine City in 1870. A historical marker was placed at the former village site, simply stating its location, while a detailed historical marker noting Chengwatana and its relationship to the city of Pine City was placed along the railroad bridge crossing the Snake River in Pine City.
Remarks:
On March 1, 1856, with very informal ceremony, the village was officially named as the County Seat of Pine County, and the village was renamed Alhambra by Judd, Walker and Company, and Daniel G. Robertson; however, this name was not very well accepted. In 1857, Alhambra was renamed Chengwatana. When the Point Douglas to Superior Military Road, also known as “Douglas Highway,” was constructed between the modern cities of Hastings, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin to replace the Kettle River Trail that connected the modern cities of Fridley, Minnesota with Moose Lake, Minnesota, the new road was designed to pass through Chengwatana. The village was garrisoned as a frontier military post, 1862-1863. A post office operated in the village until 1873.
Childs, MN
County:
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
46° 3′ 56 N, 96° 32′ 4 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Childs is an unincorporated community in Wilkin County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota.
Remains:
The town of Childs was named for a local farmer, Job W. Childs, who later moved to California. The town had a post office from 1888 until 1920, and a station of the Great Northern Railway which was abandoned in 1956.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Cisco, MN
County:
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
47° 44′ 20 N, 96° 0′ 2 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Cisco is a place name for the remnants of a former unincorporated community located along the Soo Line Railroad and US 59 in the NW 1/4 of Section 11 of Badger Township, 149 North, Range 42 West, in Polk County, United States, approximately four miles north of the city of Erskine, and about the same distance south of the city of Brooks.
Remains:
Beginning with the construction of the railroad in the late 19th century until the late 1940s, Cisco was a water station and rail siding on the Soo Line Railroad. At one time, Cisco boasted a grain elevator, a stockyard, a general store, and a school (District 146, commonly known as the Cisco School), in addition to the railroad facilities and several homes. After the demise of steam locomotion, the railroad no longer stopped in Cisco. By 1938, the elevator and stockyards had been torn down, the school had been consolidated and discontinued operations (the physical building having been moved to Marcoux Corner), and the store had closed forever. By 1983, Cisco had shrunk to a couple of houses, both of which, like the town, is merely a memory in 2010.
Current Status:
Cisco was still in use as a place name by local people as late as 1990, but now is but a dim memory among some of the old-timers.
Remarks:
Clayton, MN
County:
Custer
Zip Code:
83227
Latitude / Longitude:
44° 15′ 32″ N, 114° 23′ 59″ W
Elevation:
5,489 ft (1,673 m)
Time Zone:
Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
Established:
1881
Disestablished:
Comments:
Clayton is a city in Custer County, Idaho, United States.
Remains:
The name is derived from early resident Clayton Smith, who is alleged to be the owner of a bawdy house. It is adjacent to the Salmon River. Clayton was founded in 1881 as a smelter site for the nearby mines but now is a tourist location.
Current Status:
The population was 7 at the 2010 census, down from 27 in 2000.
Remarks:
Costin Village, MN
County:
Saint Louis
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
47°31′57″N 92°37′25″W / 47.53250°N 92.62361°W / 47.53250
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Costin Village is an abandoned townsite at the location of what is now the city of Mountain Iron, Minnesota. Costin Village was founded by John Costin. Its population in the year 1907 was 1,000 people.
Remains:
Current Status:
Remarks:
Dale, MN
County:
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
46° 54′ 19 N, 96° 13′ 11 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Dale is a ghost town in section 34 of Highland Grove Township in Clay County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
The village of Dale was established by Andrew L. Jelsing when he purchased and moved Ole Gool’s saloon from Winnipeg Junction. In addition to owning the saloon, Jelsing was also the proprietor of a general store, postmaster, and depot agent at the town’s rail station. At one time the village had a town hall, a jail, an elevator, and numerous private homes. The post office closed in 1971.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Dorothy, MN
County:
County
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
47° 55′ 40 N, 96° 26′ 48 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Dorothy was a small town in Section 5, Louisville Township, Red Lake County, Minnesota. It is now a virtual ghost town.
Remains:
Dorothy initially was established as a railroad station in 1916-17 after the Northern Pacific Railway extended its line from Tilden Junction to Winnipeg and built a spur through Red Lake Falls. The new town sucked away what was left of the historic river crossing town, Huot, and for a time sputtered toward prosperity, boasting a grain elevator, a Catholic church, a school, and several houses. The post office in Dorothy was first established on February 11, 1898, with Joseph H. Mathews as postmaster. It was finally discontinued in 1945.
Current Status:
On October 24, 2014, the old church caught fire and burned to the ground in a conflagration that apparently started after embers from a pile of leaves a property owner was burning nearby blew towards the building, igniting the structure, which was a total loss.
Remarks:
The Federal Writers’ Project reported in 1938 that the town had a population of 25, and “a beautiful church with stained-glass windows”. In 1973, the railroad was abandoned and the grain elevator closed, and with it, the town’s reason for existence was gone. By 2007, the church had been abandoned and appeared to be in use as a residence.
Elcor, MN
County:
St. Louis
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
47°30′19″N 92°26′28″W / 47.50528°N 92.44111°W / 47.50528
Elevation:
1,542 ft (470 m)
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Elcor is a ghost town in the U.S. state of Minnesota which existed between 1897 and 1956. It was built on the Mesabi Iron Range near the city of Gilbert in St. Louis County. Elcor was its own unincorporated community before it was abandoned and was never a neighborhood proper of the city of Gilbert. Not rating a figure in the national census, the people of Elcor were only generally considered to be citizens of Gilbert. The area where Elcor was located was annexed by Gilbert when its existing city boundaries were expanded after 1969.
Remains:
In November 1890, the seven Merritt brothers discovered ore on the Mesabi Range, and a new iron rush began. The Elba mine was opened in 1897, and the town was platted under the direction of Don H. Bacon, president of the Minnesota Iron Company. A second nearby mine, the Corsica, was opened in 1901. The community was first called “Elba” after the name of the first underground mine (the name “Elcor” was formed later by combining the first syllables of each mine’s name). The Elba and Corsica mines were both leased by Pickands Mather and Company after the formation of the United States Steel Corporation.
Current Status:
Elcor was a mining location, built by the mining company to house the workers for its mines. People were allowed to own their homes, but the land on which the houses stood belonged to the mining company. After the Corsica mine closed in 1954, Pickands Mather and Company ordered the residents to vacate the property so that it could reclaim the land; by 1956, Elcor was completely abandoned. The desolate property changed hands often through acquisitions, mergers, and bankruptcies. In 1993 the Inland Steel Company began stripping the overburden from Elcor’s former location for what is now the Minorca mine.
Remarks:
An influx of people of many ethnicities from many nations followed, and Elcor became a microcosm of U.S. immigration, mirroring the cultural assimilation of the time. At its peak around 1920, Elcor had two churches, a post office, a mercantile, a primary school, a railroad station, and its own law enforcement, and housed a population of nearly 1,000.
Enterprise, MN
County:
Winona
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
43° 56′ 5 N, 91° 51′ 40 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Enterprise is an abandoned townsite in section 36 of Utica Township, in Winona County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
Enterprise was founded by Alexander Whittier, who established three inns at the roadside in the 1850s. A mill and dam were built by Nathan B. Ufford in 1854, and a post office was opened in Luther C. Rice’s general store in 1858. The town and post office was known as Neoca (Neoca is believed to be the name of a young Winnebago Indian woman), until 1860, when the name Enterprise was adopted. Enterprise’s Post Office was then relocated to new Postmaster Nathan B. Ufford’s mill. A number of businesses operated in Enterprise, most notably the mill, a match factory, and a lime kiln, but with the development of nearby Lewiston four miles to the north, the town dwindled, and eventually, the post office was discontinued in 1901.
Current Status:
Luther Rice’s general store exists to this day, although it was relocated approximately 1/2 mile west from its original location, and is now called the Fremont Store. A Masonic Lodge was also chartered in Enterprise. Harmony Lodge #43 was chartered in 1863 but moved to Lewiston in 1868.
Remarks:
A rest area on Interstate 90 took its name from the former town.
Fermoy, MN
County:
Saint Louis
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
47°12′42″N 92°36′11″W / 47.21167°N 92.60306°W / 47.21167
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Fermoy is an abandoned townsite in McDavitt Township, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. It was located near the communities of Sax and Kelsey. Fermoy was near the intersection of Kolu Road (County Road 207), Cranberry Lane (County Road 788), and Admiral Road South. Saint Louis County Highway 7 (CR 7) is nearby.
Remains:
Fermoy was a station and junction of the Great Northern Railway, four miles north of Kelsey, in section 28, of McDavitt Township. Fermoy Wildlife Management Area is nearby.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Forestville, MN
County:
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
43°39′41.5″N 92°11′23.2″W / 43.661528°N 92.189778°W / 43.661528
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Forestville is a ghost town in section 13 of Forestville Township in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The nearest communities are Wykoff, to the northwest, and Preston, to the northeast.
Remains:
The town of Forestville was settled in 1852 and organized in 1855, receiving this name in honor of Forest Henry, the first probate judge of Fillmore County. Henry settled in Forestville in 1854. The town was incorporated in 1891 and had a post office from 1855 until 1902.
Current Status:
In 1949 the Minnesota State Legislature authorized the creation of Forestville State Park, with the intent to preserve what remained of the abandoned townsite. Mystery Cave was added to the state park in 1987. Today Historic Forestville is operated as a historic site of the Minnesota Historical Society.
Remarks:
The town’s population began to drop after the railroad bypassed Forestville in 1868; many families began leaving for more prosperous areas. By 1880, the town’s population was only 55 and most businesses had closed. As families left town, the Meighen family began buying up cheap property, and by 1889, they owned the entire town and its surrounding area. By the early 1900s, even the Meighen family had left Forestville, and their general store’s doors were closed in 1910, marking the end of the town’s life.
Garen, MN
County:
Washington
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
45° 13′ 30 N, 92° 58′ 54 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Disestablished:
Current Status:
Comments:
Garen is an abandoned townsite in Washington County, Minnesota.
Remains:
Garen was a town just south of Forest Lake, Minnesota. It was located on present U.S. Route 61 and 190th Street. Garen South School in District No. 72 opened in 1893. It had 5 grades: A, B, C, D, and E. The school eventually burned to the ground and the site is now covered in brush.
Established:
Remarks:
A former Forest Lake historian recalls: “A labor of love that impressed me was to learn about the thoughtfulness of the mothers on cold, winter days. They took turns bringing a hot dish, soup, home-baked beans, or scalloped potatoes to add to cold lunches the children brought from home in their lunch pails. There also was an oil stove for cooking. Sometimes they had hot chocolate to drink, which at times was a little scorched.”
Grover, MN
County:
Winona
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Grover is an abandoned townsite in section 29 of Fremont Township in Winona County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
Grover had a post office from 1886 until 1902.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Homedahl, MN
County:
Faribault
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Homedahl is an abandoned townsite in sections 29 and 30 of Seely Township in Faribault County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
The town was originally settled by the Osul Haaland family, Norwegian immigrants. Rasmus O. Haaland was the first postmaster, and named the post office in honor of a “[remembered] location in Norway.” The village had a station of the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad, and the post office lasted from 1877 to 1904.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Huot, MN
County:
Red Lake
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
47° 51′ 55 N, 96° 25′ 24 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Huot is an unincorporated community in Louisville Township, Red Lake County, Minnesota, United States. The name of the community evokes the French-Canadian and Métis history of the Red River Trails and the Pembina settlements of Assiniboia.
Remains:
The location of Huot was originally dubbed the Old Crossing. In the 1840s and 1850s, this was a ford or crossing of the Red Lake River used by Red River ox cart trains en route from Pembina and Fort Garry in the Red River Colony to St. Paul, Minnesota. After negotiating the difficult and sometimes dangerous crossing, these cart trains typically camped overnight nearby, and the location became known as a regular stopping place on the “Woods Trail”.
Current Status:
The Old Crossing Treaty Park in Huot was established on an 8.8-acre (36,000 m2) on the west bank of the Old Crossing site in 1933, and a memorial to the 1863 Treaty of Old Crossing was erected there on June 25, 1933. At about the same time, an additional 100 acres (0.4 km2) on the north side of the river, which included portions of the old Pembina Trail, was acquired by citizens of Polk and Red Lake counties. Today the park includes primitive camping and picnicking facilities, seasonal historical exhibits, a boat landing, and the monument to the Ojibwe treaties and Red River cart trails. It is managed by Red Lake County.
Remarks:
In the 1850s, Joe Rolette, one of the colorful promoters of trade between British Assiniboia and St. Paul, established a trading house at the Old Crossing. Rolette also proposed to establish a city named “Douglas” at the same location. Rolette’s compatriots in the Minnesota state legislature actually designated Douglas the county seat of Polk County in 1858. This designation was quickly withdrawn when the Ojibwe, who had been contesting the Dakota Sioux for hunting rights in the vicinity over many decades, refused to grant permission for a ferry or a town in their territory.
Imogene, MN
County:
Martin
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
43°39’37N 94°20’44W
Elevation:
1,129 ft (344 m)
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Imogene is an unincorporated community located in Martin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The elevation is 1,129 feet. Imogene appears on the Granada U.S. Geological Survey Map.
Remains:
Imogene was platted in 1900. It was named after Imogen, from Shakespeare’s play Cymbeline. A post office was established as Imogen in 1901 and remained in operation until 1913.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Leaf River, MN
County:
Wadena
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
46° 29′ 19 N, 95° 4′ 54 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Leaf River, or Leafriver, is a ghost town in section 22 of Leaf River Township, Wadena County, Minnesota, United States. Today the town has a population of around 50. There is a restaurant, a golf course, an old schoolhouse, and a residential community.
Remains:
The village of Leaf River had a post office from 1880 until 1882, and again from 1902 until 1908. It was served by a station of the Great Northern Railway.
Current Status:
Remarks:
The village received its name from the Leaf River, which was in turn named for the Leaf Mountains, which were called by the Ojibwa Gaaskibag-wajiwan. This name was translated by Gilfillan as “Rustling Leaf Mountains.”
Lewiston, MN
County:
Winona
Zip Code:
55952
Latitude / Longitude:
43°59’8N 91°51’58W
Elevation:
1,214 ft (370 m)
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Disestablished:
Current Status:
Comments:
Lewiston is a city in Winona County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,620 at the 2010 census.
Remains:
A post office called Lewiston has been in operation since 1872. The city was named for Jonathan Smith Lewis, a pioneer settler. Lewiston was incorporated in 1873.
Established:
Remarks:
Lewisville, MN
County:
Watonwan
Zip Code:
56060
Latitude / Longitude:
43°55′22″N 94°26′12″W / 43.92278°N 94.43667°W / 43.92278
Elevation:
1,066 ft (325 m)
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Lewisville is a city in Watonwan County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 250 at the 2010 census.
Remains:
Lewisville was platted in 1899. The city was named for the Lewis family, original owners of the town site. A post office has been in operation at Lewisville since 1899. Lewisville was incorporated in 1902.
Current Status:
Remarks:
London, MN
County:
Freeborn
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
London is an unincorporated community in Freeborn County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota.
Remains:
London was platted in 1900. The community was named after New London, Connecticut. The London post office closed in 1996.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Lude, MN
County:
Lake of the Woods
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
48° 57′ 8 N, 94° 55′ 55 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Lude was an unincorporated community in Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
The community was located southeast of Long Point on Lude Road, now Lake of the Woods County Road 52. A post office was in operation in Lude from 1904 to 1934.
Current Status:
All traces of the building have been removed. The community of Birch Beach has replaced what used to be Lude.
Remarks:
Mallard, MN
County:
Clearwater
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
47° 18′ 40 N, 95° 16′ 1 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Mallard is an abandoned townsite in sections 5 and 8 of Itasca Township in Clearwater County, Minnesota, United States. The nearest community is Rice Lake, to the northwest.
Remains:
The village of Mallard took its name from nearby Mallard Lake and was incorporated on December 30, 1902. Mallard had a post office from 1902 until 1924.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Manganese, MN
County:
Crow Wing
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
46° 31′ 39 N, 94° 0′ 35 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Manganese was a small village in Wolford Township, Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Manganese lies roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Trommald, Minnesota. Just off County Road 30, it is perhaps best identified by its location between Coles Lake and Flynn Lake. First appearing in the 1920 census, the village was abandoned by 1960.
Remains:
Over time, like most other minerals in the Cuyuna Range, all of the ore had been extracted. As a result, no employment remained in the city, and the residents needed to relocate to find new jobs. Unlike other towns in the Cuyuna Range, rather than having its population decline by thirty or forty percent, Manganese lost its entire population. During the 1960s the city was abandoned; it became a ghost town. Nothing remained except for sidewalks, rubble, many building foundations, and various abandoned items. In the 1970s, the city amounted to nothing more than sidewalks and rubble. As time progressed into the 1980s, trees, roots, and shrubs began to uproot and crack through the concrete sidewalks. In the 1990s, a majority of the land was purchased. It is now privately owned and has a “no trespassing” sign posted on the gate of the southeastern part of the city. Presently, the area is consumed entirely by the growth of natural vegetation.
Current Status:
Although the grid pattern of roads remains, the roads have either disintegrated or have been completely overtaken by grass, trees, and shrubs. The sheer height of the trees exposes what has become of land once occupied by numerous buildings. Manganese is a classic example of a “ghost town.”
Remarks:
Named after the mining of its namesake, the village first appeared as “Manganese Village” in the 1920 Census with a population of 183. A post office called Manganese was in operation from 1912 until 1924.
Muskoda, MN
County:
Clay
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
46° 51′ 42 N, 96° 24′ 24 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Muskoda is a ghost town in section 7 of Hawley Township in Clay County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
Muskoda received its name from the Ojibwa word Mashkode, which according to Baraga means “a meadow or tract of grassland, a large prairie.” The townsite was originally on a line of the Northern Pacific Railroad until that railroad moved its line to a more gradual grade, leaving Muskoda about one-half mile off the new line. The town had a post office from 1873 until 1930, and also at one time had a general store, a grain elevator, and a potato warehouse.
Current Status:
Little trace of the town remains today.
Remarks:
New Prairie, MN
County:
Pope
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
45° 36′ 30 N, 95° 38′ 30 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
New Prairie is a ghost town in New Prairie Township in Pope County, Minnesota, United States. It lies between the cities of Cyrus and Starbuck.
Remains:
The village of New Prairie had a post office from 1872 until 1883, and again from 1920 until 1946. New Prairie also had a station of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Nininger, MN
County:
Dakota
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
44° 46′ 9 N, 92° 54′ 8 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Nininger is a ghost town in section 18 of Nininger Township in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
The city of Nininger was founded and named by John Nininger, brother-in-law of territorial and state Governor Alexander Ramsey. Nininger had high hopes for his namesake city to become state capital, and indeed its population did reach nearly 1,000 by the spring of 1858. The city did not flourish, however, and its post office was discontinued in 1889 after 33 years of operation.
Current Status:
Today little trace of the original city remains, although two plaques describe Good Templars Hall and Ignatius L. Donnelly’s home.
Remarks:
The most famous resident of Nininger was author Ignatius Donnelly, who was sometimes called “The Sage of Nininger.”
Oak Lake, MN
County:
Becker
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
46° 50′ 30 N, 95° 56′ 18 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Oak Lake is a ghost town in section 24 of Audubon Township in Becker County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
of the Northern Pacific Railroad located in nearby section 19 of Detroit Township, but was abandoned in 1872 when a new station was built in the town of Audubon.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Old Crow Wing, MN
County:
Crow Wing
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
46° 16′ 38 N, 94° 20′ 15 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Old Crow Wing is a ghost town in Fort Ripley Township, Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Crow Wing rivers. Long occupied by the Ojibwe people, for over a century it was also the northernmost European-American settlement on the Mississippi.
Remains:
In the 1850s and 1860s, Crow Wing was a county seat and one of the major population centers of Minnesota. At its peak, it had an estimated 600–700 residents, about half of whom were Ojibwe. The townsite, including one restored house, is preserved within Crow Wing State Park.
Current Status:
By 1880, most of Crow Wing’s residents had moved on. Two of Beaulieu’s nephews moved their uncle’s former house to Morrison County, where it was inhabited continuously into the 1980s. After Larry and Joyce Moran of Little Falls donated the house to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the house was moved back to its original location in 1988, now within Crow Wing State Park.
Remarks:
This area was inhabited by indigenous peoples for thousands of years before the first encounter with Europeans. At the confluence of the Crow Wing and Mississippi rivers, the site of the village of Old Crow Wing became a logical meeting place for the Dakota and later Ojibwe of Minnesota.
Parkton, MN
County:
Otter Tail
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Parkton is a ghost town in Inman Township in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
Parkton had a station of the Northern Pacific Railway.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Pelan, MN
County:
Kittson
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
48° 38′ 37 N, 96° 23′ 36 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Pelan is an abandoned townsite in Kittson County, Minnesota, United States. It lies in Pelan Township, between the cities of Karlstad and Greenbush.
Remains:
Settlement began in 1880. The site was named for Charles Pelan, a wealthy Englishman. The town had a post office from 1888 until 1912. In 1889 the first postmaster, Frederic W. (Billy) Clay, disappeared with a sack of mail and was never found. The town was incorporated in 1903 but ceased in 1909.
Current Status:
The post office was moved to Roseau County until service ended in 1917. Pelan Park stands where the town was. It consists of a church, cemetery, and a few buildings. The Western Wood-Pewee, a species of bird, has been recorded nesting in this wooded park.
Remarks:
Philbrook, MN
County:
Todd
Zip Code:
56479
Latitude / Longitude:
46°17’00N 94°43’01W
Elevation:
1,250 ft (380 m)
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Philbrook is an unincorporated community in Todd County, Minnesota, United States. It is along Todd County Road 28 near Red Pine Road. Nearby places include Staples, Motley, Cushing, and Browerville.
Remains:
Philbrook began as Riverside in 1859, and the post office was established in 1889, but because the name Riverside was already in use by another post office, the name was changed to Philbrook in 1890. The post office was changed to a rural branch in 1956 and discontinued in 1964. Philbrook had a station of the Northern Pacific Railroad in section 33 of Villard Township.
Current Status:
Saint James Catholic Church in Philbrook was closed in 1962.
Remarks:
Pinewood, MN
County:
Beltami
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
47° 35′ 50 N, 95° 7′ 40 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Pinewood is a small unincorporated area in section 33 of Buzzle Township in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. Some local sources have estimated the population at 147, however that number cannot be confirmed. It is about 19 miles northwest of Bemidji, where most community services are available.
Remains:
The town of Pinewood was established in 1879, and had a station of the Soo Line Railroad. At its peak Pinewood also had a hotel, general store, mercantile store, sawmill, and livery stable.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Pitt, MN
County:
Lake of the Woods
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
48° 43′ 3 N, 94° 44′ 10 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Pitt is a ghost town in Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
The community is located west of Baudette on Minnesota State Highway 11 at the intersection with Lake of the Woods County Road 6. A post office was in operation in Pitt from 1903 to 1993. Pitt had a station on the Canadian Pacific railway line, but it has since been removed and is now only a whistle-stop. The only building visible by public road in Pitt is a boarded-up general store advertising “knives and wild rice” that closed in the 1990s, which was the original home of Pitt’s very first settlers Herbert and Mamie Sanborn in 1901. It was moved from west of the bridge in Pitt to its current location and later became a grocery store. It is the only early 1900s building left standing. Little evidence remains of the town other than the state signs. To the north of the railroad tracks is a lot where pulpwood is handled.
Current Status:
Pitt was burned in the Baudette Fire of 1910.
Remarks:
Pomme De Terre, MN
County:
Grant
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Pomme de Terre is a ghost town in section 24 of Pomme de Terre Township in Grant County, Minnesota.
Remains:
The village of Pomme de Terre was first settled in the late 1860s and was platted in 1874 in section 24 of Pomme de Terre Township. Pomme de Terre had a post office from 1868 until 1879, and again from 1880 until 1902. At its height, Pomme de Terre had two stores, two blacksmith shops, a grist mill, elevator, hotel, and saloon. In 1873 an attempt to have Pomme de Terre named the county seat failed. The development of Herman, the growth of Elbow Lake as the county seat, and the failure of the railroad to come through Pomme de Terre (going instead to the north through Ashby) led to the eventual demise of the village.
Current Status:
Remarks:
The name Pomme de Terre is French and is translated as “apple of the earth,” which usually refers to the potato. In this case, however, it refers to the prairie turnip (Psoralea esculenta), a potato-like root vegetable that was commonly eaten by the Sioux.
Radium, MN
County:
Marshall
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
48° 13′ 46 N, 96° 36′ 49 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Radium is a ghost town in section 19 of Comstock Township, Marshall County, Minnesota, United States. It was built alongside Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad (Soo Line Railroad) branch line built in 1905 from Thief River Falls, Minnesota, to Kenmare, North Dakota.
Remains:
The place was named for the element radium. Radium had its own post office from 1905 to 1984. Since 1984, Radium has been served by the post office in Warren. It is also on the Warren telephone exchange and part of the Warren-Alvarado-Oslo school district. The townsite is being slowly reclaimed for use as farmland.
Current Status:
There is still a large grain elevator on the railroad line south of the townsite. A small Lutheran church 1 1/2 miles (2.4 km) south of the town antedates the coming of the railroad; Immanuel Lutheran Church (LCMS) was organized in 1897.
Remarks:
San Francisco, MN
County:
Carber
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
44° 41′ 51.87 N, 93° 42′ 7.85 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
San Francisco is an abandoned townsite in San Francisco Township in Carver County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
San Francisco was first settled in 1854 and named by the founder, William Foster, after the city in California. It was reportedly the original county seat of Carver County, Minnesota, but lost that status to Chaska a year later. The town lasted about ten years from its founding and had a post office from 1856 until 1858 and again from 1861 until 1862.
Current Status:
It still existed as a town in 1870, as there is a U.S. federal census record for it.
Remarks:
Shell City, MN
County:
Wadena
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Shell City is a ghost town in section 2 of Shell River Township in Wadena County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
The village of Shell City was established by William E. Kindred as the Kindred post office in 1879. The townsite was then sold to Francis M. Yoder and Sewall Chandler in 1881 and the name was changed to Shell City in 1882.
Current Status:
The town failed to develop as hoped, and the post office was discontinued in 1901.
Remarks:
Spina, MN
County:
Saint Louis
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
47°31′37″N 92°44′27″W / 47.52694°N 92.74083°W / 47.52694
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Spina is an abandoned townsite in Great Scott Township, Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
The village of Spina was established after W.J. Power gained control of the Kinney Mine in 1909. It was served by a station of the Great Northern Railway.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Splitrock, MN
County: Lake
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone: Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established: 1899
Disestablished: 1906
Comments:
Remains: The only evidence that a town once existed is the pillars of the pier that are still visible at the river’s mouth.
Current Status: The town is now within the boundaries of Split Rock Lighthouse State Park and has no residents.
Remarks:
Vawter, MN
County:
Morrison
Zip Code:
56373
Latitude / Longitude:
45°54′44″N 94°14′42″W / 45.91222°N 94.24500°W / 45.91222
Elevation:
1,106 ft (337 m)
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Vawter is an unincorporated community in Morrison County, Minnesota, United States, near Little Falls and Royalton. The community is located along 103rd Street near Morrison County Road 35, Iris Road. Vawter is located within Bellevue Township and Little Falls Township. The Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge and the Rice–Skunk Lake Wildlife Management Area are both nearby.
Remains:
Vawter was platted in 1908. A post office called Vawter was in operation from 1922 until 1940.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Vicksburg, MN
County:
Renville
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Vicksburg is an abandoned townsite in section 30 of Flora Township in Renville County, Minnesota, United States. The nearest community is the small city of Delhi, south across the Minnesota River in Redwood County.
Remains:
Vicksburg was platted in 1867, and named in remembrance of the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. Vicksburg had a post office from 1871 until 1901. The town was abandoned by 1905 when the site was bypassed by the railroads.
Current Status:
All that remains today is a cemetery, located north of the townsite
Remarks:
Renville County Park #2 was changed to “Vicksburg County Park” around 1999 (or perhaps earlier). The main park entrance (on the west side of CR 6) is to the south (and down the river valley bluff/hill) from the “Vicksburg” cemetery.
West Newton, MN
County:
Nicollet
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
44° 23′ 9.6 N, 94° 35′ 45.6 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
West Newton is a ghost town in section 30 of West Newton Township in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States, along the Minnesota River, near New Ulm.
Remains:
West Newton was named in part to honor James Newton, an early settler who emigrated from Kentucky, and partly to honor the steamboat West Newton, which was built in 1852 and sunk at Alma, Wisconsin, in September 1853. The community had a post office from 1862 until 1910. Harkin’s General Store is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Whitewater Falls, MN
County:
Winona
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Whitewater Falls is an abandoned townsite in sections 27 and 34 of Whitewater Township in Winona County, Minnesota.
Remains:
Whitewater Falls had a post office from 1856 until 1899. The town took its name from the Whitewater River.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Winner, MN
County:
Roseau
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude:
48° 35′ 52 N, 95° 26′ 24 W
Elevation:
Time Zone:
Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments:
Winner is an abandoned townsite in the former Elkwood Township in southeastern Roseau County, Minnesota, United States.
Remains:
The community of Winner had a post office from 1913 until 1937.
Current Status:
Remarks:
Winnipeg Junction, MN
County: Clay
Zip Code:
Latitude / Longitude: 46° 53′ 45 N, 96° 14′ 48 W
Elevation:
Time Zone: Central (CST) (UTC-6)
Established:
Disestablished:
Comments: Winnipeg Junction is a ghost town in section 22 of Highland Grove Township in Clay County, Minnesota.
Remains: Winnipeg Junction was established in 1887 when the Northern Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. The town developed rapidly and within twenty years had a church, three stores, three saloons, two restaurants, two hotels, a bakery, a grain elevator, a school, three livery stables, and a post office which operated from 1887 until 1910. In 1909, however, the railroad moved its line to a more favorable grade, and the town subsequently died, its businesses and residents moving to the adjacent communities of Manitoba Junction and Dale.
Current Status: Little trace of the town remains today.
Remarks:
