During the 18 and 1900s, a lot of places in America were abandoned.  Whether it was due to the end of the Gold Rush, the collapse of industrial sites after the Gilded Age, natural disasters, or just a bizarre twist of fate, they all have backstories.  Here then, without further ado are abandoned towns across the USA that you can still visit.

Abandoned Towns Across The USA That You Can Still Visit

1.  Kennecott, Alaska

The discovery of $200 million worth of copper and the founding of Utah Copper Company in 1903.  The Guggenheims and J.P. Morgan helped establish a “self-contained company town,” complete with a skating rink and tennis court.  In 1938, the copper mines were running low, and the mines were closed.  Today, it is a National Historic Landmark located in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.

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St. Elmo, Colorado

The once thriving gold mining town of St. Elmo was founded in 1880.  Once the home of nearly 2,000 people, the Alpine Tunnel closed in 1910.  The price of silver had dropped, and in 1922 rail service ended.  30 years later, mail service ended.  It’s one of the best-preserved ghost towns in the US.  The best time to visit is in the summer.

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Bodie, California

Bodie is the largest unreconstructed ghost town in the US.  Founded in 1859 when William S. Bodey discovered gold here, the population quickly grew from less than two dozen miners to more than 10,000.  When the gold began to vanish, so did the people.  By 1942, the last mine had closed.  Now an official National Historic Site, you can take guided tours in the summer.

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Cahawba, Alabama

This was the state capital from 1820 to 1825 before being flooded too often.  It was also a center of cotton distribution, and during the infamous Civil War, it was the location of the infamous Confederate Castle Morgan prison 1863 and 1865.  Another huge flood occurred and by the early 1900s, most of the buildings had been destroyed.  Visit the museum and the Crocheron Columns. 

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Virginia City, Montana

Established in 1863, this gold-mining town where frontierswoman Calamity Jane once lived.  It was a fairly lawless place.  Gangs of outlaws murdered 100 people in the first year of its existence.

Still, its population grew to roughly 10,000 before the gold disappeared and the city became stagnant.  At present, the place features original buildings, live music, tours, and a memorable scenic railway.

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Glenrio, Texas and New Mexico

Glenrio was founded in 1903.  Straddling the border between New Mexico and Texas, travelers stopped visiting this town after the I-40 was constructed in the early 1970s.  It withered away to be little more than a bit of Route 66 nostalgia.  The Little Juarez Cafe is boarded up now, but it remains the first and the last motel and cafe in Texas.

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Rhyolite, Nevada

Situated on the edge of famous Death Valley, this Gold Rush was founded in 1904 and abandoned by 1916, even though it was the state’s third-largest city.  The infamous Panic of 1907 caused most of the mines to close, the banks to fail, and local newspapers to stop the presses. In 1911 when the Montgomery Shoshone Mine shut down and remaining residents left within the next few years.

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Batsto Village, New Jersey

This village was named after the Swedish word for sauna, “batsu”.  Founded in 1766, its local ironworks supplying the Continental Army during the infamous Revolutionary War.  92 years later, it was replaced as the producer of iron (and charcoal) a Pennsylvanian mine.  Famous industrialist Joseph Wharton bought the place in 1876.  He too abandoned the town although today it is a historical site.

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Dawson, New Mexico

Founded in 1901, Dawson was a mining company town.  There were three decennial explosions.  The first in 1903, killed three people.

In 1913, more than 250 died, and in 1923, 123 died.  After the first explosion, residents began to relocate.  The demand for coal tapered off and the last mine shut down in 1950.  The property was sold, most buildings destroyed, and it’s now haunted.

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Garnet, Montana

This town was named after the gems discovered with the gold there.  Founded in the 1860s, half the town was burned down in 1912.  The gold had withered away, so it was abandoned.

Today over 30 historic buildings remain intact.  If you visit in winter, you can rent one of two cabins.  Visit in June and you can attend fun and festive Garnet Day.

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Centralia, Pennsylvania

Centralia was a bustling coal-mining town in the late 1800s.  It once had a population of almost 2,700.  As of 2020, five people still live there so it’s technically not a ghost town.

Since 1962, a fire has been burning in one of the abandoned coal mines beneath this town.  It was evacuated when it started.  It inspired the 2006 film Silent Hill.

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 Ashcroft, Colorado

This town was established in 1880 thanks to silver being discovered there.  Soon, 3,500 people lived there.  By 1885, the silver was gone, and all but 100 residents relocated.  

In the 1930s, it garnered new attention thanks to the Winter Olympics.  Olympic bobsledder Billy Fiske planned to build a ski resort there but died in WWII.  The project died too and by 1940, Ashcroft was deserted.

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Mystic, South Dakota

Mystic was founded in 1885.  The main industries focus on shipping coal into the Black Hills and transporting gold and timber out of them.  As WWII ended, business faltered.  

Severely limited resources made running the sawmill difficult.  The sawmill closed its doors in 1952 and other businesses also closed.  The population dwindled and the town was abandoned.

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Shaniko, Oregon

Shaniko was once the “Wool Capital of the World,” it was incorporated in 1901 thanks to the railroad extension.  Less than 10 years later, a new railroad cut the town off the route.  Two fires ravaged the business district too.  

In the 1950s it was deemed a ghost town although as of 2018 39 residents remained.  Visit in the summer when the seasonal businesses are open.

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These “white elephant” construction projects really cost a fortune! Whether it is deserted palaces, half-completed hotels, or disused Olympics facilities, people spent a lot of money on structures that are no longer used or were never even completed. Check out these big builds that cost billions and are now abandoned.

Big Builds That Cost Billions And Are Now Abandoned

1.  The Maginot Line, France

The Maginot Line was constructed back in the 1930s. France spent a total of 3 billion francs on it, (approximately $3.7 billion today). Named after Andre Maginot, the French war minister, it included fortifications, obstacles, and weapons spanning the country’s borders with Italy, Luxembourg, Switzerland, and Germany. It was meant to stop German troops from invading during the Second World War.

The Line was so ineffective the name “Maginot Line” is now synonymous with any barrier that provides people with a false sense of security. It was especially weak in the Ardennes Forest, where military officials mistakenly thought the terrain was too tough for invading German forces. Unfortunately, it was here that German troops burst from the trees to invade France. The underground tunnels under fortifications were great to temporarily train and house troops as they included eating areas and were air-conditioned but the project was too expensive.

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The Mirabel International Airport, Canada 

This airport opened for business in 1975 was meant to serve as a replacement for Dorval Airport. It cost 500 million Canadian dollars ($1.7 billion US today). Although it was the largest airport in the world, it had issues.  

It was 26 miles outside of Montreal which impacted the number of passengers. Thus, the airlines all too quickly dropped this airport for Toronto. Additionally, by the early 2000s, Dorval (now named Trudeau) Airport had expanded and all passenger flights in and out of Mirabel had stopped. The terminal was demolished. Occasional cargo flights still fly in and out but the otherwise vacant place is now only famous for being used in the 2013 zombie rom-com movie Warm Bodies.

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Olympic Stadium, Canada

Located in Montreal, Canada’s Olympic Stadium not only had issues, it was not even finished in time for the famous 1976 Olympics. The stadium’s estimated cost was roughly equal to $1.4 billion USD today. It wasn’t finished until 1987.  

Even then it wasn’t suitable for use. A section of the structure fell apart in 1999. It has not had a permanent tenant since 2004 due to its reputation. Unfortunately, it would cost more to dismantle it than to keep it open for even occasional use in the future. At present, a stadium construction company in Germany in conjunction with RIO (the Régie des installations olympiques) is making plans for replacing the old roof in 2024. It was most recently used as a COVID vaccination center.

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The Palace of the Parliament, Romania

This huge palace in the capital city of Bucharest was reportedly dictator Nicolae Ceausescu’s pet project. The gigantic manse covers an area of almost 3.9 million square feet. After the US Pentagon, this is the world’s second-largest administrative building.  

Allegedly, it can even “be seen from the Moon.” They broke ground for this project in 1984, demolishing large areas of the city in the process. What’s worse, literally thousands of construction workers actually died while erecting the building.  

Even though Ceaușescu was executed in 1989, work continued and the infamous Palace of Parliament was completed in 1997 at a total expense of $3.9 billion USD in current currency. Now they use just 30 percent of the structure and the utility bills are said to run more than $6 million USD annually. This structure also includes an underground network of rarely explored tunnels featured in an episode of the Brit television program Top Gear. They were originally built specifically for the hard-nosed dictator, who thought he might need an emergency escape route to the local airport if there was ever a revolution.

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The Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea

Also known as the “Hotel of Doom,” the Ryugyong Hotel towers ominously over the capital city of Pyongyang. Construction on this 105-story triangular tower back in 1987. Since then, it has cost the equivalent of the nation’s total gross domestic product. This overly-lavish landmark sticks out like an irresponsible “sore thumb” in a country where roughly 10.5 million citizens are undernourished. It has been beset by both construction and funding issues.  

This 3,000-room hotel was supposed to open its doors in 2012 but as this goes to press, it is still incomplete, unopened, and entirely unused. The development was slowed by several different reasons including electricity shortages and just plain poor quality materials. According to announcements made in the state media in March 2019, there are new plans to resume work on the unfinished skyscraper. Part of these plans includes erecting a pair of neighboring sail-shaped skyscrapers inspired by Dubai’s distinctive Burj Al Arab hotel. The tower’s incomplete exterior has been damaged by exposure to the elements over the years, and the estimated cost for completing the structure would be the equivalent of an additional $2 billion.

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Athens’ Olympic Facilities, Greece

The Olympic facilities in Greece were also a true financial disaster which some say significantly “contributed to” the fall of Greece’s economy. Indeed, as this article is being written, Greece’s economy is still said to be “in crisis mode.” Similar to a number of other purpose-built stadiums and entertainment venues, the gigantic Olympic facilities were not constructed with any thought to long-term use.

In preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greek officials, flush with lots of Euros, spent a lot of money on the games. Estimates vary but it is believed that they spent at least the equivalent of $412.8 billion current USD. Most of what was constructed were largely unused by 2020.  

Meanwhile, the nation is deep in debt. Since there was no plan on what to do with the buildings after the Olympic Games, they have largely been abandoned. The aquatics center, for example, is now dry, garbage has been dumped in the outdoor training pools, and once attractive monuments are practically covered in graffiti.

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Beijing’s Olympic Facilities, China

The 2008 Olympic Games cost China the equivalent of approximately $47.6 billion in today’s market. A little over 10 years later the facilities are in disrepair. The water sports arenas are dried up and the mascots are now ignored.

The wood of the volleyball stadium is rotting too. The two main Olympic venues, the Water Cube aquatics center, and the Bird’s Nest stadium still attract tourists and the government hopes to use them again in 2022 for the Paralympic Games in 2022. Still, the derelict facilities upset many locals as nearly 2 million residents were forcibly relocated to make way for the games.  

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The Soccer World Cup Stadiums, Brazil

As you may have deduced by now, more than a few white elephants are the result of major athletic events. In fact, the country of Brazil is reported to have had more than its fair share of them. Indeed, the government of Brazil has given the thumbs up to the construction of a dozen of sports stadiums at a total cost of $3.6 billion USD in today’s market for just the 2014 Soccer World Cup alone.

Today, less than 10 years after the popular tournament, the majority of the high-maintenance sports venues are either underused, totally empty and abandoned, or poorly repurposed. Two years after the conclusion of the World Cup, the impressive Estádio Nacional in the capital city of Brasília, for example, is used only as a bus depot. Other such stadiums are now suffering from maintenance issues, are the center of corruption scandals, or are simply written off as large financial losses.

To make matters worse, the public pays for any maintenance being done to the now mostly neglected stadiums is taken from public funds. O Globo, a Brazilian newspaper, reported that almost $100 million of public funds were spent on maintenance costs in 2018 alone. Desperate to make some use of these stadiums, the Maracanã stadium located in the city of Rio de Janeiro is being used to host various concerts and various other events, and officials still don’t know what the future holds for the venue.

(Dis)honorable Mentions

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The US Department Of Homeland Security’s Secure Border Initiative, USA, Canada, And Mexico

The United States government has been looking for different ways to strengthen border security for decades. One example is former President George W. Bush’s “virtual wall.” The Department of Homeland Security had a plan known as the Secure Border Initiative.

The plan focused on the construction of a special network of security surveillance towers spanning both the Canadian and Mexican borders. Ground was broken back in 2006 on a 53-mile span of Arizona’s border. All too soon there were issues.

The first stage was not only beset with significant technical problems but went well over budget. During testing, the radar sensors installed in the towers were not able to differentiate between falling autumn leaves and human beings. By the time President Barack Obama’s administration halted work on the border security project sometime in 2011, a total of reportedly $1.15 billion had already been invested in the ill-fated effort to bolster border security.

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The US Bureau Of Reclamation’s Auburn Dam, USA

This dam project on the well-known American River near the Auburn in California was considered by some to be “ill-conceived” and all too quickly became the center of some controversy. First proposed back in the 1950s, construction did not actually begin until 1968. Unfortunately, once work had begun, a seismic fault was discovered underneath the future dam site.  

The dam, as designed, would not be able to survive a major earthquake. Thus, construction came to a stop. A new and improved design was proposed in 1980 and the work resumed. By 1989, the dam project was abandoned due to skyrocketing costs and an environmental impact assessment. A total of $400 million had been spent. Other attempts were made to revive the dam project but the dam has yet to be built. The more recent attempts up the price tag to a current total of $431 million.

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The US Department Of Energy’s Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository, USA

In 1987 the powers that be chose Yucca Mountain in the state of Nevada to be the United States’ main nuclear waste repository. In 2002 Congress officially approved the project and work started on the complex shortly thereafter. This megaproject still met with opposition and a few issues arose.  

There were unanticipated issues over waste transportation and unsuitable geology. American politicians started second-guessing the entire project when experts confirmed that a nuclear power station can actually safely store waste on-site over decades. In 2011 President Barack Obama cut the funding and the project was essentially canned. At that point, US taxpayers had already sunk almost $15 billion into the station. At press time, there were no specific plans to revive the project so the unfinished Yucca Mountain repository remains uncompleted. 

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The US Department Of Energy’s Superconducting Super Collider, USA

The Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) set to be located in the state of Texas was arguably one of the United States’ most ambitious megaprojects ever. The SSC was going to be the country’s very own particle collider. It was meant to rival even the world-famous particle collider located at the European Organization for Nuclear Research or CERN in Switzerland. Indeed, had it actually been completed, it would almost certainly have outdone CERN and discovered the now-well-known Higgs boson “God particle.”  

First proposed in 1976, construction on the SSC did not start until the late 1980s. Between 1990 and 1992, costs were out of control. Suddenly the project’s viability was thrown into question. Miles of tunnels and all the access shafts had already been bored and yet the over-budget SSC project was canceled by the powers that be in 1993 regardless of the $2.4 billion that had already been sunk into it.

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