How to find old ghost towns?

R

ragu

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Dec 8, 2009
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I am just getting into this whole hunting business. Just started by trying to search old city maps and area maps (which seems nearly impossible) for my area. I did find two REALLY old area maps, which name a city which no longer exists. The accuracy of the old maps is questionable as to exactly how far this city was from the closest one to it. Seems like there were nearly touching by the old maps. I am unable to find anything of any substance which talks about the city. Just a few references.

When I look at google maps, bing birds eye from town to town i find nothing between them which would resemble the old town. You need to know I'm in farm country and I'm sure the old town has been plowed under long ago. Any hints of where to find old maps of Minnesota? the oldest aerials I have found are from 1939 and I cannot find any evidence of the town there either.
 

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If you google ghost towns of minnesota, there are websites that list them with their locations. If you cannot find a map online, go to your largest public University, go to Special Collections in the library and ask the librarian in charge for maps showing old ghost towns. They may also have old photos. I am betting that most of these towns are now on private property, but who knows. One of the reasons that you probably can't find or see the town you are looking for is that people in the new town may have taken most of the old town with them. Anyway, good luck.
 

Sound like your town was swallowed up by the town nearest on the map. Whatever was there is still there, just covered up.
 

Well in one map its the only town there, on a newer one a town "started" VERY close to it, called Glyndon. Glyndon still exists today but the other town does not. I have to think the town was obsorbed by Glyndon since there is a street with the old towns name in Glyndon. I'm not trying to be cryptic, its just 3 am and I just got off work and can't think of the other towns name.
 

yeovil is the name of this old town
 

Mackaydon said:
Many cities changed their names over the years. Yours may still exist, but with a different name. -clip-
Don.....
Click to expand...

This got me to thinking, I wonder if there would be a way to use old postal-routes or old applications for delivery (whatever they were called) in order to help identify some of the name-changes that have occurred...

cheers,
cc
 

Yeovil was a colony; one of four sponsored by the Northern Pacific Railroad during the period 1871-1873. One account shows the Yeovil colony located at Hawley, on the NP rail line in Clay Co. just east of Glyndon. Much more on Yeovil can be obtained through the archives of the NP RR. You might find this article interesting, especially on pages 12 and 16.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:aptvWiznpaIJ:collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/10/v10i02p127-144.pdf+%22Northern+Pacific+Railroad%22+Yeovil&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShBlpdflFeEQfJttPwYEmyx01ac_dH61gNtLWhS18uBFIH2JL2x1niJjMYtSA-K66cc5k-lbgQeQaSBztYLRn1XvHp1TUS8Ccj8AmeoSgtW2ajNIE9gXNXoIZdWwZ9jHKO7BNkV&sig=AHIEtbR9BAflXQy6W4k1chUOVCZOMJxc1Q
Don.....
 

Here’s an excerpt under “Hawley”:
The post office was opened on Jan. 6, 1873, but renamed Yeovil briefly, April 18,1873 to Jan. 8, 1874, because of the arrival of colonists from Yeovil, Somerset, England, who had planned to build a city of that name on the site of present Muskoda but upon arrival in Hawley found that their land had been taken by claim jumpers. The Yeovil colonists remained in Hawley although the name was changed back.
Source: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:aptvWiznpaIJ:collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/10/v10i02p127-144.pdf+%22Northern+Pacific+Railroad%22+Yeovil&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShBlpdflFeEQfJttPwYEmyx01ac_dH61gNtLWhS18uBFIH2JL2x1niJjMYtSA-K66cc5k-lbgQeQaSBztYLRn1XvHp1TUS8Ccj8AmeoSgtW2ajNIE9gXNXoIZdWwZ9jHKO7BNkV&sig=AHIEtbR9BAflXQy6W4k1chUOVCZOMJxc1Q
Don.......
 

Yes, I apologize it was on one map written as New Yeovil on another as Yeovil. I will try and locate those pictures again, because in one map it has Yeovil and Hawley both on the map. That may have been at the time of the post office. I'll post when I find it. Great articles by the way! I'm just starting out with researching things and I am obviously not as effecient as you. Thanks!
 

I have taken roads next to the RR track an looked at the switch names. If it was a town of just 5000 people it probably had a side track and they usually name the switch after the town. Have used this at least five times when no buildings or houses are left. A word of caution if this is the case step with a cane or limb as the wells are now hidden under leaves and brush. A broken leg in a ghost town isn't fun.
 

On Google Earth, there is a picture of a clock and a counter-clockwise arrow. You can turn back time. Where I live you can turn back time to 1937. Its how I found a nice old house site, no coins though :()
 

Look into "LOST" Communities w/o US Post Offices; MANY were just MINING Communities, especially near Mountains. Virginia, North Carolina had a few in the Smokies...
 

SorenCoins said:
On Google Earth, there is a picture of a clock and a counter-clockwise arrow. You can turn back time. Where I live you can turn back time to 1937. Its how I found a nice old house site, no coins though :()
Click to expand...

How can this be? I thought google earth was photo images. I don't think we had satellites in orbit in 1937 for you to go back to.
 

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