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Dust in the Wind

A Guide to American Ghost Towns?

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INTRODUCTION

Unless noted otherwise, information on this web page is from original research by Gary B. Speck.  However, much information in these ghost town listings is quoted from postings to the Rootsweb Missouri Ghost Town discussion forum (MO-GT), and that information is indicated as follows.  Specific information and/or personal comments will be appropriately credited with either names or initials, like (MF) {Mike Flannigan}, or (GBS) {Me}. In some cases, I didn’t save the name, so those will be indicated as MO-GT. 

If you know of any Missouri ghost town location not listed on these pages, please contact the MO-GT discussion forum, if you are a member.  If you are not a member, please contact me and I’ll pass on the information to the group.  If you are interested in Missouri ghost towns and would like to join the group, let me know and I’ll tell you how to join the forum. 

Please note that some minor editing for editorial consistency and spelling WAS made, as well as spelling out of directions (N, SE, NNW, etc), and numbers less than ten.

Highways are marked thus...

• CR – County Roads
• SH – State Highway
• US – US Highway
• I – Interstate Highway

Locations marked with a $ indicate an admission fee is charged to visit the site.

Unless noted otherwise, all indicated population figures are from the 1990 census. 

GNIS stands for the US Geologic Survey’s Geographic Names Information System. 

Many of these listed locations may be just rural post offices, country churches, schools, forts, stage stations, crossroads stores, mills or river fords, rather than what we normally consider towns.  The reason for that is that many of these smaller locations had small communities grow up around the main business. 

Memories of the past glory of these one-time active communities still float like dust in the wind over Missouri’s hillsides and prairie.  The winds of time that created these ghosts reach deep into America's Heartland and those gentle zephyrs take those past memories and deposit them in front of you.  Reach out and grab them!  Without further ado, let’s visit some of Missouri’s many hundreds of ghost towns!

PLEASE NOTE: 

Where photos are indicated thusly (PHOTO!), please use your browser’s “BACK” button to return to this page.  More photos will be added over time.

SITE NAME

POPULATION

1990

U.N.O.

DESCRIPTION & LOCATION

CHAMBERSVILLE

0

Location not determined.

CROSS ROADS

Cross Roads was located at the crossing of the Springfield-Fort Scott and the Booneville-Sarcoxie roads, a mile northeast of where Everton now stands. Cross Roads was a trading point after 1850. At the coming of the railroad in 1881, the houses were moved to Everton.

DAVENPORT

55 (1880)

Location not determined.

DILDAYS LANDING

0

Location not determined.

ERNEST

Ernest was a small trading point north of Greenfield. It was established in 1890 and named for the first postmaster.

GILLESPIE MILL

Gillespie Mill was built about 1840 by J. H. Gillispie on the Turnback just below the St Louis-San Francisco Railroad.

Anybody know if the name Hoyle is associated with this?  (Mike Flannigan)

HOYLE MILL

Hoyle Mill was located three miles east of Greenfield on Turnback. It was named for its owner.  Needmore later sprang up at the site.

LOTUS SPRINGS

Lotus Springs was a short-lived health resort five miles northwest of Everton founded at the close of the Civil War. 

I think this is just south of Bracket Hill.  (Mike Flannigan)

NEEDMORE

Needmore was a trading point that sprang up at the site of Hoyle Mill after the mill fell into ruin.  It is said that the merchant always needed more goods than he had in stock.

NEWKIRK

25 (1880)

Located in the southwest corner of the county, but the exact map location is not determined.

OLD SYLVANIA

Old Sylvania was platted by a coal company from Allegheny, PA., and named for that state. The Civil War came, ending the project. At the end of the war a new town was laid out three miles to the north and given the same name.  The original site was renamed “OLD” Sylvania.

PEMBERTON

25 (1880)

Location not determined.

PLUMB TOWN

Plumb Town was a trading point about seven miles east of Greenfield. It was named for the landowner.

I don't see much there now.  (Mike Flannigan)

RAGSDALES MILL

Ragsdales Mill was built by J. D. Ragsdale about 1845.

ROARKS MILL

Roarks Mill was located one mile below Seyberts Mill and named for its owner.

This is all flooded now by Stockton Lake.  (Mike Flannigan)

ROCK PRAIRIE

36 (1880)

Location not determined.

SOUTH OAK

0

Location not determined.

SUNS CREEK

0

Location not determined.

SYLVANIA

(1^ST SITE)

…SEE Old Sylvania

WATKINS

0

Location not determined.

Historians estimate that there may be as many as 50,000 ghost towns scattered across the United States of America. During the next five years, Gary B. Speck Publications will be publishing unique state, regional, and county guides called

The Ghost Town Guru's Guide

to the Ghost Towns of *** ™

These original guides are designed for anybody interested in

ghost towns. Whether you are a casual tourist looking for a new and different place to visit, or a hard-core ghost town researcher, these guides will be just right for you. With over 30 years of research behind them, they will be a welcome addition to any ghost towner's library.

Thank you, and we'll see you out on the Ghost Town Trail!

For more information on the ghost towns of MISSOURI,

contact us at

Ghost Town USA.

E-mailers, PLEASE NOTE:

Due to the tremendous amount of viruses, worms and “spam,” out there, I no longer open any e-mails with unsolicited attachments, or messages on the subject lines with “Hey”, “Hi”, “Need help”, “Help Please”, “???”, or blank subject lines, etc.  If you do send an E-mail asking for information, or sharing information, PLEASE indicate the appropriate location AND state name, or other topic on the “subject” line.  THANK YOU!  :o)

IMPORTANT

These listings and historical vignettes of ghost towns, near-ghost towns and other historical sites in MISSOURI above are for informational purposes only, and should NOT be construed to grant permission to trespass, metal detect, relic or treasure hunt at any of the listed sites.

If the reader of this guide is a metal detector user and plans to use this guide to locate sites for metal detecting or relic hunting, it is the READER'S responsibility to obtain written permission from the legal property owners. Please be advised, that any state or nationally owned sites will probably be off-limits to metal detector use. Also be aware of any federal, state or local laws restricting the same.

When you are exploring the ghost towns of MISSOURI, please abide by the

 Ghost Towner's Code of Ethics.