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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

BIG RIDGE CHURCH

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

BOEKERTON

80

Established in 1840 and originally called Weaverville.  It is about five miles southwest of Portageville.

(Christene Sep 8, 2002)

CHEPOUSA

About all I know about this place is that it was in New Madrid county.  Location not determined. 

(Mike Flannigan, Jun 10, 2002)

CODY

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

CRUMPECKER

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

DAWSON LaFORGE SCHOOL

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

DAWSON SCHOOL

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

DILLINGHAM SPRING

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

FIVE POINT

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

HONDIN

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

HURRICANE RIDGE CHURCH

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

HYMAN SCHOOL

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

JUANITA

AKA – Junita

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

JUNITA

…SEE Juanita

KREPIN

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

MEDAL

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

NEW HOPE SCHOOL

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

NEW MADRID

(1^st site)

0

A 1789-1812 era river port with at least 600 people, it was located in a large bend in the Mississippi River just west of the western tip of KY, near present day New Madrid.  Exact location not determined.  (GBS)

NORDLOW

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

OAK ISLAND SCHOOL

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

OAK RIDGE SCHOOL

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

OTTO SPUR

Exact location of this historical railroad spur is not determined.

PECK & IMHOFF

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

PIONEER

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

SAINT MARY SCHOOL

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

SHELBY CHURCH

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

SHELBY SCHOOL

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

SPANISH MILLS

Spanish Mills was a small port on the Little River five miles west of the present day Portageville. It was established in the late 1700’s and was strategically located for passing commerce across the Bootheel between the St. Francis River and the Mississippi River. The Mill was powered by the Little River.  The Spanish settlement was also a center for trade, having a store an exchange market. Spanish Mills died between December 1811 and February 1812 when the New Madrid earthquakes destroyed the town and surrounding landscape. (Christene Sep 8, 2002)

SPIES LANDING

Exact location of this historical river landing is not determined.

WEAVERVILLE

Early name for present-day Boekerton. 

(Christene Sep 8, 2002)

WILA

AKA – Wiley

Exact location of this historical location not determined.

WILEY

…SEE Wila

WINCHESTER

I only have an approximate location on Winchester.  Here's what I have on Winchester:  In November of 1814 county surveyor Joseph Story laid out this town.  Named in honor of Col. Henderson Winchester who lived in the vicinity.  Mentioned in the "Additional Info" section for Bennifield Cemetery (McMullin Cemetery.txt in Scott county).  Reportedly was located 0.5 miles south of Sikeston, before the town of Sikeston was founded in 1860.  Location given is a point roughly 0.5 miles south of Sikeston, but the ghost town could be more than 0.5 miles from here.               (Mike Flannigan, Jun 10, 2002)

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.