The ghost towns of America will chill you to the bone

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#1 Gleeson, Arizona

The town was originally called Turquoise after the mineral that local native tribes used to mine there, but it was changed after local miner John Gleeson filed a claim for copper and established the Copper Belle Mine. 500 persons lived in the town by 1900, the majority of whom were miners. Although a fire destroyed half of the town in 1912, it was rebuilt as demand for copper increased as a result of the First World War.

#2 Gleeson, Arizona

The town was abandoned after the post office shut down in 1939 and the mines collapsed in the 1930s. Even though there are still many families who reside here, the only establishment that sells rattlesnake items is here. Normally, visitors are free to explore the ruins of a hospital, a bar, and a jail that has been converted into a museum.

#3 Cerro Gordo, California

Pablo Flores began mining and smelting operations close to the town after finding silver there in 1865. After a few years, the silver at Cerro Gordo became well known, attracting many new prospectors. Lead and ore were also found in the years that followed, and the town grew rapidly. It didn’t last, though; by the late 1870s, Cerro Gordo had been abandoned due to disputes over the town’s ownership, a decline in lead and silver values, and a brief drying up of the water tower.

#4 Cerro Gordo, California

Cerro Gordo was privately owned until June 2018, when it was up for sale and sold to two Los Angeles businessmen for $1.4 million. They intend to maintain public access while preserving the interiors of the current structures.

#5 Ashcroft, Colorado

Two prospectors who were looking to make a quick buck after finding silver in 1880 established a Miner’s Protective Association, and within five years Ashcroft had 20 saloons and more than3,500 people. But like most mining communities, the silver quickly ran out, and by the end of1885, there were just 100 people left.

#6 Ashcroft, Colorado

The Winter Olympics in the 1930s sparked renewed interest in the region and even plans to create a ski resort, but the enthusiasm died off, and Ashcroft has been a ghost town ever since1939. Plans for the ski resort were transferred to Aspen, a growing community about 10 miles to the north.

#7 Garnet, Montana

The town boasted 13 saloons, four hotels, two barbershops, a doctor’s office, a school, and a daily stagecoach route to neighboring towns during its heyday. Since 1860, when prospectors first found gold and semi-precious red gems nearby, Garnet has been a bustling mining town. Unfortunately, in 1912, half of the town was destroyed by fire, and because the mines were already empty of gold, it was abandoned.

#8 Garnet, Montana

After the fire, the vast majority of the town’s inhabitants fled, leaving no one to restore it. Currently, more than 30 historic structures are still standing, their interiors unaltered and still stuffed with the furniture and clothing belonging to the previous occupants.

#9 Glenrio, New Mexico, and Texas

The crowded Route 66 passed through the town of Glenrio thousands of times between the1940s and the 1960s. The town, which was built on the border of Texas and New Mexico, provided travelers with a rest stop with petrol stations, restaurants, taverns, motels, and even a dance hall. The previous desert oasis, however, was bypassed by tourists once the I-40 was completed in the 1970s.

#10 Glenrio, New Mexico, and Texas

The Glenrio Historic District, which is included on the National Register of Historic Places, is home to 17 abandoned structures and vehicles in addition to the original Route 66 roadbed. Particularly unsettling are the damaged signs for the Little Suarez Diner and the State Line Motel that welcome absentee drivers.

#11 Calico, California

Calico in California was the biggest silver mine in the state, as opposed to Bodie. Calico had around 500 mines and 3,500 residents during the late 1800s. The Silver Purchase Act, however, was enacted by the government in 1896 in an effort to control the price of silver. Calico was reduced to a ghost town after the mines there were shut down overnight due to a lack of profitability.

#12 Calico, California

Calico is the prototypical Wild West mining town, and it’s simple to see sheriffs and gunslingers entering the town’s pubs and stores. Particularly around Halloween, when Calico hosts an annual Ghost Town haunt where guests may experience mine tours, gunfight stunt acts and rides on the historic narrow gauge Calico & Odessa Railroad train, it is typically a popular site with tourists in southern California.

#13 Goldfield, Arizona

In the late 1800s, the village was bustling with miners searching for gold, but by 1989, the mines had dried up. The town was renamed Youngsberg in 1921 in an effort to increase its population, but it was abandoned once more in 1926.

#14 Goldfield, Arizona

The state recognized a profit-making potential in 1988, and like other deserted mining towns, it turned the area into a tourist destination. In most cases, visitors can explore the old structures that have been restored or take part in one of the many activities, including a reptile exhibit or horseback rides. A museum and a genuine Wild West saloon are also present.

#15 Terlingua, Texas

#16 Terlingua, Texas

#17 Cairo, Illinois

Racial tensions have also existed in the town, as a result of the migration of African Americans seeking employment brought about by the steamboat boom. When the ferrying and shipping sectors collapsed, there were fewer jobs available, leaving the downtown area vacant.

#18 Cairo, Illinois

Cairo, a once-bustling port city on the Mississippi River, is now an eerie ghost town. The steamboat business helped the town grow, but since then it has been in decline. Today, the main street is strangely silent, with most of the buildings boarded up and the shops closed.

#19 Salton City, California

The Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, was accidentally created in 1905 by flooding that lasted for two years. The lakeside village quickly gained popularity as a holiday destination, drawing large crowds of people on the weekends. The lake lacked an ecosystem or a natural drainage system, though, to maintain its health.

# 20 Salton City, California

The lake’s fish began to die in the late 1970s, and the fertilizers that were pumped into it were causing an overgrowth of algae that finally perished and turned into hydrogen sulfide gas. The village was swiftly abandoned as people left everything behind to escape the hazardous gas after the residents reported smelling and even tasting the gas in the air.

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