When looking for things to do in the United States, I start to think of all the ghost towns there are. I wondered which US State has the most ghost towns in its location. With some research, I was able to locate the US State that had the most ghost towns.
The US state with the most ghost towns is Texas. Texas has 511 ghost towns to explore, with Wilson county having the most within its area. California is the second-highest hot spot for ghost towns, containing 346.
There are plenty of reasons that ghost towns intrigue people. Such as many of them being known for hauntings and having activity from otherworldly beings. People wanted to learn the history of the ghost town and any major events that had occurred. To get a chance to see a glimpse of the past.
Top Ghost Towns In Texas
In Texas, approximately 25 ghost towns are easy to access within a 25-mile radius of New Braunfels. The area containing the most ghost towns within Texas is Wilson County, which has 31 ghost towns in an 808 mi area.
There are hundreds of possible history options for you to choose from when you visit Texas. Whether it be from mining towns, vacation hot spots, trade posts, etc. They all have a history that helped to shape the state of Texas.
Each and every ghost town has its own story for you to learn about. Getting the chance to learn why the towns didn’t make it, learning why the people chose to leave these places behind. They are chances for you to get to look back at the past, to see the culture of the people that lived there once before. To see some of the struggles that this community faced.
The Top Ghost Town That Attracts The Most Tourists Is Terlingua
In the early 1900s, a man by the name of Howard E. Perry created a mining company; this company was called “ Chisos Mining Company.” Which brought many people down to this tiny town. Everything had started to take off and was booming until the end of World War ll.
By the end of World War ll, the prices for minerals had started to fall in prices causing people to leave and find work elsewhere.
In 2nd Place Is The Town of Lobo
It once was a place known for its agriculture, mainly it’s cotton production. This was the main source of their economy until it got to the point where the irrigation prices were surpassing the income brought in from the crops.
This caused this town’s economy to crumble, and people started to leave one by one until there was nothing left. Now it is full of empty and hollow buildings that are slowly crumbling.
Up Next Is Indianola, Taking 3rd
This town was hit with quite a few natural disasters. This place was once lively with a population of 5,000 until one day, a hurricane came and wiped out everything. The town was rebuilt but only to be taken out by yet another hurricane, and then on top of that, whatever had remained had been destroyed by a fire.
In 4th, We Have Medicine Mound
In the early 30s, a fire destroyed this town, causing major damage to most of the town. Then the Great Depression hit the town, and by the end of it, only 6 buildings remained. The final store closed down in 1966.
Then In 5th, We Have Independence
Independence, Texas, was founded in 1835 by four people. These were J. G. W. Pierson, Robert Stevenson, Colbert Baker, and Amasa F. The town grew as well as a community until a bypass was made. The train tracks had gone right past the small town.
Independence started losing trade opportunities to the neighboring towns closer to the train routes. This caused the town’s economy to decline and reach a slow downfall. Then fewer and fewer people started to come to the town because of the difficulty of finding transportation to get to independence.
Top Ghost Towns In The United States
The Top Ghost Town In The US Is Thurmond, West Virginia
During the early 1900s, Thurmond was a train stop for the Ohio and Chesapeake railroads. Then, later on, the town was hit by prohibition and the Great Depression soon after, which led to the downfall of the town’s economy. The former depot is a preserved museum, while the rest of the town seems to be falling apart.
Virginia City, Montana
This town was known for mining, and many people who came to the town were on the look for gold. As time passed, the gold started to run out, which meant that the people started to leave. The town is stuck in time, becoming a reminder of the past.
Bodie, California
It is located not that far from Lake Tahoe and not that far from Reno. This town was once a mining town, with a population estimated at around 10,000. People started to leave the town and were hit by two devastating fires shortly after.
Bombay Beach, Salton Sea, California
This place was a popular vacation hot spot during the 1940s and the 1950s. The sea’s salt content got too high as time passed, killing off the wildlife around it. Then this area was also hit by tropical storms, leaving many structures in ruins.
Orla, Texas
Another mining town during the gold rush was also a for the Pecos River railroad. Most buildings show the emptiness of what once was a lively town as they decay with time.
Kennecott, Alaska
It was a short-lived town; like many other towns, this one was an iron mining town, and just like the rest, when the mines ran out, so did the people. The town is not far from the Kennicott Glacier and is located within the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
Centralia, Pennsylvania
This town is located about 2 hours away from Philadelphia. Then the town was hit by an accidental coal fire from the underground coal mines. After a while of the fire raging on, cracks started to appear around the town. These cracks started to release smoke and carbon dioxide into the air causing the town to have to be evacuated.
Rhyolite, Nevada
Close to Death Valley National park, this town brought many people hoping to make it big in prospecting. Soon these mines, like many others, were exhausted of their resources. Then after an earthquake hit, it closed down many more of the mines that were still up and running. Then later in the 1920s, the town got one more shot of coming to life. It was used as a movie set.
Cahaba, Alabama
Historically, it was declared the first capital of Alabama, but due to the continuous flooding, it was deemed unfit to stay the capital. Then after the civil war, it was a place where many freed slaves would gather around, but that did not last long because of the constant flooding in that area. Now Alabama has made this place into a historical site.
Cody, Wyoming
Buffalo Bill in the 1970s founded this town. As time passed, some of the original buildings were moved to other locations within the states of Wyoming and Montana.
Authentic ones replaced the buildings that were taken. Since this place is not too far from Yellow Stone, it has become a tourist attraction. So to continue to gain tourists, the town puts on wild west reenactments.
What Is The Most Popular Ghost Town In The World?
Pripyat, Ukraine
In 1986 not too far from this town was a nuclear power plant, but on April 26, one of the reactors within the power plant had a malfunction. The malfunction caused an explosion to go within the power plant. Within an 18-mile radius, people were evacuated from the area.
It took nearly 36 hours for approximately 39,000 people to be evacuated from the town. Even after about three decades, the town’s radiation levels have gone down but are still high enough to be considered uninhabitable. Now the decaying town reminds many of what happened that day.
