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

ARNETT

Location not determined.

CAVERNA

Rural

This is a small town right on the border of MO and AR.  Most of the town is in MO, but almost half in AR.  The state line is right on Main Street.  Interestingly, there is a "locale" of Caverna listed for MO in a pretty remote area between two small tributaries 5.5 miles east of the town of the Caverna mentioned above.  This is just 0.7 miles northeast of where CH E crosses into AR.  I think this location might possibly be a mistake.  (Mike Flannigan, 04/06/2003)

1990 population listed as “rural” (GBS)

CAYUGA

Location not determined.

COVE

Location not determined.

COWSKIN

Location not determined.

COY

Rural

Location not determined.

CYCLONE

Rural

Location not determined.

ERIE

Rural

Location not determined.

FLINT

Location not determined.

HART

Rural

Location not determined.

HOWE

Location not determined.

INDIAN SPRINGS

Location not determined.

MADGE

Location not determined.

MARYSVILLE

-

DEAD NAME – This was the original name for Pineville, the county seat.  (GBS)

MAY

Location not determined.

MOUNTAIN

Rural

Location not determined, at an elevation of 1080’.

NEWVILLE

Location not determined.

NUBIA

Location not determined.

POWELL

Location not determined.

ROCKY COMPFORT

Location not determined.

RUTLEDGE

-

When McDonald County was established in 1849 the county seat honors went to Rutledge.  It later shifted to Pineville.  (GBS)

ROLAND

Location not determined.

SARATOGA

Rural

Location not determined.

SIMCOE

Rural

Simcoe is located exactly two miles east of Longview, Missouri or six miles west of Rocky Comfort, on SH 76.  The community still has 7-8 families living within a half mile or so of the "old Simcoe" store which is still standing.  There is a church also.  I have also seen the spelling listed as "Simco".  Hope this helps.

Contributed by Iris Brock, (June 6, 2006)

SPLITLOG

Rural

Location not determined.

TEN SPRINGS

Location not determined.

TIFF CITY

100

Location not determined.

TRIBULATION

Location not determined.

WYLIE

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.