As a surveyor of historic sites, I’ve had the chance to see a number of ghost towns in Indiana up close and personal. These aren’t the ghost towns you’re used to seeing in movies where the buildings still stand and all the people are gone. Instead these are towns where the buildings are completely gone and no one remains or in some cases, just a few people keep holding on.
In Brown County you’ll find the small ghost town of Bean Blossom Creek. Starting in the 1870s this small town was a gold mining paradise as people flocked to the creek located there. As of 1990 there were still 200 people living there.
Clay County has the small ghost town of Belleaire as well as the Duncan Settlement. Neither of these towns have any remains today. Clay County also had the town of Kossuth and Last Chance Stage Station, neither of which remains. Another ghost town in Clay County is Perth, a former coal mining camp. The town lasted for nearly 50 years, from the 1880s to the 1930s when it finally died.
Posey County is where you’ll find the ghost town of Blackford, though no one is quite sure where exactly the town was located in the county. This town had its largest population in 1815, but by 1818 it was already beginning to die out.
Head to Newton County to see the remains of Conrad. This town reached an all time high or 200 people in the early 1900s. It was formed in 1908 and was completely self-reliant with a factory, post office, school, church and even a depot. The town experienced a major fire and was lost. Today there’s nothing there except remains of the old town.
Spencer County is where Enterprise once stood. The town was founded in 1862 as a port along the Ohio River and most of those living there worked in some way or another with the riverboat industry. Eventually the town died when people began moving to nearby Evansville. During the 1980s less than ten people still lived there.
Gold Creek was a former Indiana ghost town located in Morgan County. During the early 20th century prospectors found gold in the creek and started a small mining camp. The town died when the prospectors realized that they could find more gold in other areas.
Hindostan is a little ghost town located in Martin County. Frederick Sholts settled the town in 1814 and at one point it was the seat of the county. The town was never that big, but did have a tavern and several mills. The town died out when an illness spread in 1828 and those who were spared chose to move on. Historians believe the town may have suffered an outbreak of smallpox. I’ve been to Hindostan and there’s not a whole lot there except for a nice old fashioned looking church and a few foundations.
I’ve also visited Leavenworth in Crawford County. The town existed for a number of years right along the Ohio River. Most of the town was destroyed was demolished during a massive flood in 1937 and the residents moved to the top of the nearby bluffs. There’s nothing left of the old Leavenworth, but the town where they moved bares the same name. Sulphur is another ghost town in Crawford County. The real highlight of the town was a large hotel where wealthy travelers stayed years ago. The miracle powers of the water brought a number of people to Sulphur and the locals even bottled the water for people to take home.
Posey County has the ghost town of New Harmony. When the town was founded in 1815 it was a communal community known as Harmonie. George Rapp moved to the area after leaving the Lutheran Church and brought a number of his disciples with him from Pennsylvania. Later the town was purchased by Welsh & Scot and renamed New Harmony. Among the things they did was create the first kindergarten in the country. After loosing money for their pet project, the town died off. Today the New Harmony State Park exists on the spot and a preservation group has managed to save 35 of the old buildings.
Marshall County boasts the town of Old Tiptown. The town was never that big and today there are less than 30 people left. Another ghost town in this county is Rutland, which still has a handful of people living there. Here you’ll also find the remains of Tent City. Following the Civil War, people who couldn’t find employment and those with little money congregated to Tent City where they literally lived in tents and attended church in one. Once people began finding jobs, they left the small town.
Pigeon Roost is the oddly named town that once existed in Scott County, Indiana however not much is none about this one.
If you travel to Lawrence County, keep your eyes peeled for Spring Mill. This small town was founded around a trading post and has now been restored as a historical site.
Dearborn County, Indiana has the remains of Weisburg. The town has less than 80 people still left and the road leading to town isn’t usually found on maps.
Woods Mill was once located in Lake County. Today the only thing left of this little ghost town is a grist mill that’s been restored.
Wabash County was once home to a town called Baltimore. Baltimore was established in 1829, but became a ghost town after people left for the Wabash and Erie Canal. There’s only one house left of this old town.
Tippecanoe County also holds the ghost town of Beeville, which began in 1884. It never had many people and some say it never held more than 30 people. Today there’s nothing left. The county also had Corwin, a small town that grew out of a railroad stop. The town started in 1856 and was eventually swallowed by Romney. Glen Hall in the same area was swallowed by West Point. Meanwhile Granville was founded in 1834 and still exists, though not many people live there.
Warren County, Indiana has had several ghost towns over the years. Brisco, which was also known as Briscoe was formed in the 1850s. The town had a school, store and a cemetery but today it doesn’t even appear on most maps. Chatterton appeared in 1896 and had a store, post office and a school before it started dying. Today there’s only one house left of this old ghost town. Chesapeake was another ghost town in Warren County. This town appeared in 1834 and did have a school, stores and houses. Unfortunately nothing of the town exists today.
Kickapoo began appearing on maps in 1885 as part of Warren County, but died off by the end of the 1910s. Locust Grove existed in the same area, but this ghost town now only has the cemetery, church and a couple of residents. The same county also had the town of Point Pleasant, which appeared in 1830 and grew up around a saw mill. Not much is left today.
This same area held the town of Sloan that was named after a family living in the area. When the New York Central Railroad passed through the area, the town quickly built up and even had a post office. When this patch of railroad was shut down, the town died.
Yet another ghost town in Warren County is Warrenton. This town was founded in 1828 and plats in the town were sold at public auction. For six months in 1829 it even served as the county seat. Town founders attempted to raise funds from citizens to become the county seat again, but when the money failed to materialize, the town slowly died.
In Jasper County keep an eye out for Asphaltum. This little town supposedly was built around a oil reserve, but died when the oil wells went dry. Byron, Indiana has only a few houses and churches left, but once had a post office, school, hotel and hundreds of residents. Then there’s Door Village in LaPorte County, which was formed in 1836 when a handful of people in the area banded together against Indian attacks. It eventually grew fairly big, but slowly faded away.
There are also a few sad stories like Griffin in Posey County. This little town had a population of 300 and was fairly booming, but most of the town was destroyed in 1923. Today there’s only a few foundations and the remains of the old school. Or the old town of Monument City, which was flooded to create a state reservoir.
These are far from the only ghost towns in Indiana. There are others with names like Old Pekin, Anita, Berlin, Dresser and even Martinsville. They are the towns that time forget.
Sources:
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/in/in.html
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/in.htm
