Do you have Gary’s book:

Dust in the Wind

A Guide to American Ghost Towns?

***

VISIT

Ghost Town USA’s SITE MAP

***

Return to

Ghost Town USA’s Missouri Index

***

Return to

Ghost Town USA’s

State Listings

***

Visit

Ghost Town USA’s

Ghost Town of the Month

 ***

Visit

Ghost Town USA’s Home Page

***

Visit

Ghost Town USA’s Photo Gallery

 ***

Send E-mail to Ghost Town USA

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

AIR

Air was a rural post office at the residence of James Borthick in Hazel Hill Township. The office was removed to Fayetteville after the founding of the town.

BASIN KNOB POST OFFICE

Basin Knob Post Office was established at Basin Knob about 1853. It was removed to Pittsville after 1858. 

I think this is about 2.5 miles west of Elm, MO.  (MF, Jan 10, 2001)

BEE BRANCH POST OFFICE

Bee Branch Post Office was located in Grover Township, which was named from the little creek nearby. 

This is probably located near the Pettis County line, at the junction of CR-NN and CR-E.  (Mike Flannigan, Jan 10, 2001)

BENTON CITY

Benton City was a town on the Osage Division of the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad in northwestern Rose Hill Township, started in 1872. The town was abandoned after a short time. It was named for Senator Thomas Benton. 

This may be located near Latour.  (Mike Flannigan, Jan 10, 2001)

BLUFF SPRING SETTLEMENT

Bluff Spring Settlement was located in what is now partly within the limits of Kingsville and Jackson Townships. It was named for Bluff Spring. 

This is probably a few miles north of present-day Kingsville.  (Mike Flannigan, Jan 10, 2001)

BOLEJACKS MILL

Bolejacks Mill was located at Bluff Creek Spring in Kingsville Township. It was a horse-powered mill erected by S. Bolejack in 1844, for whom it was named.

BURNETT STATION

Burnett Station was an office in eastern Post Oak Township. It was established in 1872 and named for a blacksmith who was also the postmaster. The office was discontinued in 1895 when the railroad was built and Leeton was founded. 

Probably was located between Leeton and New Castle. (Mike Flannigan, Jan 10, 2001)

CALIFORNIA FORD

California Ford was a ford across Blackwater Creek in northwestern Warrensburg Township. It was named for the Santa Fe Trail, which crossed the creek at this point.

I think this is two to three miles north of Warrensburg.  (Mike Flannigan, Jan 10, 2001)

CHALYBEATE POST OFFICE

Chalybeate Post Office was south of Holden in Post Oak Township. It was named for its location on Chalybeate Springs.

DAUGHERTYS MILL

Daughertys Mill was built in Warrensburg in 1856, by William Daugherty.

DAVIS MILL

Davis Mill was a water-powered mill on Clear Fork Creek in Simpson Township. It was named for Dr. Hamilton C. Davis.

EUREKA MILLS

Eureka Mills was located in Warrensburg. It was built in 1867 by Land, Fike and Company. It was destroyed before 1933.

FEDIT MILL

Fedit Mill was a horse-powered mill on Scaly Bark in Rose Hill Township. It was named for Enoch Fedit.

GATH POST OFFICE

No information could be found about this vanished point.

GLOBE

Globe was a rural post office, six miles east of Holden.

This town may be associated with the name Elliot.  (Mike Flannigan, Jan 10, 2001)

HACKNEYS MILL

Hackneys Mill was located at Center Knob in Kingsville Township. It was operated by John Hackney in 1850.

HALLS STORE

Halls Store was located near where Denton is now located. It was established by Mr. Hall.

HARRODSBURG

I just had your message of 13 Jan 2001 forwarded to me. In the Ghost Town – Harrodsburg, I have an interest, as my Douglass, Wright, Cull and Culley families received patents in that immediate area in what became Chilhowee Township.  Thomas Mulkey, William Huff, and Samuel Moore all had patents on land that adjoined what is now the town of Chilhowee. They all had large holdings in the area.  I wonder if the village of Chilhowee was perhaps originally Harrodsburg?    (Frank,  July 09, 2001)

I don't think Chilhowee (1990-345) and Harrodsburg (1990 – N/L) are the same town.  The stream presently called Clear Fork is about 6 miles NE of Warrensburg.  Chilhowee is about 13 miles SSW of Warrensburg.  But then again, these streams change names sometimes.  And the land holding data you have does suggest the Chilhowee area.  (Mike Flannigan, Jul 13, 2001)

FYI, Chilhowee used to be called Simpsons Store.

SIMPSONS STORE

DEAD NAME – early name for Chilhowee (1990 population - 345)

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.