Poppy BlaelochHello and welcome to Travelogue Listicles! In today’s post I will be showing you some of the most fascinating abandoned towns around the world as well as sharing with you some of their history and why they remain so mysterious.
#1 – Bodie, California, United States of America
Just months after discovering gold W.S. Bodey perished in a snow storm. He and his mining partner, “Black Taylor”, got caught in a severe storm and Bodey was unable to make it back to camp. Taylor continued on so that he could bring back supplies, but upon returning wasn’t able to find him. Several months later Bodey’s remains were found and the are for which he had made his discovery was named for him. Perhaps cursed from the very beginning, the discovery of gold in Bodie happened right alongside the uncovering of silver in the nearby towns of Aurora and Commstock Lode, both of which were able to boom while Bodie remained lackluster to prospectors. Luck changed in 1876 when a larger deposit of gold ore was discovered and almost overnight Bodie became a true Wild West boomtown. More ores were discovered in the mines in 1878 ad by 1879 the population of Bodie had grown to almost 10,000 people.
As a truly bustling mining town, Bodie started to develop the amenities of larger cities, including a Wells Fargo bank, four volunteer fire companies, a band, a railroad, unions, daily newspapers, and of course, a jail. At the peak, 65 saloons existed along Main Street, which was a mile long. Shootouts, barroom brawls, holdups, and murders were commonplace. Just like other mining boom towns of the time, Bodie had a clandestine red light district on the north end of town. There’s even a story that tells of Rosa May, a working woman of the night who came to aid the men of the town when a serious epidemic struck the town during its boom. Because of her aid, she was known as the ‘hooker with a heart of gold.’ She is credited with her life-saving care and after she died, it’s said she was buried outside the cemetery fence — regardless of her contributions to the town and its people.
Promising mining booms across the western United States on 1880 brought the first signs of decline in Bodie along with them, As prospectors left the town became more family-centered. In 1882, the resident’s of the town built the Bodie Methodist Church which is still standing today. Though the population had declined the mines were still flourishing and ore production managed to reach $3.1 million in 1881 which brought on the arrival of a railway. In 1910, Bodie’s population sit at 698 people, most of which were families who had settled during the boom and decided not to move on to other prosperous ore strikes.
The nail in the metaphorical coffin came in 1912 with the printing of the town’s final newspaper, The Bodie Miner. In 1914, mining profits were just below $7,000 and claims began to be sold off. The last mine closed down in 1942 due to the War Production Board order L-208 which shut down all non-essential gold mines in the United States during WWII. Up until this point, the town still had 120 residents.
These days, Bodie is preserved in a state of decay. A tattered reminder of the booms that held so much promise for people of the past. Only a small part of the town has survived the elements, but with 110 structures still standing strong, visitors can walk the once-bustling streets. Even the interiors of shops are still stocked with dust-covered goods. Shards of china dishes and bottles litter the sands. There are no permanent residents in the town anymore asides from park employees. Bodie doesn’t boast any recreation or restaurants and is instead a preserved old mining camp with perhaps a few spirits and one curse. Supposedly, if visitors take souvenirs from the town they end up suffering from misfortune and tragedy until the stolen item is returned. Letters from individuals who have returned items to the park are kept in the museum.
#2 – Centralia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Centralia was founded as a mining town in 1866. By the 1890’s it was thriving, claiming around 2,800 residents, two theatres, multiple hotels, and fourteen general and grocery stores. An abandoned mine was used by a garbage pit until 1962 when the town decided that it was going to clean up the pit. The Centralia Council decided that the best way to clean the garbage would be to set it on fire. This plan backfired when the fire set in the garbage pit caused an underground fire which spread out underneath the town. Mines were forced to close because of the high carbon monoxide levels. Residents wanted to stay, but the underground burning started to reach underneath their homes.
By the 1980’s sinkholes began opening up which allowed the carbon monoxide to get into the resident’s homes. One incident included a 12 year old falling into a 150 foot sinkhole. The child survived, but the town’s people were understandably angered. The temperature of the burning underground was measured to be over 900 degrees Fahrenheit. When the state of Pennsylvania finally stepped in in 1984 they offered to buy the properties so that the residents could leave town and then the homes would be demolished all but 62 residents decided to leave.
The state stepped in again in 1992, this time using eminent domain so that they could condemn the remaining buildings and eliminate the town’s zip code. Even still there were seven residents who were able to get a court order which allowed them to stay, but they could not sell or pass the home down to anyone.
Were you to drive through Centralia you would see the few remaining streets, some houses, a graveyard and a church, There is still concern over the underground burning which, if not controlled, could continue burning for another century. Some days, smoke can be seen coming through the ground which is perhaps part of why this borough was the inspiration for the video game “Silent Hill”. According to World Population Review, in 2023 the population of Centralia is at four which is based on the 2020 census.
#3 – Craco, Italy
Craco was first settled by the Greeks in the 6th century AD, though tombs dating to the 8th century BC hint that it may be far older. In the 12th century a watchtower was constructed by the Normans and a handful of palazzi were built around this tower in the following centuries. Unlike other ghost towns on this list, Craco was abandoned because of an act of God. The town nests precariously on a hilltop and after a series of earthquakes and landslides the town was deemed uninhabitable. It was wholly abandoned in 1980. Today, participants are allowed to take guided tours and explore the ruins while wearing hard hats. Among the ruins there are towers with no bells, rusted balconies, and weeds sprouting from church alters. In more recent times, Craco has found fame as a film set – scenes from the Italian movie adaptation of ‘Christ Stopped at Eboli’ were shot here. And Christ did finally make it as far as Craco for the filming of Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ.
#4 – Kolmanskop, Namibia
In 1908, while shoveling railroad tracks clear of sand a Namibian man named Zacherias Lewala discovered some stones which shined in the low light. His German employer identified them as diamonds and proceeded to not pay or reward Lewala for this incredible find. Hordes of prospectors descended on the area and by 1912 a town was built to accommodate them. These prospectors produced a million carats a year – which was roughly 11.7% of the world’s total diamond production at the time. Kolmanskop became a very luxurious place where fresh water was brought in by rail, an ice factory was built, European opera groups came to perform and one family even kept an ostrich as a pet. Wealth could be built overnight by simply picking diamonds up off of the desert floor. Naturally, German authorities in the area wanted control over the riches in the area. In order to exact this control they declared a large area in Namibia a restricted zone, forbidding entry to ordinary people and only allowing a single, Berlin-based company to prospect. Tribesman that were displaced by the construction of this restricted zone were employed as laborers in the mines and were forced to live in cramped compounds for months at a time.
By the 1930’s intensive mining had depleted the area. When the richest diamond fields ever known were found on the beaches to the south in 1928 the townspeople left, often leaving their possessions behind. By 1956 the town was completely abandoned and the dunes burst through the town’s doors and rested on it’s porches filling rooms with banks of sand. In 2002, a local private company called Ghost Town Tours was awarded the concession to manage Kolmanskop as a tourist attraction, bussing visitors into the forbidden zone to explore and photograph the sand-covered ruins. Today, as many as 35,000 tourists visit the site every year, bringing money to the nearby coastal town of Lüderitz. Despite ongoing conservation efforts and a yearly limit on the number of tourists, studies undertaken around 2010 showed “a marked deterioration” of several structures in Kolmanskop. Before long, the town might vanish into the desert.
#5 – Calico, California, United States of America
In 1881, four prospectors were leaving a town called Grapevine Station for a mountain peak to the northeast. They all described the peak as “calico-colored” and so the peak, the mountain range to which it belonged and the town were all called Calico. After the prospectors discovered silver in the mountain the opened the Silver King Mine which was California’s largest silver producer in the mid-1880’s. By 1882 a post office was established, a weekly newspaper called the Calico Print began publishing and the town grew to support three hotels, five general stores, a meat market, bars, hotels, brothels, at least three restaurants and boarding houses. A school district was soon established and Calico gained voting precinct. In addition to a sheriff there was also a deputy, two constables, two layers, a justice of the peace, five commissioners and two doctors. A Wells Fargo, telephone and telegraph services were very needed as at the height of Calico’s silver production from 1883-1885 the city had over 500 mines and a population of 1200 people.
Contributing to the boom of people and thus need for industry was the discovery of borate mineral colemanite in the mountains. This contributed to a population growth from 1200 people to 3500 by 1890, with nationals of China, England, Ireland, Greece, France, and the Netherlands, as well as Americans living there. The beginning of the end came with the passing of the Silver Purchase Act of 1890 which drove down the price of silver. By 1896 Calico’s silver mines were no longer economically viable. Within two years the school was closed down and the post office discontinued. When borax mining ended in 1907 the town was completely abandoned.
An attempt to revive the town was made in 1915 when a cyanide plant was built to recover silver from the unprocessed Silver King Mine’s deposits. Walter Knott, a descendant of one of the four prospectors and the co-founder of Knott’s Berry Farm, and his wife Cordelia helped build the redwood cyanide tanks for the plant. The last owner of Calico as a mine was Zenda Mining Company. After building Ghost Town at Knott’s Berry Farm in the 1940s, Walter Knott, his son, Russell, and Paul von Klieben, who was Knott’s art director, made a road trip to Calico. The three of them came back filled with enthusiasm. Now having experience building a fictional ghost town at Knott’s Berry Farm, the group believed that it would be possible to restore a real ghost town. In 1951, Walter Knott purchased the town of Calico from the Zenda Mining Company and put Paul von Klieben in charge of restoring it to its original condition, referencing old photographs. Using the old photos, and Walter’s memory and that of some old-timers who still lived in the area, von Klieben was able to not only restore existing structures, but also design and replace missing buildings. In 1966 Knott donated the town to San Bernardino County and Calico became a County Regional Park. In 2005, Calico became California Historical Landmark #782 and was declared as California’s Silver Rush Ghost Town.
Today, visitors to the park are able to see the restored and newly built structures as well as some structures that date back to the town’s operational years including Lil’s Saloon, the town office, the former home of Lucy Lane, which is now the main museum but was originally the town’s post office and courthouse, Smitty’s gallery, the general store and Joe’s Saloon. One of the replicas includes the schoolhouse which is on the site of the original buildings. In addition, the park operates tours of the mines, has gunfight stunt shows, gold mining, several restaurants, a mystery shack and numerous trinket stores. It is open every day except Christmas for a fee. Several special events are held throughout the year including Civil War Reenactments on President’s Day, a Spring Festival, and a Ghost Town Haunt in October.
#6 – Bannack, Montana, United States of America
Bannack was founded in 1862 after it was the site of a major gold discovery. At its peak, Bannack had a population of about ten thousand. Extremely remote, it was connected to the rest of the world only by the Montana Trail. There were three hotels, three bakeries, three blacksmith shops, two stables, two meat markets, a grocery store, a restaurant, a brewery, a billiard hall, and four saloons. Though all of the businesses were built of logs, some had decorative false fronts.
The town was home to two individuals whom interest historians. The first was Dr. Erasmus Darwin Leavitt who was a medical doctor that moved to Bannack in 1862 from Cornish, New Hampshire to practice medicine and mine for gold. According to Montana historian Joaquin Miller the doctor soon found that there was a greater profit in allowing someone else to mine for him while he attended to his duties as a physician. The second was the town’s sheriff, Henry Plummer, who was accused of secretly leading a band of road agents that were responsible for over a hundred murders. Only eight of the murders have actually been confirmed to have taken place and none can be directly linked to Plummer, so historians debate the exact nature of this gang and whether it actually existed. What they cannot debate though is that after the allegations Plummer and his associates were hanged without a trial on January 10, 1864 for the crimes. Twenty-two more individuals were accused, informally put on trial and ultimately hanged.
Sixty historic log, brick, and frame structures remain standing in Bannack after the last of it’s residents left in the 1970’s. Many of the buildings are well preserved and can be explored. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and joined the roster of Montana state parks in 1954. Volunteers work alongside the state to ensure the preservation of this ghost town. Every year, during the third weekend of July, this abandoned town witnesses a historical reconstitution known as “Bannack Days”. For two days, Bannack State Park officials organize an event that attempts to revive the times when Bannack was a boom town, re-enacting the day-to-day lives of the miners who lived there during the gold rush. An authentic, old-fashioned breakfast is served in the old Hotel Meade, a well-preserved brick building which was for many years the seat of Beaverhead County, before it became Dillon, Montana
#7 – St. Elmo, Colorado, United States of America
St. Elmo, Colorado was officially founded in 1880. With a claim of over 150 patented gold and silver mines people were drawn to the area and the population reached a high of nearly 2000 people. Train tracks were laid by DSP&P and soon St.Elmo was considered a hub town for supplies. This was until 1922 when the tracks were abandoned. It is said that much of the towns population rode out on the last train and never came back, but the last family to leave held on until 1958. The Stark family owned the Home Comfort Hotel, the telegraph office, the post office and the general store which are among the 43 remaining buildings. Others include the saloon, courthouse and jail, the mercantile and some private homes. Originally, the town was full of saloons, dance halls and other staples of a population which was primarily male.
The town is one of the best preserved ghost towns in the entirety of the western United States. It’s general store is opened seasonally and provides guest with souvenirs, snacks and drinks. Should you wish to on your stay, there is a a one bedroom cabin available for rent that sleeps up to three people. There is also the Ghost Town Guest house which is a bed and breakfast that is open year round.
#8 – Hashima Island, Japan
Nagasaki has 505 uninhabited islands, the most popular of which is Hashima. This Island is also known as Gunkanjima (Battleship Island) because of it’s battleship-like silhouette. It serves as a grim reminder of the impacts of Japan’s rapid industrialization. The island itself was developed by Mitsubishi as a hub of national coal mining. Hashima’s population of nearly 5,300 people quickly abandoned it when energy needs changed and the coal mines were closed down in 1974. For years the island was left to the elements, but in 2009 tours were opened to the public and this sparked enough of an interest in abandoned ruins tourism that in 2015 UNESCO named Hashima as a world heritage site.
Should you wish to observe the weather-beaten relics and decaying, dilapidated building up close it is worth noting that you cannot visit the island alone. Due to the structural instability it is mandatory that all visitors travel in tour groups. Tours can be canceled due to bad weather and you may be denied access due to health issues. Much of the tour is not wheelchair accessible and you will be required to sign a safety contract in order to participate.
#9 – Kayakoy, Turkey
Kayakoy is an ancient Grecian city. By late antiquity it’s inhabitants became known as Greek Orthodox Christians following the East-West Schism with the Church of Rome in 1054 AD. The Greek-speaking Christian subjects, and their Turkish-speaking Muslim Ottoman rulers, lived in relative harmony from the end of the turbulent Ottoman conquest of the region in the 14th century until the early 20th century.
During World War I (1914-1918) the Ottoman Empire massacred the Greeks and other Christian minorities, including the citizens of Kayakoy who were deprived of their properties and forced to become refugees in Greece or die in Ottoman forced labor battalions. Following an Allied victory the occupation of Smyrna was authorized by Greece in 1919. This action ultimately led to the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922 in which the Greek were defeated and the Treaty of Lausanne was signed. Due to a protocol contained within the treaty the Greek Orthodox refugees were barred from returning to their homes in Turkey in exchange for Greece’s Muslim citizens leaving Greece for Turkey and settling in the now abandoned towns. The Muslims did not wish to settle in Kayakoy due to rumors of ghosts left behind by the earlier massacres and exile phases in 1917 and 1918 in which families were sent in villages near Denizli, such as Acıpayam, through forced march of fifteen days, During the death marches, the roads were strewn with bodies of dead children and the elderly who succumbed to hunger and fatigue.
The ghost town is now preserved as a museum village and consists of hundreds of rundown Grecian houses and churches which litter the side of a small mountain. There is also a private museum on the history of the town. On September 9, 2014 the Turkish government announced plans to develop the village by opening the site to the construction of a hotel and other tourist facilities.
#10 – Pripyat, Ukraine
Note: One notable landmark often featured in photographs in the city and visible from aerial-imaging websites is the long-abandoned Ferris wheel located in the Pripyat amusement park, which had been scheduled to have its official opening five days after the disaster, in time for May Day celebrations.The Azure Swimming Pool and Avanhard Stadium are two other popular tourist sites.
Due to the current political situation in Ukraine travel to this destination is not advised
Prior to the Chernobyl Disaster Pripyat was unlike other Soviet cities of military importance in that access to it was unrestricted. This was because the Soviet Union believed nuclear power plants to be safer than other types of power plants. In fact, nuclear power stations were viewed as an achievement of Soviet engineering with the goal to harness nuclear power for peaceful projects. The popular slogan of the time was “Peaceful Atom”.
The original plan had been to build the plant Sixteen miles outside of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, but concerns were expressed by the Academy of Sciences that this would be too close to the city. As a result, Pripyat which was sixty-miles outside of Kyiv was founded on February 4, 1970 as the ninth atomgrad to serve the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. It earned city status in 1979 and had a population of nearly 50,000 until it was evacuated on April 27, 1986 following the Chernobyl disaster. It’s citizens were moved to Slavutych where many still reside today.
For those concerned about whether or not Pripyat is safe to visit, the Zone of Alienation is considered relatively safe to visit, and several Ukrainian companies offer guided tours around the area. In most places within the city, the level of radiation does not exceed an equivalent dose of 1 μSv (one microsievert) per hour
Thank you for reading!I hope you enjoyed learning about these fascinating ghost towns and that you’ll consider visiting one of them in the future. If you are looking to book travel to any of these eerie locations, please get in contact with us.