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Western & Eastern Treasures

Ghost Town USA Column Index for Indiana

Indiana doesn’t usually rank high on the lists of most ghost town chasers, but there are numerous ghost towns hiding out in the Hoosier State.  Like most of the states located between the Appalachians and the Rockies, many ghost towns have been reduced to mere sites, or have been reduced to forgotten ruins in the local woods.  Local research and a lot of legwork will be needed to ferret out many of the ghosts here in the Hoosier State.

Indiana is an “old” state having been carved out of the Northwest Territory in 1800.  The immigrants came, and on December 11, 1811, the State of Indiana became the 19^th to join the Union.  The American immigrants weren’t the first, as the state was the site of an older civilization that flourished from around 1000 to the mid-1400s.  Known as the Mississippian Culture, or more popularly as the Mound Builders, the people built up large urban areas probably reliant on agriculture.  In the mid 1400s their civilization died out, leaving behind large mounds for the newer immigrants to puzzle over.

In 1702, the first European trading post was established, and followed quickly by others, as well as military outposts.  This was an area contested by the British and French, and that eventually led to what is known as the French and Indian War / Seven Years War which ended with British victory in 1763.  This didn’t set well with the native American tribes as they had mostly sided with the French during the wars.  As a result they burned several of the British forts.  By proclamation, the British closed the area to colonial expansion, leaving it for the Native Americans.  During the Revolutionary War, American forces entered the territory and captured it from the British.  In 1787 it was a part of the Northwest Territory, and American military presence grew.  In the first 15 years of the 19^th Century, Indiana Territory grew to where statehood was granted.

As Indiana is fairly flat and rich agriculturally, it was a magnet for growth.  Towns grew up, faded and died or relocated as railroads came and transportation developed.  After the Civil War and through the modern era, the state boomed as an industrial state, with the automobile and steel industries leading the charge, especially in the northern half of the state. 

Listed below are a few of the sites that are available in Indiana.  I have not personally visited the state (yet), so all sites listed here-in have been discovered through research. 

If you live in Indiana and know of any of these locations, or any NOT listed, I would love to hear from you so I can add to my Indiana database.  If I post the information to these pages, I will credit you appropriately.  Currently, my files contain just over 100 locations in this state, 63 of which are detailed below, 20 in the Wabash & Erie section, with an additional six listed in the “Other Sites” section.  Help us grow!!!

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.  (CURRENTLY NO INDIANA PHOTOS ARE ATTACHED.)

ALLISONVILLE

Marion Co.

“There also is sort of a ghost town that has since been swallowed up by Indianapolis called Allisonville. It was located at the corner of 86th Street and Allisonville road. If you ask anyone who lives there now, they don't know where Allisonville was located or "didn't know there was a town called that." They have just heard of the road. There are only 2 existing structures from that town.  One is a very old stone spring house that is located in an office complex at the north west corner and the other structure was moved to Conner Prairie Farm pioneer settlement south of Noblesville in 1970, and is now known as the "doctor’s house".  It was a frame house built in 1840 by a plantation owner from Natchez, MS, as a "summer home and farm," a place to retreat from the sweltering southern heat. My family was the last people to live in the house before it went to the museum. It is now nicely restored as it was in 1840. It was believed that they actually brought some slaves and servants with them for the summer to take care of the farm and there was a small house located on the property that was known as "Toms' House". When I lived in Allisonville from about 1965-1970, there were only 3 of the old houses left there and an old gas station my Dad owned built around 1920 or so. In 1849 there were 200 people and the town had a hotel sometime later.”

Contributed by Bob Kerr, August 08, 2006

GNIS locates it on the corner of 82^nd Street and Allisonville Road, which is south of I-465 about a half mile south of where Bob indicates it.  In either case, it is located in the northeastern part of the city.  Bob’s location places it ¼ mile north of I-465 and about the same west of the Castleton Square shopping mall.  In either case, the GNIS aerial photos show office complexes on both corners, and there are items that could be the old spring house on each property.  Unfortunately the resolution of the photos doesn’t allow positive identification.  I will defer to Bob’s location as he lived there at one time.  GNIS is often slightly off.

GNIS

·        Ctr (Center) Sec (Section) 21, T (Township) 17 North, R (Range) 4 East 2^nd Principal Meridian (PM), Washington Twp. (Township)

·        Latitude: 39.9050392 / 39° 54’ 18” N (North)

·        Longitude: -86.0783190 / 86° 04’ 42” W (West) 

BOB KERR’s LOCATION

·        SEC (corner) of the SW¼ of the SE¼ Sec 16, T17N, R4E 2^nd PM, Washington Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.9124993 / 39° 54’ 45” N

·        Longitude: -86.0752248 / 86° 04’ 31” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

ALUM CAVE

Clay Co.

Located at the southwest corner of the county (Lewis Twp), a small community cropped up in the 1850s either just outside or inside a large cave known as Alum Cave.  It lasted until 1900 or so and consisted of a hotel, house of ill-repute, post office, saloon and cave-based homes.  It was tucked into a rocky cove of Rocky Fork, a tributary to Busseron Creek just east of the Sullivan Co. line. (In the Wikipedia entry for Hymera, mention is made of Alum Cave being the site of a coal mine just before 1890, and located in Sullivan County. – This may NOT be the same location mentioned in the vignette above from the Lost Treasure magazine article.)

NOTE:  It may now be covered by one of the arms of the three attached lakes:  Lake Shakamak (N, built in 1930), Lake Kickapoo (SW, built in 1969) or Lake Lenape (E, built in 1934), that extend into the extreme southwest corner of the county south of Coalmont and west of Jasonville (Greene Co.)  These lakes were created along one of the branches of Busseron Creek, and are located in the SWC of Clay Co, NWC of Green Co, and the NE part of Sullivan Co., and are the centerpiece of Shakamak State Park.  Towns encircling the area include Hymera (Sullivan Co.), Coalmont (Clay Co.) and Jasonville (Greene Co). 

Additional research will be needed to find the exact location of both this site as well as ALUM CREEK below.

Junction of three counties is at:

·        SEC T9N, R8W / SWC T9N, R7W / NEC T8N, R8W / NWC T8N, R7W 2^nd PM

·        Latitude: 39.1717924 / 39° 10’ 18” N

·        Longitude: -87.2409109 / 87° 14’ 27” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (Not listed/shown – maps/aerial photos consulted), 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 27), W1, W6, W7

ALUM CREEK

Sullivan Co.

“There is also a town I have heard mentioned that was called Alum Creek which supposedly had the first coal mine in Sullivan county. It is supposedly located somewhere north of the almost ghost town of Hymera….”

Contributed by Bob Kerr, August 08, 2006

Hymera had 801 people in 2010, and GNIS shows numerous coal mines in the area. This may be the same location as ALUM CAVE, mentioned in the Wikipedia entry above in the ALUM CAVE vignette. (GBS)

SOURCES: 

·        2, W1

BALTIMORE

Warren Co.

This old grain shipping town was established on the north (west) bank of the Wabash River in November 1829 by William Willmeth & Samuel Hill.  The peak population reached 70, and it had two stores and a distillery.  Unfortunately, the Wabash and Erie Canal was built about two miles south (east) of the river, diverting traffic away from Baltimore.  By the 1840s Baltimore was dead.  GNIS shows the cemetery tucked into a large grove of trees on the north side of W Baltimore Hill Road, just 500 feet east of State Highway (SH) 63, 0.2 miles west of SH 263, 4.7 miles east of the state line and 3.2 AIR miles northwest of Covington.  It does not indicate the site of the actual town.  The location indicated for the town (SW¼ of Sec 21) would place it south of the cemetery and between the two highways and north of W 1100 S.

In Wikipedia, a large, 1880s era, two-story, brick house is shown in a 2007 photograph 150 yards southeast of Baltimore Hill Road at the junction with SH 263.  GNIS aerial photos also show the house.

Population figures:

·        1900 ->, 2010 – 0

House:

·        SW¼ of the NE¼ Sec 21, T20N, R9W 2^nd PM, Mound Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.1654035 / 40° 09’ 55” N

·        Longitude: -87.4406807 / 87° 26’ 27” W   

CEMETERY

·        Ctr of the NW¼ Sec 21, T20N, R9W 2^nd PM, Mound Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.1664261 / 40° 09’ 59” N

·        Longitude: -87.4461260 / 87° 26’ 46” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, W1 (Dec 14, 2013; April 29, 2014), W3 (April 29, 2014)

BEAN BLOSSOM CREEK

Brown Co.

The class E unincorporated community of Bean Blossom is located just to the north of Bean Blossom Creek, at the junction of SH 135/45, five miles north of Nashville (about 34 AIR miles south of Indianapolis) and 17 AIR miles northeast of Bloomington. Placer gold mining took place along the creek running east-west just south of town from the 1870s-early 1900s, and this was the most productive of the local creeks.  Whether or not any small mining camps developed is not determined.  A covered bridge is also located over the creek, a little over a half mile southwest of the town.  The population of the little community is stable at around 200.

COVERED BRIDGE

·        SW¼ of the NE¼ Sec 36, T10N, R2E 2^nd PM, Jackson Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.2669926 / 39° 16’ 01” N

·        Longitude: -86.2491572 / 86° 14’ 57” W 

TOWN

·        SW¼ Sec 30, NW¼ Sec 31, T10N, R3E 2^nd PM, JacksonTwp.

·        Latitude: 39.2669926 / 39° 16’ 01” N

·        Longitude: -86.2491572 / 86° 14’ 57” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 4, 6, 11 (Jul 1979, pg 59), W1 (April 29, 2014)

BELLAIRE

Clay Co.

Bellaire was established in 1851 on the Wabash & Erie Canal, and was a canal town.  It was at the confluence of Six Mile Creek and the Eel River, southwest of Bowling Green.  (The article says three miles south, but the map shows it to the southwest and on the Eel.) Once the canal folded, the little town followed suit.  It consisted of a hotel, warehouses and other commercial buildings, all of which were gone by 1890.

CONFLUENCE OF Sixmile Creek with the Eel River:

·        NWC of the NE¼ of the SE¼ Sec 35, T11N, R6W 2^nd PM, Washington Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.3500423 / 39° 21’ 00” N

·        Longitude: -87.0383457 / 87° 02’ 18” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (confluence of creek/river), 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 27)

BLACKFORD

Posey Co.

1815-1818 boomtown whose location reverted to farmland.  Its location was not noted and it is not listed in GNIS.

SOURCES: 

·        8 (Jan 1980, pg 44)

BOVINE

Gibson Co.

SEE Wheeling (below)

CAMP COLFAX

LaPorte Co.

This was a temporary training camp for Federal troops during the Civil War.  It was located along SH2 on the west side of LaPorte.  Possibly on the north side at the present fairgrounds? 

FAIRGROUNDS

·        NW¼ of the SE¼, E½ of the SW¼ Sec 3, T36N, R3W 2^nd PM, ScipioTwp.

·        Latitude: 41.5947647 / 41° 35’ 41” N

·        Longitude: -86.7516900 / 86° 45’ 06” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (fairgrounds), 11 (September 1989, pg 45)

CAMP ELLIS

Elkhart Co.

This was a temporary training camp for Federal troops during the Civil War.  It was located at the 1861 county fairground in Goshen.  That would have placed it south of town on SH 15, in Sec 22, Elkhart Twp.  NOT today’s fairgrounds. 

Locations below are for Goshen College, which is in the northwestern corner of the section indicated above.

GOSHEN COLLEGE

·        NW¼ of the NW¼ Sec 22, T36N, R6E 2^nd PM, Elkhart Twp.

·        Latitude: 41.5647715 / 41° 33’ 53” N

·        Longitude: -85.8277713 / 85° 49’ 40” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (college), 11 (September 1989, pg 44-45)

CAMP GIBSON

Gibson Co.

This was a temporary training camp for Federal troops during the Civil War.  It was located at the present site of the county fairgrounds at Princeton.  The map with the article shows that to be northeast of the railroad, south of Forest Park Road, south of Old Highway 41 (Warnock Road) and west of Embree Street.  

CREEK CROSSING OF EMBREE ROAD

·        SE¼ of the SW¼, SW¼ of the SE¼, Sec 1, NW¼ of the NE¼ Sec 12, T2S, R11W 2^nd PM, Patoka Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.3637707 / 38° 21’ 50” N

·        Longitude: -87.5805484 / 87° 34’ 50” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (creek crossing of Embree Road), 11 (September 1989, pg 45, map pg 43)

CAMP KNOX

Knox Co.

This was a temporary training camp for Federal troops during the Civil War.  It was located between the north bank of Kelso Creek and 2^nd Street, in what the author says is a junkyard (1989) in Vincennes.

GNIS map shows a wrecking yard behind the trees at the NE corner of Niblack Blvd/2^nd Street north of where the railroad tracks cross 2^nd Street, and east of Kelso Creek.

RR Crossing of 2^nd ST.

·        Sec 20, T3N, R10W 2^nd PM, Vincennes Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.6918190 / 38° 41’ 31” N

·        Longitude: -87.5045758 / 87° 30’ 16” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (wrecking yard), 11 (September 1989, pg 45)

CAMP MITCHELL

Nobel Co.

This was a temporary training and possible remount camp for Federal troops during the Civil War.  It was active from the spring of 1863-the end of the war.  The site is long gone, and according to the article is now the location for the Kendallville Public Library at the corner of Rush/Orchard streets.

KENDALLVILLE LIBRARY

·        N line of the NW¼ of the NE¼ Sec 33, T35N, R11E 2^nd PM, Wayne Twp.

·        Latitude: 41.4412776 / 41° 26’ 29” N

·        Longitude: -85.2665326 / 85° 15’ 59” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (library), 11 (September 1989, pg 44-45)

CAMP NOBLE

Jefferson Co.

This was a temporary training camp for Federal troops during the Civil War and was located “on high, flat land above the city of Madison.”  It opened on October 15, 1861. And at that time was located on farmland along the Madison & Indiana Railroad.   It had a plank perimeter fence, and a couple wells, and barracks.  It is said to have held 1200-1500 soldiers.

The actual location is not determined, but it appears that it MAY have been where the Madison State Hospital is located now.  The area is flat, and a railroad line is indicated on the GNIS topo map.

MADISON STATE HOSPITAL

·        SW¼ Sec 27, NW¼ Sec 34, T4N, R10E 2^nd PM, Madison Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.7478898 / 38° 44’ 52” N

·        Longitude: -85.4020633 / 85° 24’ 07” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (state hospital), 11 (September 1989, pg 45)

CONNLEY POST OFFICE

AKA - Eel River Station

Clay Co.

Located on the Eel River, north of Clay City, this was the Eel River Station for the Evansville and Indianapolis Railroad, which was later the Penn-Central.  It had a post office and general store and was active from 1892-1905.

GNIS shows the railroad line as abandoned, and shows the now-barren site of EEL RIVER on W CR 450 S where it makes a 90 degree bend at the north end of S CR 75W, 0.4 miles south of where the abandoned railroad line crosses the Eel River, 3.2 AIR miles north of Clay City and ¾ mile west of the junction of SH 59/E CR 450S.  The aerial photo shows the pilasters that supported the former bridge where the railroad line crossed the river. 

EEL RIVER (STATION):

·        NEC of the SW¼ of the NW¼ Sec 7, T10N, R6W 2^nd PM, Marion Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.3233748 / 39° 19’ 24” N

·        Longitude: -87.1236248 / 87° 07’ 25” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (crossing of the Eel), 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 27)

CONRAD

Newton Co.

Along W County Road (CR) 725N, just east of US 41 and the railroad, 2.2 miles south of Lake Village, approximately 35 miles south of Gary and 4.6 miles east of the state line.  Founded in December 1908, the small town of 200 people included a blacksmith, church, concrete block factory, dancehall, hotel, post office, railroad depot, saloon, school, stockyard and a store.  The streets were named after various members of the founding Conrad family.  Jennie Conrad was a strong-willed individual and she dominated the town’s founding and economics.  When she died, the remains of the town passed to her son Platt.  A major fire swept through the town (date not noted), and it never recovered.  In the mid 1970s all that remained were concrete slabs and block foundations along with a rusted railroad sign marking the old town.  Today, it is just a rubble-strewn site.

·        SW¼ Sec 27, T31N, R9W 2^nd PM, Lake Twp.

·        Latitude: 41.1050345 / 41° 06’ 18” N

·        Longitude: -87.4433653 / 87° 26’ 36” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 14 (Aug 1976, pgs 24-27)

DANVILLE

Clay Co.

This 1874-1900 era settlement was located about 1.5 miles east of Martz (once called Middlebury) and 1.5 AIR miles southeast of Clay City.  It had a buggy shop, general store, post office and school.  It was established with hope for the railroad line, but as is so often the case, was bypassed.  It then faded.  The site as indicated on GNIS is on the northeast side of the junction of S CR 100E/E CR 850S, 0.4 miles south of SH 157. A modern farm is located there now.

·        SW¼ of the NW¼ Sec 33, T10N, R6W 2^nd PM, Harrison Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.2644863 / 39° 15’ 52” N

·        Longitude: -87.0911235 / 87° 05’ 28” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 27)

DUNCAN SETTLEMENT

Clay Co.

In the extreme southeast corner of county.  Exact location not determined.

From the Treasure Magazine article –

George and Giles Duncan arrived here in the 1830s, and George remained, settling on land in the far southeastern corner of the county.  He founded a small Mormon settlement and it grew to include a blacksmith, general store, sawmill and school.  It faded out after the Civil War, and was gone by the 1870s.

GNIS shows a Duncan Cemetery at the NWC of the junction of S CR 125E/E CR 1250S, 0.37 miles east of White Oak Creek, 1.5 miles east of SH 59, 1.8 miles west of the east county line, 2.2 miles north of the south county line and 2.9 AIR miles southwest of Coal City (Owen County).

·        SEC of the SW¼ of the NW¼ Sec 21, T9N, R6W 2^nd PM, Harrison Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.2055982 / 39° 12’ 20” N

·        Longitude: -87.0884451 / 87° 05’ 18” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 11 (und – circa 1988, pgs 26-27)

DUNLAPSVILLE

Union Co.

“The Whitewater Dam project, completed in 1975, flooded several residential areas, including some villages. At least one cemetery was moved. Quakertown, in Harmony Twp, and most of Dunlapsville, in Liberty Twp, were among those villages lost. … It is now Brookville Lake reservoir and recreation area. Union County genealogists would have much more accurate information.”

Contributed by Joan Lince (July 20, 2006)

It is located on the west side of where the W Dunlapsville Bridge (Dunlapsville Causeway) crosses Brookville Lake (on the E Fork of the Whitewater River), at the northern end of the lake in the southwestern part of the county, 4.5 AIR miles southwest of Liberty and 2.5 miles west of Roseburg.

·        Ctr Sec 28, T11N, R2W 1^st PM, Liberty Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.5908823 / 39° 35’ 27” N

·        Longitude: -84.9935723 / 84° 59’ 37” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

EEL RIVER STATION

Clay Co.

SEE Connley Post Office (above)

ENGLISH

Crawford Co.

“Greetings! I stumbled onto your page via Google and would like to contribute another town for you. This is for the town of English, Indiana, which is located in Crawford County, approximately 45 miles west of Louisville, KY. Here is the story on the town. It originally was located in a valley by a creek, which I believe is called “Fork Creek.” Anyway, this creek caused a lot of problems for the town whenever it overflowed and thus flooding the area. In the early 1990s, there was a big flood in the area and that part of town was declared a flood zone. So, the government decided to move the town uphill. Houses were either destroyed or moved (quite a sight!). The downtown was destroyed and businesses moved uphill in new buildings. The old part of town is now a big field. The roads in the area are still used and they placed a shelter house in the area. A local businessman decided to build a golf course and uses the old part of town as some of the holes. While I understand the move, I also think it made the town appear smaller. The “new” part of town resembles those types of towns in which “you blink, you’ll miss it.”

Contributed by Bill Piper, May 24, 2007

It is on SH 237, where it crosses the Little Blue River, in the north-central part of the county, 6.7 AIR miles southwest of Marengo.  The site of “OLD” English is still marked on GNIS.  The topo shows lots of buildings, which are no longer there per the aerial photo.  The site of “NEW” English is on the south side of the river and railroad and is a modern stringtown.  The now-barren corner of Main and 5^th was the heart of the old town, and today is just a grassy, open field.  A few older buildings on the south side of the railroad remain, including” two story storage building, small shop, gas station, Crawford County Highway Dept building and the English Wesleyan Church.  A string of houses ends at the water tank and across the street, an insurance company office in an old house.  One block to the west on the upper end of Court Street is the single story, Crawford County Court House.  I would more appropriately call it Old English and Remaining English.

“NEW” ENGLISH

·        E-Ctr Sec 24, T2S, R1W 2^nd PM, Sterling Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.3320965 / 38° 19’ 56” N

·        Longitude: -86.4628730 / 86° 27’ 47” W 

“OLD” ENGLISH

·        NE¼ Sec 24, T2S, R1W 2^nd PM, Sterling Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.3345045 / 38° 20’ 04” N

·        Longitude: -86.4641498 / 86° 27’ 51” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

ENTERPRISE

Spencer Co.

Located five miles southeast of Hatfield on the Ohio River and W CR 250S, 22 AIR miles southeast of Evansville and six AIR miles northwest of Owensboro (KY), four miles south of SH 66 and 3.9 miles west of SH 161.  This once thriving Ohio River port was founded in 1862 and named Enterprise due to the thriving river business.  The downriver town of Evansville eventually drew the steamer traffic away and Enterprise died.  In the 1980s four people lived here. The current GNIS aerial photos show a dozen or so houses tucked into the trees on either side of the highway along the river.

·        NW¼ Sec 10, T8S, R7W 2^nd PM, Luce Twp.

·        Latitude: 37.8425476 / 37° 50’ 33” N

·        Longitude: -87.1819441 / 87° 10’ 55” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 5 (Aug 24, 1985, pg G6)

FORT OUIATENON

Tippecanoe Co.

Also known as Ouiatenon Blockhouse, this reconstructed trading post/village is located on South River Road, just 500 feet west of the junction with S. Newman Road, along the north bank of the Wabash River, four miles southwest of Lafayette and a mile west of the Purdue University Airport.  It was originally built by the French in 1719 to help protect their fur traders and missionaries from the expansionist British and was the first fortified European settlement in the future state of Indiana.  It also served as a base for the French to trade with the local Wea (Miami) Tribe.  The fortified settlement may have reached a population around 3000 by the mid-1700s and had many houses, chapel, blacksmith shop and trading areas.  In 1760, the French lost the region to the British, during the French & Indian Wars of 1754-1763.  The British took over the fort in 1761 and its heyday was over.  By the 1770s, the British had little use for the fort except as a staging area for anti-American incursions during the Revolution.  In December 1778 the fort was taken over by American troops, and with assurances from the local Wea, left the fort abandoned.  Through the 1780s and the westward expansion of the Americans, the Wea used it as a staging area for attacks, and finally in 1791, the fort and surrounding community were all burned by American troops.

The reconstructed blockhouse is of the British design, rather than the French, and was built in 1930 by the landowner, Dr. Richard B. Wetherill is located about a mile downriver from the site of the original fort, whose actual site was discovered in 1968 by an archeological study.

·        SW¼ Sec 27, T23N, R5W 2^nd PM, WabashTwp.

·        Latitude: 40.4064243 / 40° 24’ 23” N

·        Longitude: -86.9638995 / 86° 57’ 50” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1

GOLD CREEK

Morgan Co.

This gold-bearing creek lies in the low hills about three miles west of Bethany and Brooklyn, Between SH 39 and SH 67, 25 miles southwest of Indianapolis.  In the early 1900s gold was found in many streamside glacial gravels southwest of Indianapolis.  A small mining camp popped up along the creek, but the low pay of the deposits ($0.25 to 1.50 a day) didn’t encourage many people, and the camp folded.   Other Morgan County mining camps were located on HIGHLAND CREEK, LAMB’S CREEK and SYCAMORE CREEK.  Sycamore and Lamb’s Creeks were first mined during the 1850s by California Gold Rush returnees, but the poor pay from the glacial gravels frustrated them, and they moved on.  All three creeks were reworked in the early 1900s.

·        SE¼ Sec 21, W½ Sec 22 and diagonally from NEC to SWC of Sec 28, T13N, R1E 2^nd PM, ClayTwp.

·        Latitude: 39.5303251 / 39° 31’ 49” N (MOUTH - @ confluence with Sycamore Creek)

·        Longitude: -86.4349950 / 86° 26’ 06” W  (MOUTH - @ confluence with Sycamore Creek)

·        Latitude: 39.5541667 / 39° 33’ 15” N (SOURCE)

·        Longitude: -86.4116667 / 86° 24’ 42” W  (SOURCE)

SOURCES: 

·        1, 8 (Aug 1985, pg 9), 12 (Jul/Aug 1971, pg 56).

GUERNSEY

White Co.

“I know of a few towns that would fit the definition of a ghost town, they are small settlements that popped up along the old MONON railroad. There are at least seven very small towns between Rensselaer (Jasper Co.) and Delphi (Carroll Co.) Indiana (GBS Note:  a distance of about 40 miles). The names are McCoysburg, Lee, Guernsey, Patton, Yeoman, Sleeth, and Pittsburg*. They all were a stop on the “Hoosier Line” and date back to the 1850’s or 60’s. The railroad picked up its nickname from the small town of Monon, where its two lines crossed each other. Monon lost out to Lafayette in the competition for the railroad shops, Lafayette is a town of around 60,000 while Monon has about 1,500 people.  I know that the railroad line is full of small towns just like these but I don’t know much about them.”

Contributed by Brad Fairchild, June 09, 1997

This old railroad station is located on N CR 300E, between E CR 325N and E CR 375 N and where the railroad line crosses N CR 300E, about a mile west of Tippecanoe Country Club and Lake Shafer, 5.4 miles southeast of Monon and 4.4 miles northwest of Monticello.  The GNIS aerial photo shows several farms clustered around the area, and a church a mile to the west.

*NOTE on Pittsburg:  Pittsburg is an unincorporated community with a population in the neighborhood of 300.  Because of its size, it is NOT listed in this work.

·        SE¼ of the NE¼, E½ of the SE¼ Sec 12, T27N, R4W 2^nd PM, Honey Creek Twp

·        SW¼ Sec 7, T27N, R3W 2^nd PM, Honey Creek Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.8003171 / 40° 48’ 01” N

·        Longitude: -86.8127912 / 86° 48’ 46” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

Hindostan

Martin Co.

Located along the East Fork of the White River, several miles southwest of Shoals, which is at the junction of US 50/150, 21 miles east of Washington.  Hindostan was established around 1814 by Frederick Sholts.  It became an important stage stopping place, as well as the county seat.  It contained a grist mill, saw mill and a tavern.  In June 1828 a plague of some kind, probably cholera or smallpox, swept through town, killing many of the citizens, and sending the rest on a panic to get out of town.  The county seat was transferred to Mt. Pleasant, and the site of Hindostan became a true ghost town.  Ruins include foundation pits, a restored church and a modern park near the site.

For more details, see our Hindostan page.

This is our CURRENT Ghost Town of the Month (May 2014)

HOWESVILLE

Clay Co.

“There is a little abandoned town on the outskirts of Jasonville, Indiana on highway 59 called Howsville (sic). There is an old abandoned store or post office building and a couple of other old empty buildings. It always gives me the creeps to drive through there. Loved your site.”

Contributed by Angela Collins, October 27, 2008

HOWESVILLE is shown on GNIS, located at the junction of SH 59/S CR 200W, three ROAD miles northeast of Jasonville (Greene Co.) and a half mile north of the county line.  On April 26, 2014, the undated National Map on GNIS showed the buildings mentioned by Angela, but the Oct 21, 2013 ESRI (Digital Globe, Microsoft) aerial photo does not.  None of the other aerial photos available on GNIS show the buildings, so it appears they were torn down sometime between 2008 and 2013.  The Google street view shows the demolition complete and stuff piled up to be hauled away.  It is copyright 2014, but no actual date of photo is shown.  A white church is on the north side of the street and looks well cared for.  A small green and red falsefront to the east of the church has a sign “DEAN’S DISCOUNT GROCERY / BAIT”.  On the south side of the highway just to the east of it and the demolished buildings is an abandoned red house hiding in a copse of trees.  A handful of neat, occupied homes rounds out the east side of town.

POPULATION:

·        1980 – 20, 1990 – 30, 2000 – 30

LOCATION:

·        NW¼ of the SW¼ Sec 36, T9N, R7W 2^nd PM, Lewis Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.1769870 / 39° 10’ 37” N

·        Longitude: -87.1469573 / 87° 08’ 49” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2, 4

JACKSON HILL

Sullivan Co.

“I also live down the road from a town called Jackson Hill in Sullivan County which was a coal mining town and has some ruins of old buildings here and there, but mostly mobile homes now….”

Contributed by Bob Kerr, August 08, 2006

In 1990 this town had a population of 30 and was also known as DEL CARBO.  The GNIS aerial photo shows a few scattered buildings in a three block stretch between N Center Street on the east, E 1^st Street on the south, N West Street on the west, and an unnamed street on the north, but probably E 4^th Street.  It is located 1.9 AIR miles southeast of Shelburn, on N CR 250E (N West Street), at the junction with E CR 575N (3^rd Street), 1.25 miles south of SH 48.

·        N-Ctr Sec 1, T8N, R8W 2^nd PM, Hamilton Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.1683747 / 39° 10’ 06” N

·        Longitude: -87.3619626 / 87° 21’ 43” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

JIMTOWN

Clay Co.

This 1880s subdivision of Middlebury (later called Martz) had a general store, saloon and a number of homes, and was located just east of the larger town.  Not shown or listed in GNIS.

SOURCES: 

·        11 (und – circa 1988, pg 27)

KIRK(S)VILLE

Gibson Co.

SEE Wheeling (below)

KOSSUTH /KOSSUTH BLUFF

Clay Co.

On SH 246 and west bank of Eel River, four miles west of Middlebury (Martz) and four miles east of Lewis (Vigo Co.).  It is not shown on GNIS, but the locations below are for Neal Mill Bridge, where SH 246 crosses the Eel River.  The GNIS aerial photos show a loose collection of a dozen farms in a wildly scattered, unnamed community stretching 1.1 miles from the bridge to Briley Chapel, where SH 246 makes a turn to the south.

This was the first settlement in Harrison Twp, and was located on the west bank where SH 246 crosses the Eel River west of Martz.  It was also along the Wabash & Erie canal and was an active flatboat landing. (Treasure)

NEAL MILL BRIDGE:

·        Ctr of the north line of the SE¼/south line of the NE¼ Sec 33, T10N, R7W 2^nd PM, Lewis Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.2647634 / 39° 15’ 53” N

·        Longitude: -87.1889033 / 87° 11’ 20” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 27)

LAST CHANCE STAGE STATION

Clay Co.

On SH 46, midway between Bowling Green and Terre Haute, near Cory.  The actual location is not determined, but SH 46 runs along the section line a half mile north of Cory.  The Treasure magazine article places it “…on (the) Upper Bloomington Road (1850s-80) about one-half way between Bowling Green and Terre Haute. …near present-day Indiana State Road 46 and Cory….” 

Cory is located on an abandoned railroad line (between Coal City and Terre Haute) where it crosses S CR 525W, five miles east of Riley (Vigo Co.) and 1.8 miles east of the county line.  At one time it had a barber shop, feed store, funeral parlor, general store, high school, hotel, post office (still active in 2002), railroad station and three saloons.  In 2000, Cory’s population was 135, down from the 200 reported in 1980.  The GNIS aerial photo shows a downtown core at the downtown crossroads.

This 1850s-1880 stagecoach stop/tavern (saloon) was located on the Upper Bloomington Road midway between Bowling Green and Terre Haute.  It is near SH 46 and Cory

CORY:

·        E-Ctr Sec 20, T9N, R7W 2^nd PM, Perry Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.3822623 / 39° 22’ 56” N

·        Longitude: -87.2058491 / 87° 12’ 21” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 27)

LEAVENWORTH

Crawford Co.

Located along the river flats of the Ohio River four miles south of I-64 at EXIT 92 and 13 miles west of Corydon. The entire town was relocated to the bluffs above the river (on SH 62, 3.7 miles south of I-84) in 1937 after a bad flood destroyed most of the town.  The old site was abandoned.

It was originally established in 1818 by Zebulon and Seth Leavenworth from Connecticut.  In 1824, a wood yard was established to provide fuel for steamboats.  A boatyard and a brick plant were also in the town.  In 1839 a newspaper (The Crisis) started up and the town continued to grow, obtaining the county seat in 1843.  It remained in that position until 1896 when the seat was moved to English, where it remains today.  The town continued to prosper after the Civil War as a steamboat river port.  There were also button factories making buttons out of local shells and in the 1880s lime quarries added to the economy.  In 1890 the population stood at 500, but in October about a third of the town was wiped out in a major fire.

In 1910 the population stood at 700 and three button factories were the major employer.  However, the shell banks were nearly exhausted and in the 1920s that industry folded. 

In January 1937 record rains swelled the Ohio River and over half of the houses in the town of 418 either floated away or were damaged.  After the water subsided, it was decided to relocate what was left of the town higher up on the bluffs, and by December 1938, Old Leavenworth was a ghost town.  As a side note:  English was heavily damaged by flooding in the mid 1990s and was relocated to higher ground.

In 2010, Leavenworth had a population of 238, down from 353 in 2000, leaving it as a class “E” town with only 88 of its 159 housing units occupied, almost a 50% vacancy rate.  A few families still live in Old Leavenworth, so it is not completely abandoned….

“The town of Old Leavenworth, Crawford Co., IN. is not abandoned.  You will find some families that have lived there for over twenty years.  It also has a lot of camps.”

Contributed by Evelyn Cochran, July 12, 2003

NEW LEAVENWORTH:

·        NW¼ Sec 6, T4S, R2E 2^nd PM, Harrison Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.1997869 / 38° 11’ 59” N

·        Longitude: -86.3441439 / 86° 20’ 39” W 

OLD LEAVENWORTH:

·        S½ Sec 6, T4S, R2E 2^nd PM, Harrison Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.1931114

·        Longitude: -86.3431199

SOURCES: 

·        1, 4, W1

LEE

White Co.

“I know of a few towns that would fit the definition of a ghost town, they are small settlements that popped up along the old MONON railroad. There are at least seven very small towns between Rensselaer (Jasper Co.) and Delphi (Carroll Co.) Indiana (GBS Note:  a distance of about 40 miles). The names are McCoysburg, Lee, Guernsey, Patton, Yeoman, Sleeth, and Pittsburg. They all were a stop on the “Hoosier Line” and date back to the 1850’s or 60’s. The railroad picked up its nickname from the small town of Monon, where its two lines crossed each other. Monon lost out to Lafayette in the competition for the railroad shops, Lafayette is a town of around 60,000 while Monon has about 1,500 people.  I know that the railroad line is full of small towns just like these but I don’t know much about them.”

Contributed by Brad Fairchild, June 09, 1997

This old railroad station is located on the Monon-Seaboard Railroad, at the junction of North Street (W CR 1000N)/N CR 500W, about 5.1 railroad miles northwest of Monon and 1.1 railroad miles southeast of the western county line.  The GNIS aerial photo shows a few houses tucked into a small wooded area surrounded by farm fields.

·        NWC Sec 11, T28N, R5W 2^nd PM, Monon Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.8964279 / 40° 53’ 47” N

·        Longitude: -86.9680738 / 86° 58’ 05” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

LESTERVILLE

Washington Co.

Lesterville dates back to at least the mid 1800s, but the site is now a field.  A house and dilapidated barn are all that mark the one-time town that had at least a blacksmith and a store.  It is shown on an 1895 map, but NOT on GNIS.

SOURCES: 

·        15

McCOYSBURG

Jasper Co.

“I know of a few towns that would fit the definition of a ghost town, they are small settlements that popped up along the old MONON railroad. There are at least seven very small towns between Rensselaer (Jasper Co.) and Delphi (Carroll Co.) Indiana (GBS Note:  a distance of about 40 miles). The names are McCoysburg, Lee, Guernsey, Patton, Yeoman, Sleeth, and Pittsburg. They all were a stop on the “Hoosier Line” and date back to the 1850’s or 60’s. The railroad picked up its nickname from the small town of Monon, where its two lines crossed each other. Monon lost out to Lafayette in the competition for the railroad shops, Lafayette is a town of around 60,000 while Monon has about 1,500 people.  I know that the railroad line is full of small towns just like these but I don’t know much about them.”

Contributed by Brad Fairchild, June 09, 1997

This old railroad station is located where the railroad line crosses W CR 650S, at the junction with S CR 175E, about seven AIR miles southeast of Rensselaer and two railroad miles northwest of the eastern county line.  The GNIS aerial photo shows about 18 houses clustered around the area.

·        SW¼ Sec 32, T29N, R5W 2^nd PM, Hanging Grove Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.9144832 / 40° 54’ 52” N

·        Longitude: -87.0219642 / 87° 01’ 19” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

MILLVILLE

Franklin Co.

Restored locks and a brick grist mill mark the site of Millville, on the Whitewater Canal, and now a state memorial.  The park stretches for 14 miles, but the Millville site is on US 52, 60 AIR miles southeast of Indianapolis, six AIR miles northwest of Brookville, ¾ mile east of Metamora and north of the Whitewater River.  Boat rides on the restored canal are offered, including a journey over the shed aqueduct which carried the canal OVER Duck Creek, which is said to b the only remaining survivor of this type of structure.

·        SE¼ of the NW¼ Sec 31, T12N, R13E 2^nd PM, Metamora Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.4492167 / 39° 26’ 57” N

·        Longitude: -85.1235729 / 85° 07’ 25” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 10b (#15)

MOLLIE

Blackford Co.

“During the natural gas boom of the 1880’’s, Mollie sprang up as a little burg in what is now rural Blackford County. ….”

Contributed by Jeremy Rogers, May 19, 2006

Wikipedia gives a greatly detailed batch of info from numerous sources…

Established in 1887, during the beginning of the gas boom era (which ended in the 1920s.)  It was a stop on the main railroad line (Fort Wayne, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad) as well as the interurban line that ran parallel to the main line.  At its peak there were numerous businesses, including: blacksmith, brick & tile mill, cider mill, doctor, feed mill, grain elevator, grocery/general store, livestock yard and a post office, which was inside the general store, as was a railroad waiting room.

The post office was originally established October 19, 1888 with Henry H. Dean as the first postmaster.  It was discontinued in October 1889, but reinstated on February 06, 1890 with Anderson Hatfield as the postmaster, and housed in the Jacob Burnsworth Grocery Store.  The store burned in 1891, but was rebuilt.  The post office was discontinued for good in February 1907, and the store burned a second and last time in 1914.  In 1900 the population was around 55, and by the 1920s had dropped to around 25.

An online 1895 map shows it about two miles south of Montpelier and about a mile east of the railroad.  This would place it at or near where Main Street junctions with E CR 500N.  BUT.  This appears to be in error as the detailed 1920s era map places it on the northeast corner of N CR 300E/E CR 400N, 3.7 miles southwest of Montpelier, which coincides with Wikipedia. 

All that remains today are memories and two houses, one of which was made from brick manufactured here.

APPROXIMATE LOCATION BASED ON 1895 map:

·        Ctr S line Sec 16, Ctr N line Sec 21, T24N, R11E 2^nd PM, Harrison Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.5232612 / 40° 31’ 24” N

·        Longitude: -85.2871580 / 85° 17’ 14” W 

The 1938 State Farm Atlas shows it on the railroad midway between Montpelier and Hartford City (about 4.3 miles southwest of Montpelier). It would be in the section square formed by E CR 400N (N), N CR 300 E (E), E CR 300 N (S) and N CR 200E (W).

APPROXIMATE LOCATION BASED ON 1938 map:

·        S-Ctr line NE¼ Sec 30, T24N, R11E 2^nd PM, Harrison Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.5012195 / 40° 30’ 04” N

·        Longitude: -85.3202157 / 85° 19’ 13” W 

LOCATION as shown on 192x Map (Historic Map Works.com)

·        SEC Sec 19, SWC Sec 20, NWC Sec 29, NEC Sec 30, T24N, R11E 2^nd PM, Harrison Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.5079447 / 40° 30’ 29” N (based on Township/Range data)

·        Longitude: -85.3157787 / 85° 18’ 57” W  (based on Township/Range data)

SOURCES: 

·        2, W1, W4

MUDLAVIA SPRINGS

Warren Co.

This is an old resort that is famed for its Lithia water and mud baths.  It is at the junction of N CR 125 E/E CR 150 N, east of Pine Creek, 0.3 miles west of Kramer, 2.4 miles north of the junction of N CR 125 E/US 41 turnoff, midway between Attica and Carbondale, 12.5 miles east of the state line and 22 AIR miles west-southwest of Lafayette.

·        Ctr Sec 23, T22N, R8W 2^nd PM, Liberty Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.3383702 / 40° 20’ 18” N

·        Longitude: -87.2927898 / 87° 17’ 34” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 10c

NEW BALTIMORE

Posey Co.

New Baltimore had a general store and boat dock (where flatboats were built) in 1837.  Gone by 1900.

It was located at the confluence of the Black River with the tip of a large oxbow bend on the Wabash River (Now called Lost Lake – Old Channel).  Where Wheeler Road/Griffin Road crosses the river, 1.5 miles south of I-64, and two miles south of Griffin.

·        NW¼ of the SW¼ Sec 18, T4S, R13W 2^nd PM, Robb Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.1772680 / 38° 10’ 38” N

·        Longitude: -87.9175301 / 87° 55’ 03” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 8 (Jan 1980, pg 44, 46)

NEW BRUNSWICK

Clay Co.

Located on the Eel River and SH 59, five miles south of Clay City in the southeastern corner of the county.  This was a shipping center for agricultural products from the 1830s-1860s and a tavern was also located here.  Flatboats used for the shipping were built here.  It foundered when the railroad came into the county, and there was more development of local markets.  In 1900, the river was dredged, and what was once the town square was located on the north bank.  During the 1920s there was a combination dancehall/recreation hall/swimming pool and roadhouse located on the south side of the town site/river.  In the late 1980s, a new highway bridge over the Eel was built just to the east of the old iron bridge.  During construction of the new bridge, the old general store at the south foot of the old bridge was demolished.

The GNIS map actually shows the site of NEW BRUNSWICK on the east bank of Susan Brothers Creek, 0.6 miles north of the “new” Eel River Bridge and on the north side of the western extension W CR 1250S, 0.3 miles west of SH 59.  What appears to be foundation outlines and a couple old buildings is seen on the aerial photo (May be an old farm).  Nothing is noted around the bridge area in what the map calls BRUNSWICK.

NEW BRUNSWICK

·        Ctr Sec 19, T9N, R6W 2^nd PM, Harrison Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.2058756 / 39° 12’ 21” N

·        Longitude: -87.1214014 / 87° 07’ 17” W 

CENTER OF THE EEL RIVER BRIDGE

·        N line of the NW¼ of the NE¼ Sec 30, T9N, R6W 2^nd PM, Harrison Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.1976278 / 39° 11’ 51” N

·        Longitude: -87.1178114 / 87° 07’ 05” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 26)

NEW FRANKLIN

Carroll Co.

This was one of many canal towns located along the Wabash & Erie Canal during the canal’s heyday from 1843 to 1874.  It is located about 0.2 miles north of W CR 900N, along the north side of the former canal at what was Lock 30.  The site of the town is currently on private property and NOT accessible.  Nothing from the original days remains at the site of this class A town.  During “the day” it was platted three streets wide, and consisted of a dance hall, hotel and tavern.

·        SWC of the NW¼ of the SW¼ Sec 23, T26N, R2W 2^nd PM, Rock Creek Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.6812110 / 40° 40’ 53” N

·        Longitude: -86.6149112 / 86° 36’ 54” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (not listed, but farmhouse shown), W8

NEW HARMONY

Posey Co.

Not to be confused with the present community of New Harmony (2010 pop-789 – down from 971 in 1970) which grew out of and enveloped the original colony, this town is located on SH 66, 20 AIR miles northwest of Evansville, along the Wabash River in the far southwestern tip of the state.  The original settlement here was called Harmonie on the Wabash, a communal colony founded on 20,000 acres along the Wabash River in 1815 by Johann Georg Rapp, a Pennsylvania Lutheran Church dissenter.  He and his Harmony Society/Rappite followers lived here for 10 years.  Within a year of settlement, they had built over 160 buildings.  Some of the industries/businesses included a brewery, church, cotton mill, distillery, grain mills, school, store, threshing machine, sawmills, tanneries, vineyards, winery and a wool carding & spinning factory.  The “orderly” town was laid out in a square.

In 1825 the site was purchased for use as a utopian colony by Robert Owen, a wealthy Scottish/Welsh social reformer/investor.  He purchased the site from Rapp for $150,000 and set out to establish “a New Moral World.” The socialistic Owenites renamed the community New Harmony and established the first American free-school system and a kindergarten, as well as attracting many of the intellectual elite.  By 1825 the population had increased to 700-800; not just intellectual free-thinkers, but also crackpots and freeloaders.  In 1827 they closed due to lack of funding for their project and completely disbanded by 1829. 

Numerous restored buildings remain in the New Harmony State Historic Site/National Historic Landmark (1965), which lies in the heart of the present town.  Even though the present town of New Harmony is a viable town and normally would be overlooked by this work, it is listed herein due to its twin utopian colonial beginnings, and their subsequent failures.

I am leaving this following 2004 E-mail below (received before I modified this vignette) because of some historical perspective from a local.  For anyone that does visit, please rest assured, that I know the existing community is a long way away from being a ghost town or even a semi-ghost town.  The reference herein is strictly for the original two colonies which the town replaced.

“I would like to clarify a few points in your posted information concerning New Harmony, Indiana (it is my favorite place in the world). You wrote of “Harmonie” and “New Harmony” as different towns---they are the same. “Harmonie” is the German spelling, and Father George Rapp was a German Lutheran Separatist who first settled in Pennsylvania with his German immigrant congregation and then came to New Harmony. Today’s New Harmony is a town that has both the Harmonists’ structures and the Owenites’ structures---a specified area of the town with its Harmonist buildings is a designated Historical Landmark, but it is still inhabited by local residents….”

From an anonymous E-mail July 05, 2004

·        SW¼ Sec 36, T4S, R14W 2^nd PM, Harmony Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.1297678 / 38° 07’ 47” N

·        Longitude: -87.9350299 / 87° 56’ 06” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2, 10b, W1

NEW LONDON

Jefferson Co.

“I have located a reference to 3 pioneer towns in Indiana you may be interested in listing. … (One of the) others was New London, but no mention of location is given. The book I found them in is called The Indiana Gazetteer and my edition was published in 1849. There were several other editions of this book.”

Contributed by Bob Kerr, August 08, 2006

“I found the location of New London. It is on the Ohio River southwest of Madison Indiana. There were 2 New Londons the other located in north central Indiana (Howard Co.- GBS) which is still a town. I believe the book was referring to the New London on the Ohio.”

Contributed by Bob Kerr, August 09, 2006

Located along the east side of S. River Bottom Road, 0.3 miles south of the confluence of Lee Creek/Ohio River, 18.5 AIR miles east of Scottsburg (Scott Co.) and seven AIR miles southwest of Madison. The GNIS aerial photo just shows a plowed field at the site east of the highway and west of the river, with scattered farms around the area.

·        SWC Sec 32, T3N, R10E 2^nd PM, Saluda Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.6522832 / 38° 39’ 08” N

·        Longitude: -85.4410700 / 85° 26’ 28” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

OLD TIP TOWN

Marshall Co.

This tiny rural town (30 folks in 1990) is on the north side of the Tippecanoe Cemetery, at the junction of SH 331/17B Road, just north of the Tippecanoe River, a mile north of Tippecanoe, in the southeastern corner of the county, about 50 AIR miles northwest of Ft. Wayne.  The GNIS aerial photo shows about a dozen homes and a large commercial complex with three sheet metal buildings (fabricating shop and office) on the south side adjacent to the cemetery. 

A pair of photos of the tiny town and cemetery are available at on Wikipedia.

·        NW¼ of the SW¼ Sec 18, T32N, R4E 2^nd PM, Tippecanoe Twp.

·        Latitude: 41.2236548 / 41° 13’ 25” N

·        Longitude: -86.1152769 / 86° 06’ 55” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, W1

PALESTINE

Lawrence Co.

“I have located a reference to 3 pioneer towns in Indiana you may be interested in listing, but I only have the location for one called Palestine which was located on the East fork of White River in Lawrence County Indiana. … The book I found (it) in is called The Indiana Gazetteer and my edition was published in 1849. There were several other editions of this book.”

Contributed by Bob Kerr, August 08, 2006

That book is online, and the two entries read:

Pg 115: “What ancient citizen of Indiana does not recollect the glorification of Salisbury, PALESTINE, Hindostan, New ondon, and many other places, the sites for which must now be sought for in pastures and corn-fields?”

Pg 119:  “The years 1820, 1821, and 1822, were attended with more general and fatal sickness than has ever been experienced, either before or since, in the west. PALESTINE on the East Fork of the White river, then the seat of justice of Lawrence county, was nearly depopulated….”  

Those are the only mentions of the town.  It is not listed in the back of the book alphabetic listings, nor is any detailed location given.  It is also NOT listed in GNIS.

SOURCES: 

·        2, W5

PATTON

Carroll Co.

“I know of a few towns that would fit the definition of a ghost town, they are small settlements that popped up along the old MONON railroad. There are at least seven very small towns between Rensselaer (Jasper Co.) and Delphi (Carroll Co.) Indiana (GBS Note:  a distance of about 40 miles). The names are McCoysburg, Lee, Guernsey, Patton, Yeoman, Sleeth, and Pittsburg. They all were a stop on the “Hoosier Line” and date back to the 1850’s or 60’s. The railroad picked up its nickname from the small town of Monon, where its two lines crossed each other. Monon lost out to Lafayette in the competition for the railroad shops, Lafayette is a town of around 60,000 while Monon has about 1,500 people.  I know that the railroad line is full of small towns just like these but I don’t know much about them.”

Contributed by Brad Fairchild, June 09, 1997

This old railroad station is located on the Monon-Seaboard Railroad, at the junction of US 421/W CR 1100N, east of Lake Freeman, three miles south-southeast of Monticello.  The GNIS aerial photo shows several homes and what appears to be a mini-storage facility.  The Google street view associated with the Acme Mapper shows an abandoned 2-story building tucked into the trees on the north side of the ministorage complex.  Just a half mile to the west is additional, modern development on the east shore of the lake.

·        Ctr of S section line of SE¼ Sec 10, Ctr of N section line of NE¼ Sec 15, T26N, R3W 2^nd PM, Jefferson Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.7080942 / 40° 42’ 29” N

·        Longitude: -86.7405664 / 86° 44’ 26” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

PERTH

Clay Co.

This old coal camp is one of many located in the northwestern corner of the county, five miles northwest of Brazil and three miles southwest of Carbon at the junction of N CR 300W/W CR 1400N and south of the railroad running between Carbon to Terre Haute, 15 miles to the southwest.  It was settled by Irish workers in the 1880s, and died in the 1930s.  It had a number of businesses, including saloons.  A number of buildings are visible on the GNIS aerial photo.  In 1990 there were 25 people still here.

·        SW¼ of the SW¼ Sec 2, T13N, R7W 2^nd PM, Dick Johnson Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.5930962 / 39° 35’ 35” N

·        Longitude: -87.1619596 / 87° 09’ 43” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 4, 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 27)

PIGEON ROOST

Scott Co.

Located on east side of US 31, one mile north of Underwood and the county line, just east of I-65, 4.8 miles south of Scottsburg.  In the spring of 1809, six families arrived here from Kentucky, establishing a small farming community on Pigeon Roost Creek.  They knew the dangers of the wilderness, and even so, built their cabins with separation between them, to allow farming.  During the War of 1812, the British offered a reward for American scalps, and a “treasure hunt” began.  On September 3, 1812, A party of Shawnee and other tribes reached Pigeon Roost.  As there were no blockhouses on site, the Native Americans attacked.  Many of the settlers were killed, scalped and their homes burned.  A few were away on military duty, and a few escaped to nearby blockhouses.  The toll was great though.  24 were buried in three graves.  A number of the attackers were also killed.

The GNIS GPS numbers are slightly off, landing along the highway just south of the entrance to the cemetery road.  Below are the correct numbers to the 1904 obelisk memorial marking the mass graves of the settlers.  On the highway, at the cemetery entrance road is a historical marker.

·        NW¼ of the NW¼ Sec 17, T2N, R7E 2^nd PM, Vienna Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.6171642 / 38° 37’ 01” N

·        Longitude: -85.7737130 / 85° 46’ 25” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 8 (Oct 1986, pgs 20-22)

QUAKERTOWN

Union Co.

“The Whitewater Dam project, completed in 1975, flooded several residential areas, including some villages. At least one cemetery was moved. Quakertown, in Harmony Twp, and most of Dunlapsville, in Liberty Twp, were among those villages lost. … It is now Brookville Lake reservoir and recreation area. Union County genealogists would have much more accurate information.”

Contributed by Joan Lince (July 20, 2006)

GNIS shows it located where the marina/boat launching ramp is at the junction of Quakertown Road/Alquina Road, 0.8 miles south of Dunlapsville, on the west side of Brookville Lake (on the E Fork of the Whitewater River), at the northern end of the lake in the southwestern part of the county, 5.4 AIR miles southwest of Liberty and 3.1 miles west-southwest of Roseburg.

·        NW¼ Sec 33, T11N, R2W 1^st PM, Liberty Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.5800490 / 39° 34’ 48” N

·        Longitude: -85.0016280 / 85° 00’ 06” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

RAPTURE

Posey Co.

SEE Winfield (below)

RUTLAND

Marshall Co.

Only 30 folks lived here in 1990.  This tiny town is located at the junction of S Pear Road/16^th Road, just south of the railroad line running between Valparaiso and Fort Wayne, in the southwest part of the county, about three miles northeast of Lake Maxinkuckee.  The GNIS aerial photo shows seven homes scattered about the community.

·        Ctr of S section line Sec 1, Ctr of N section line Sec 12, T32N, R1E 2^nd PM, Union Twp.

·        Latitude: 41.2444870 / 41° 14’ 40” N

·        Longitude: -86.3572279 / 86° 21’ 26” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1

SALINE CITY

Clay Co.

Saline City is located just east of the Eel River/Wabash & Erie Canal, 6.2 miles north of Clay City and 16.5 AIR miles southeast of Terre Haute.  It was the site of an 1850s militia camp when there was a threat to burn the locks at the location due to standing water being blamed for disease outbreaks.  The actual camp site is not determined.

SALINE CITY

·        S½ NE¼ Sec 25, T11N, R7W 2^nd PM, Perry Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.3653190 / 39° 21’ 55” N

·        Longitude: -87.1322365 / 87° 07’ 56” W 

CROSSING OF W CR 150 S/CANAL

·        NE¼ of the SW¼ Sec 25, T11N, R7W 2^nd PM, Perry Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.3637104 / 39° 21’ 49” N

·        Longitude: -87.1393390 / 87° 08’ 22” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 27)

SALISBURY

UNKNOWN

“I have located a reference to 3 pioneer towns in Indiana you may be interested in listing.  … (One was) called Salisbury, but no mention of location was given. The book I found it in is called The Indiana Gazetteer and my edition was published in 1849. There were several other editions of this book.”

Contributed by Bob Kerr, August 08, 2006

It is not listed in the RMcN Atlas

SOURCES: 

·        2

SCOTTSVILLE

Lawrence Co.

Scottsville dates to the 1900-1910 era and was at the junction of the Stonington Railroad/B&O Railroad, on the south side of the East Fork of the White River, in an area now known as Rivervale, which is at the junction of Buddah/Pumphouse roads, about 4.5 AIR miles northeast of Mitchell.  It once had a store, and an old kiln. In 2002 the stone part of the kiln was still intact.  The B & O tracks are still intact (GNIS aerial photo), but the Stonington RR line is shown as a dashed “old railroad grade.”

RIVERVALE

·        Ctr of NW¼ Sec 22, T4N, R1E 2^nd PM, Marion Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.7689415 / 38° 46’ 08” N

·        Longitude: -86.3980445 / 86° 23’ 53” W 

SOURCES: 

·       1, 15

SLEETH

Carroll Co.

“I know of a few towns that would fit the definition of a ghost town, they are small settlements that popped up along the old MONON railroad. There are at least seven very small towns between Rensselaer (Jasper Co.) and Delphi (Carroll Co.) Indiana (GBS Note:  a distance of about 40 miles). The names are McCoysburg, Lee, Guernsey, Patton, Yeoman, Sleeth, and Pittsburg. They all were a stop on the “Hoosier Line” and date back to the 1850’s or 60’s. The railroad picked up its nickname from the small town of Monon, where its two lines crossed each other. Monon lost out to Lafayette in the competition for the railroad shops, Lafayette is a town of around 60,000 while Monon has about 1,500 people.  I know that the railroad line is full of small towns just like these but I don’t know much about them.”

Contributed by Brad Fairchild, June 09, 1997

This old railroad station is located on W CR 700N and the junction of the Monon-Seaboard Railroad, 0.9 miles east of US 421, east of Lake Freeman, 1.3 miles south of Yeoman.  The GNIS aerial photo shows a handful of what appears to be mobile homes and houses on the south side of the road.

·        NE¼ of the NE¼ Sec 2, T25N, R3W 2^nd PM, Tippecanoe Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.6492046 / 40° 38’ 57” N

·        Longitude: -86.7175088 / 86° 43’ 03” W 

SOURCES: 

1, 2

SPRING MILL

Lawrence Co.

Located north of SH 60, two miles east of Mitchell, this tiny 1815 era trading post/village has been restored, and consists of an apothecary, boot shop, water powered grist mill, hat maker shop, limekiln ruins, post office, and sawmill.  It is the centerpiece for Spring Mill State Park.

SPRING MILL VILLAGE

·        SE¼ Sec 32, T4N, R1E 2^nd PM, Marion Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.7350529 / 38° 44’ 06” N

·        Longitude: -86.4269338 / 86° 25’ 37” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1

STEUBENVILLE

Owen Co.

This was part of a story regarding lost loot from the “Phipps-Long Gang.”  This group of outlaws operated from the mid 1840s-around 1852 in the Owens/Clay county area.  “…as well as the Owen County ghost-town of Stuebenville (sic).  The latter (also Marion Township) was mentioned by an early Clay County commentator as the location of three dram-shops (saloons?), frequented by ‘thugs, hard-characters and moral ulcers” during the 1840s and 1850s….”

Marion Township is in the southwestern part of the county bordering Clay County, east of Clay City.  The four communities shown on GNIS in the Township, include:  Patricksburg, Denmark, Hickory Corner and Smithville.  Location of the old town is not mentioned.

·        T10N, R5 & E½ of 6W 2^nd PM, Marion Twp. (MARION TOWNSHIP)

·        Latitude: unknown

·        Longitude: unknown 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (Township), 11 (und – circa 1988, pg 26)

SULPHUR WELL

Crawford Co.

This one-time resort was located near the present town of Sulphur, which is just south of I-64 at EXIT 86, 28 miles east of Dale.  A large 100-guest hotel with electrical dynamo, bathhouses, two bowling alleys, post office, store, and bottling works for the white sulfur-charged water was the extent of the tiny town in the late 1800s.  A dam was built to make a small boating lake, and there were also tennis and croquet courts, a baseball diamond and riding stables.  It folded in the early 1900s, after around a fifty-year run.

GNIS shows a SULPHUR SPRINGS (with the variant name of SULPHUR WELL) on SH 66 just north of the county line, about a mile south of Sulphur and just north of the county line.  This MAY be the location.  On the GNIS aerial photo there are scattered homes in the area, mostly just of SH 66.  There are also what appear to be ruins and small stone or concrete circular “ponds” scattered along the half mile stretch of the community.

·        N½ Sec line between Sec 35 & 36, SW¼ Sec 36, T3S, R1W 2^nd PM, Union Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.2120066 / 38° 12’ 43” N

·        Longitude: -86.4749810 / 86° 28’ 30” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 8 (Jun 1988, pg 41)

TACOMA

AKA – Woodville

Carroll Co.

“There is a ghost town in Northeastern Carroll County that was once an Indian Village known as Tacoma.  White settlers named it Woodville.  At one time there was a large Catholic Church, saw mill, store, Universalist Church, brick school house, and many other businesses.  Today the brick school building is a private residence.  The cemetery is the only other property marker that still exists.  There are approximately 10 homes in Woodville today.  You can find a couple photos on www.carrollcountymuseum.org.”

Contributed by Candy, 04/21/2008

GNIS shows the cemetery at the south side of the junction of S CR 650W/E CR 750N, east of the railroad tracks and north of the gravel pits on the north bank of Rock Creek.  Scattered homes are shown on the aerial photo.

CEMETERY

·        Ctr Sec 35, T26N, R1W 2^nd PM, Liberty Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.6553160 / 40° 39’ 19” N

·        Longitude: -86.4963899 / 86° 29’ 47” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 2

TENT CITY

Marshall Co.

Located near Plymouth, Tent City was a temporary site where folks congregated due to high unemployment in the years following the Civil War.  A huge tent here housed a church, where dances were held in the evenings.  During warmer weather carnivals would come and set up.  After jobs became more accessible, the site became popular for folks to come and pick huckleberries in season. The site was popular until the early l920s when a brush fire damaged the plants and people stopped coming here.  In the early days there were some businesses here including a church whose services were held in a large tent. 

Plymouth is located on the Yellow River, at a railroad junction, just southwest of the junction of US 31/30, south of South Bend.

PLYMOUTH

·        Sec 4 & 5, T33N, R2E 2^nd PM, Center Twp.

·        Latitude: 41.3411111 / 41° 20’ 28” N

·        Longitude: -86.3102778 / 86° 18’ 37” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1

WABASH & ERIE CANAL

Multiple co’s

The Indiana portion of the Wabash & Erie Canal system was mostly in operation from about 1843 until about 1874.  (Construction actually began in 1832, and the last boat docked in 1874, although most of the canal only operated for about a decade between 1843-1853, which was when it finally reached its southern terminus at Evansville and the Ohio River.)  During its run, many small towns or service locations were established along the towpath or canal, and abandoned.  Many were clustered around the various locks.  A large number of other towns managed to survive, and in some cases have thrived into the modern day.  A few of the ghosted locations are listed here.  So far, I have not found an all-encompassing overview of a list of all the towns established along the canal, so this will be a rough “bits & pieces” vignette.  It may eventually expand into a single page.

·        ALLEN Co.: Vermilyea House (1839 - Tavern/PO)

·        HUNTINGTON Co.:  Port Mahon (1853 - bustling little town), Woodworth’s Trading Post (across from Cheesbro Lock 11)

·        WABASH Co.:  Utica (1837-1856 – died when Belden was established.), Belden (1856 – died when railroad came to Andrews)

·        MIAMI Co.:  Miller’s Lock (1837 – southwest of Peru and just west of the county line.)

·        CASS Co.:  West Logan (west side of Logansport), Kentucky (flooded out in 1844 with three people killed), Georgetown (1990 pop 75),   Cicott’s Mill

·        CARROLL Co.:  Burris House (tavern located at Lock 29 on west side of present-day Lockport), New Franklin (SEE ABOVE),  Rattlesnake Creek Village (grain shipping center/sawmill/warehouse), Carrollton (at river crossing near Carrollton Bridge), Lock 31/Spreece Warehouse/Mentzer Tavern (all near Lock 32 and Carrollton), Paragon (on the lake behind Pittsburg Dam, north of Delphi), DELPHI (NO Ghost – A Canal historic park is located here)

·        TIPPECANOE Co.:  Granville/Weaton (est 1834 as Granville.  Name Changed to Weaton in 1850.)

·        FOUNTAIN Co.:    Maysville

·        PARKE Co.:  Lodi (1990 pop – 90, Canal opened here in 1848.), Howard (established 1848, combined from Westport and Burtonville/Sandtown/Burton), West Union, Armiesburg (platted 1830 – busy canal town).

SOURCES: 

·        W1, W8

WEISBURG

Dearborn Co.

This tiny community of 75 folks (1990) is on Weisburg Road, where it crosses the West Fork of Tanners Creek AND the railroad, north of SH 48, east of the county line, and south of the road that runs west from New Alsace.  A couple old buildings appear on the Google streetview of the Acme map.

·        NE¼ Sec 1, T7N, R3W 1^st PM, York (?) Twp.

·        Latitude: 39.2181090 / 39° 13’ 05” N

·        Longitude: -85.0460686 / 85° 02’ 46” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1

WHEELING

Gibson Co.

LaDonna Blevins asked about BOVINE in November 2008.  After researching it a little, I discovered that it is also called WHEELING and KIRK(S)VILLE.  Rand McNally lists it as:

·        1980 – KIRKVILLE, population 180

·        1990 – KIRKVILLE, population 100

·        2000 – WHEELING, population 100

GNIS lists BOVINE, KIRKVILLE and KIRKSVILLE as variant names for Wheeling.

Using the above information, it is on the cusp of locations I consider, but because of her interest, I am listing it here.  If anyone else knows anything about this old town, please let me know. (GBS)

It is on E CR 400N, just east of the confluence of Yellow Creek with the Patoka River, about seven AIR miles northeast of Princeton.

·        Ctr Sec 19, T1S, R10W 2^nd PM, Logan Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.4131025 / 38° 24’ 47” N

·        Longitude: -87.4552967 / 87° 27’ 19” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1, 4

WINFIELD

Posey Co.

1838-1858 boomtown whose location was not noted.  It had one store

GNIS offers it as a variant name to Rapture and has it located on SH 68, just west of the junction with N CR 400E, a short distance east of New Harmony.  The aerial photo shows three farm houses clustered together at the indicated location.  Winfield Church is located about ¾ mile southwest.

·        Ctr of NE¼ Sec 27, T4S, R13W 2^nd PM, Harmony Twp.

·        Latitude: 38.1522670 / 38° 09’ 08” N

·        Longitude: -87.8419723 / 87° 50’ 31” W 

SOURCES: 

·        1 (Rapture), 8 (Jan 1980, pg 44)

WOODS MILL

Lake Co.

A restored, historic, brick grist mill located on the Deep River, in Deep River County Park, which is along the east county line, just north of US 30, east of Merrillville.

The park is shown on GNIS, but the mill is not.  MORE RESEARCH NEEDED

SOURCES: 

·        .

WOODVILLE

Carroll Co.

SEE Tacoma (above)

YEOMAN

Carroll Co.

“I know of a few towns that would fit the definition of a ghost town, they are small settlements that popped up along the old MONON railroad. There are at least seven very small towns between Rensselaer (Jasper Co.) and Delphi (Carroll Co.) Indiana (GBS Note:  a distance of about 40 miles). The names are McCoysburg, Lee, Guernsey, Patton, Yeoman, Sleeth, and Pittsburg. They all were a stop on the “Hoosier Line” and date back to the 1850’s or 60’s. The railroad picked up its nickname from the small town of Monon, where its two lines crossed each other. Monon lost out to Lafayette in the competition for the railroad shops, Lafayette is a town of around 60,000 while Monon has about 1,500 people.  I know that the railroad line is full of small towns just like these but I don’t know much about them.”

Contributed by Brad Fairchild, June 09, 1997

This old railroad station is located on the Monon-Seaboard Railroad, at the junction with W CR 825N, 0.6 miles east of US 421 and about 1.5 miles east of Lake Freeman, five miles southeast of Monticello.  The GNIS aerial photo shows a good sized town, and the population figures put it just OVER the threshold for inclusion in this work.  As it was listed by a contributor, I will leave it in this work - for now. 

Population figures:

·        1970 - 145, 1980 - 154, 1990 - 131, 2000 - 96, 2010 - 139

Location:

·        SE¼ Sec 26, T26N, R3W 2^nd PM, Jefferson Twp.

·        Latitude: 40.6676957 / 40° 40’ 04” N

·        Longitude: -86.7235964 / 86° 43’ 25” W 

SOURCES: 

1, 2

Other Ghost Towns &/or

Possible Ghost Towns

---

·        Dickerson (Vermillion Co., on the RR 3.5 mi N of Cayuga)

·        Dresser (Warren Co., 3 mi E of State Line City)

·        FORT SACKVILLE (In Vincennes)

·        Lakeland (Parke Co., 4 mi S of Bellmore)

·        OLD CALE (Martin Co., 1 mi NE of Indian Springs)

·        Uncas (Parke Co., 3 mi N of Bridgeton)

Historians estimate that there may be as many as 50,000 ghost towns scattered across the United States of America.

Gary B. Speck Publications is in process of publishing unique state, regional, and county guides called

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IMPORTANT

These listings and historical vignettes of ghost towns, near-ghost towns and other historical sites in INDIANA 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 INDIANA, please abide by the

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