The following is an incomplete list of
ghost towns
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by Alle ...
in Maryland. Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have any trace of civilization and have reverted to pasture land or empty fields. Other sites are unpopulated but still have standing buildings. Some sites may even have a sizable, though small population, but there are far fewer citizens than in its grander historic past.
Many ghost towns can be located in the
Appalachian counties, particularly
Garrett County
Garrett County () is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,806, making it the third-least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Oakland. The county was named for John Work ...
. During the 18th and 19th century, a number of "boom towns" were formed to participate in the flourishing
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
,
railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
, and
iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
industries. Towards the late 19th century, the resources in the region had begun to deplete, and the onset of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
finally killed many of the industrial towns.
Classification
Barren site
* Sites no longer in existence
* Sites that have been destroyed
* Covered with water
* Reverted to pasture
* May have a few difficult to find foundations/footings at most
Neglected site
** Only rubble left
** All buildings uninhabited
** Roofless building ruins
** Some buildings or houses still standing, but majority are roofless
Abandoned site
* Building or houses still standing
* Buildings and houses all abandoned
* No population, except caretaker
* Site no longer in existence except for one or two buildings, for example old church, grocery store
Semi abandoned site
* Building or houses still standing
* Buildings and houses largely abandoned
* few residents
* many abandoned buildings
* Small population
Historic community
* Building or houses still standing
* Still a busy community
* Smaller than its boom years
* Population has decreased dramatically, to one fifth or less.
List by County
Baltimore City
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
*
Old Town Mall
The Old Town Mall or Oldtown Mall is a mostly abandoned outdoor pedestrian shopping mall in the Old Town neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. The mall contains 64 stores, the majority of which are closed. The area has seen many periods of reviva ...
, a largely abandoned commercial district in the center of Baltimore.
*
Wagner's Point, an industrial area of Baltimore which had all residents forcibly relocated in the late 1990s for environmental concerns.
Baltimore County
Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...
*
Daniels (Partially in Howard County), an old milling town on the
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River mainstem is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal port ...
.
*
Relay
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
, formerly a booming railroad town which declined sharply and today contains only a handful of residents and none of its historic landmarks.
*
Warren
A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...
, which was flooded during the creation of
Loch Raven Reservoir
Calvert County
Calvert County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 92,783. Its county seat is Prince Frederick. The county's name is derived from the family name of the Barons of Baltimore, the proprietors of t ...
*
Calverton, the first
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Calvert County, which is today a barren site.
*
Wilson
Wilson may refer to:
People
* Wilson (name)
** List of people with given name Wilson
** List of people with surname Wilson
* Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender
* Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...
, which appeared on maps as late as 1901.
Cecil County
Cecil County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The county was ...
*
Conowingo. The original town was flooded by the creation of
Conowingo Reservoir
The Conowingo Dam (also Conowingo Hydroelectric Plant, Conowingo Hydroelectric Station) is a large hydroelectric dam in the lower Susquehanna River near the town of Conowingo, Maryland. The medium-height, masonry gravity dam is one of the lar ...
, and the residents relocated to a location nearby.
*
Frenchtown, formerly a hub for
steam boat
A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S (for 'Screw Steamer') or PS (for 'Paddle Steamer'); however, thes ...
travel, which was rendered obsolete by the
Chesapeake and Delaware Canal
The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal (C&D Canal) is a -long, -wide and -deep ship canal that connects the Delaware River with the Chesapeake Bay in the states of Delaware and Maryland in the United States.
In the mid‑17th century, mapmaker Augus ...
and then later by railroads.
*
United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge
United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge (USNTC Bainbridge) was the U.S. Navy Training Center at Port Deposit, Maryland, on the bluffs of the northeast bank of the Susquehanna River. It was active from 1942 to 1976 under the Commander of ...
, a naval recruit training center that was operational from 1942 to 1976.
Charles County
Charles County is a county in Southern Maryland. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 166,617. The county seat is La Plata, Maryland, La Plata. The county was named for Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, Charle ...
*
Port Tobacco Village, once the second largest town in Maryland, by 2010 it had declined to the smallest incorporated town in Maryland.
Frederick County
*
Harmony Grove, a former milling town which was abandoned in the early 20th century and widely demolished in the 1960s-1970s for a highway expansion.
*
Monocacy Monocacy (Shawnee language, Shawnee: ''Monnockkeseymay'') may refer to the Monocacy River in Maryland, USA.
Monocacy may also refer to:
Other streams
*Little Monocacy River, a tributary of the Potomac River in Maryland
*Monocacy Creek (Lehigh Riv ...
. Considered to be the oldest settlement in
Western Maryland
upright=1.2, An enlargeable map of Maryland's 23 counties and one independent city
Western Maryland, also known as the Maryland Panhandle, is the portion of the U.S. state of Maryland that typically consists of Washington, Allegany, and Garret ...
, the site of Monocacy was lost completely after being abandoned in the early 19th century, and has never been found despite a multitude of historical evidence it existed.
Garrett County
Garrett County () is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,806, making it the third-least populous county in Maryland. Its county seat is Oakland. The county was named for John Work ...
*
Altamont
*
Bloomington
*
Blooming Rose, first settled in 1791.
*
Davis
Davis may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Mount Davis (Antarctica)
* Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago)
* Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land
Canada
* Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community
* Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...
*
Dodson
*
Floyd
*
Frankville, notable for the 1876 death of
Francis Thomas
Francis Thomas (February 3, 1799 – January 22, 1876) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of Maryland, 26th Governor of Maryland from 1842 to 1845. He also served as a United States House of Representatives, United S ...
.
*
Gleason
*
Gorman
*
Kempton, a coal town on the border of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
.
*
Kendall, an old logging town.
*
Schell (partially in
Mineral County, West Virginia
Mineral County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,938. Its county seat is Keyser. The county was founded in 1866.
Hi ...
)
*
Selbysport
*
Shallmar
*
Skipnish
Skipness ( gd, Sgibinis, ) is a village on the east coast of Kintyre in Scotland, located just over south of Tarbert and facing the Isle of Arran.
There is Skipness Castle (a ruined castle) and Kilbrannan Chapel, which contains some rare ...
*
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
*
Vindex
Gaius Julius Vindex (c. AD 2568) was a Roman Empire, Roman governor in the province of Gallia Lugdunensis. He was of a noble Gauls, Gallic family of Aquitania (given senatorial status under Claudius) and was one of the men belonging to a faction ...
*
Wallman Wallman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Arvid Wallman, Swedish diver, gold medalist in plain high diving at the 1920 Olympics, representing Sweden
* Christiana Wallman, American singer-songwriter and writer
* Hans E. Wallman ...
*
Wilson
Wilson may refer to:
People
* Wilson (name)
** List of people with given name Wilson
** List of people with surname Wilson
* Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender
* Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson Ro ...
(partially in
Grant County, West Virginia
Grant County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,976. Its county seat is Petersburg. The county was created from Hardy County in 1866 and named for Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant.
...
)
Harford County
Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...
*
Lapidum
Howard County
*
Daniels (Partially in Baltimore County)
Prince George's County
)
, demonym = Prince Georgian
, ZIP codes = 20607–20774
, area codes = 240, 301
, founded date = April 23
, founded year = 1696
, named for = Prince George of Denmark
, leader_title = Executive
, leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...
*
Good Luck
Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...
Queen Anne's County
Queen Anne's County is located on the Eastern Shore of the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville i ...
*
Broad Creek
Somerset County
*
Marion Station
*
Tulls Corner, a nearly extinct community near Marion Station.
St. Mary's County St. Mary's County may refer to:
* St. Mary's County, Maryland
*St. Mary's County, Utah Territory
There are 29 counties in the U.S. state of Utah. There were originally seven counties established under the provisional State of Deseret in 1849: ...
*
St. Mary's City
St. Mary's City (also known as Historic St. Mary's City) is a former colonial town that was Maryland's first European settlement and capital. It is now a large, state-run historic area, which includes a reconstruction of the original colonial sett ...
, a former colonial town that has been replaces by a state-run historic area and
St. Mary's College of Maryland
St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) is a public liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland.Maryland State Archives, Online Manual, "St. Mary's College Of Maryland: Origin & Functions" http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/25univ/stmarys/ ...
.
["St. Marys: A When-Did Timeline", pages 6 through 27, by Janet Butler Haugaard, Executive Editor and writer, St. Mary's College of Maryland with Susan G. Wilkinson, Director of Marketing and Communications, Historic St. Mary's City Commission and Julia A. King, Associate Professor of Anthropology, St. Mary's College of Maryland Archives ]
Washington County
*
Fort Ritchie
Fort Ritchie at Cascade, Maryland was a military installation southwest of Blue Ridge Summit, Pennsylvania and southeast of Waynesboro in the area of South Mountain. Following the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, it closed in 19 ...
, a former military base which closed in 1998. The last residents were evicted in 2017.
*
Four Locks, found in the
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is located in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland. The park was established in 1961 as a National Monument by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to preserve the neglected remains of ...
.
*
Weverton. Although there is a current Weverton, it's not located on the original site.
Worcester County
*
Sinepuxent
See also
*
List of counties in Maryland
There are 23 counties and one independent city in the U.S. state of Maryland. Though an independent city rather than a county, the City of Baltimore is considered the equal of a county for most purposes and is a county-equivalent. Many of the co ...
*
:Mining in Maryland
*
Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad
The Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad was an American railroad of central Maryland built in the 19th century. The railroad, the second to serve Annapolis, ran between Annapolis and Clifford along the north shore of the Severn River. From Clifford ...
Notes and references
{{Lists of ghost towns by U.S. state
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
Ghost towns
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by Alle ...