A ghost town is a deserted town with no remaining occupants. These areas have long been forgotten but often contain remaining buildings, rubble, and even roads. Well-preserved ghost towns may even hold belongings of previous inhabitants, now covered in a layer of thick dust. These deserted areas show signs of once-thriving communities lost to the past. Missouri features dozens of ghost towns, former settlements, and extinct towns. Discover five deserted and forgotten towns in Missouri and learn about their surprising and sometimes creepy histories.
1. Arlington
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Established in 1867, Arlington was a once popular river resort town along the old Route 66 in South-Central Missouri. Along with the resort, which featured cabins, a spring-fed pool, and tennis courts, the town had a post office, general store, drug store, and hotel. When Route 66 was rerouted away from the town, Arlington’s success started to decline. And by the late 1960s, it was mainly abandoned due to I-44 completely bypassing the town.
Today there are only a few residents in homes around the area, but no businesses remain. However, you can take the old Route 66 off the highway and drive through a town lost to time. Several buildings still remain, including part of the old river resort.
2. Times Beach
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Located on the Meramec River flood plain 17 miles southwest of St. Louis is the Times Beach ghost town. It was founded in 1925 and became a summer resort area. But the Great Depression turned it into an area for middle to low-income housing. Shortly before its demise, there were an estimated 1,200 residents and a few businesses, such as a gas station and a small grocery store.
The town was evacuated in 1983 due to dioxin contamination and a devastating flood. A small business that disposed of chemical waste mixed these toxic compounds with crankcase oils to create a dust-suppressant concoction, which it sprayed on horse arenas, ranches, and dirt roads. The dust spray led to unsafe levels of contamination, which became worse after the major flooding in the area. After the residents were evacuated, the CDC recommended that the town not be re-inhabited. Today there is no evidence of contamination, and the Times Beach town is now a state park.
3. Avilla
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Similar to Arlington, the town of Avilla met its demise largely due to the rerouting of Route 66. While the town still has around 100 residents, it is considered a famous ghost town along the historic route. Pioneers settled in the area in the 1830s and 1840s, and Avilla was founded in 1856. But the area began to decline after the Second World War when people moved closer to major cities for industrial jobs.
The final straw occurred after Route 66 was bypassed and a large fire destroyed several buildings. Today the area contains abandoned buildings and vacant lots. But you can also see the old bank that was robbed by the Irish O’Malley Gang; it is now a post office. And many visitors to the area have reported seeing shadow figures in the windows of old buildings.
4. Bloodland
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Named after the town’s original owner, Mr. Blood, Bloodland was built in the late 19th century in the heart of the Ozarks. The town was purposefully demolished to build Ft. Leonard Wood, a US Army training installation. Now all that remains is a small cemetery said to be filled with angry ghosts. Apparently, the residents of Bloodland broke out into a riot on Halloween in 1940, right before the town was to be demolished.
Soldiers have reported sightings of these ghosts and have even claimed they were forced to drink hard cider through a straw until they passed out. Want to know if it’s true? Head to the fort and grab a map that takes you to the old cemetery.
5. Jollification
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The town of Jollification, or Jolly, was built around Capps Creek in eastern Newton County in 1848. People moved in and built homes after Thomas Isbell and his son built a distillery and mill. But the town burned down during the Civil War and was never completely rebuilt. And the town also became difficult to reach after the railroad bypassed the area. By the late 1800s, jolly was a ghost town. Today you can visit Jolly and the old mill as a visitor to the historical park. A group converted the town into a park in the 1980s, where people can now explore, picnic, and play.
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