This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in California. Their abandonment was caused by multiple factors, such as the end of the California gold rush, the creation of new lakes, and the abandonment of formerly-used rail and motor routes.
Classification
Barren site
Sites no longer in existence Sites that have been destroyed Only remnants of structures left Reverted to pasture
Neglected site
Only rubble left Roofless building ruins 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
Semiabandoned site
Building or houses still standing Buildings and houses largely abandoned few residents many abandoned buildings Small population
List
TownOther namesCountyLatitude/LongitudeFoundedAbandonedStatusRemarksAgua Fria Mariposa18501862BarrenTruly was abandoned after a fire burnt down the town in 1866.Agua Mansa San Bernardino1853After 1862BarrenDeclined slowly after the Great Flood of 1862.AlmaLexingtonSanta Clara18611952SubmergedAlready declined to less than 100 residents, Alma was demolished during the 1952 construction of the James J. Lenihan Dam. Currently, the few remaining structures are underneath the Lexington Reservoir and can only be seen during low water levels.Article by Jon M. Corry, http://ghosttowns.com/states/ca/lexingtonandalma.htmlAmboy San Bernardino1858N/ASemi-abandoneddeclined slowly from the opening of Interstate 40Ashford Mill Inyo1914unknownNeglected Ash Hill San BernardinounknownunknownNeglectedAsphaltoLa BreaKernBefore 18931932BarrenAtolia San Bernardino1906After 1965AbandonedBagdad San Bernardino18831973BarrenAbandoned due to opening of Interstate 40Bagby Mariposa37°36′39″N 120°08′04″Wc.1850abt. 1966InundatedBallarat Inyo18971968NeglectedThe Manson Family left graffiti here. The town became abandoned after its sole resident, who had been living there alone for five decades, diedBeeks Place OrangeBefore 1940unknownAbandonedBelleville San Bernardino1860Before 1900AbandonedSlowly declined after gold deposits in the region dried upBen Hur Mariposa37°21′06″N 119°57′28″W18592019?Semi-abandonedProperty sold in 2019. Unclear if still inhabited.BennettvilleTiogaMono18601890AbandonedAbandoned after not enough silver was found in the regionBend City Inyo1863After 1872Abandonedthe 1872 Owens Valley Earthquake caused the Owens River to flow away from the town, driving the last remaining residents outBestville Siskiyou1850aft. 1854BarrenBlue Mountain City Calaveras1863aft. 1864BarrenBodie Mono1876N/ASemiabandonedDeclined slowly from mining profits decreasing since 1914Branson CityBranson San Diego1870unknownAbandonedAbandoned due to not being able to compete with nearby JulianBriceburg Mariposa37°36′18″N 119°58′01″W1926N/ASemiabandonedBridgeport Mariposa37°26′00″N 120°00′16″Wc.1852N/ASemiabandonedCadiz San Bernardino1883c.1950sNeglectedCalico San Bernardino18811907Abandoned Abandoned due to an end to borax mining in the regionCamancheClay's Bar CalaverasBefore 1849After 1962SubmergedInundated by Camanche Reservoir Cañon City Trinity18511891BarrenCarnegie/Tesla San Joaquin19021915NeglectedKnown as Tesla at first. Site of a coal mine and eventually brick-making factories. Slowly declined after a flood in 1911 destroyed many roads and buildings as well. Carson HillSlumgullion CalaverasBefore 18531935AbandonedCat Town Mariposac. 1850sc.1850sBarrenGold Rush placer mining camp in Solomon GulchCement Solano19021927NeglectedSlowly declined after limestone deposits in the region were depleted.Cerro Gordo Inyo1866N/ASemiabandonedOne man has been living here since 2020, after everyone else left.ChinquapinChincapin Mariposa1882N/ASemiabandonedStill used as a rest stop and ranger station within Yosemite National ParkChloride City Inyo1905bef.1908NeglectedNo longer appears on USGS maps by 1908. Accompanying Chloride Spring also served as its own, small townsite.Chrysopolis Inyo18631910NeglectedAbandoned after a mining boom in the region started in 1900, it went away.Coleman CityEmily City San Diego1870unknownAbandonedAbandoned after depletion of gold deposits in the region. 2 structures still stood there as of 1903 according to USGS.CosoGranite Springs Inyo1860aft. 1913BarrenTown still extant in 1913.Cox & Clark Trading Post Kings1870bef. 1914BarrenDoes not appear on 1914 USGS map.Cuyamaca City’Ekwiiyemak San Diego18871906AbandonedDeadwood Placer1852between 1938-1952AbandonedDisappears from USGS maps between those years. Cemetery remains.Deadwood Trinity18511915AbandonedAbandoned with the closing of the town's post office.Dedrick Trinity1890After 1941AbandonedSeems to have still been inhabited as of 1951, per USGS.Denny TrinityAfter 1851c.1990sAbandonedDesert Spring KernBefore 1834After 1850BarrenDogtownDogtown Diggings Mono1857c.1890sBarrenDrawbridgeSaline City Alameda18761979AbandonedPopulation slowly declined due to the closing of nearby bridges and rampant vandalism in the town.DunmovinCowan Station InyoBefore 1936N/ASemi-abandonedEagle Mountain Riverside19482003AbandonedA jailbreak at the Eagle Mountain Community Correctional Facility caused the prison to be shut down and the last population of the town to leaveEastwood San Diego1869c.1870sBarrenFailed to compete with the rapidly growing nearby town of Julian.Eldoradoville Los Angeles18591862BarrenTown was washed away during the Great Flood Of 1862.Elliott Hocks CornersSan Joaquin1846After 1942SemiabandonedSite still inhabited, but the town itself ceased to exist decades ago. Last labeled on USGS maps in 1953.Empire City Stanislaus18501862BarrenThe town was washed away during the Great Flood of 1862.Essex San BernardinoBefore 1937N/ASemi-abandonedDeclined slowly due to the opening of Interstate 40 as well as the remoteness of the town.Falk HumboldtFountain Springs Tulare Freeman Junction KernFremont Valley CalaverasFrench Flat TuolumneFurnace InyoFurnace Creek Inn InyoGarlock KernGas Point ShastaGibsonville SierraGirard KernGlenburn KernGoffs San BernardinoGold Town KernGoler Heights KernGreasertown CalaverasGreenwater InyoGreenwich KernGerstley InyoGrub Gulch MaderaGullion's Bar SiskiyouHaiwee InyoHamilton ButteHart San BernardinoHatfields Camp KernHector San Bernardinoaround 1937unknownSemiabandoned Helena TrinityHoboken SacramentoHodson CalaverasHokokwito MariposaHoly City Santa ClaraHope Valley AlpineHorseshoe Bend MariposaHollands Los AngelesFrickstad, Walter N., A Century of California Post Offices 1848-1954, Philatelic Research Society, Oakland, CA. 1955, pp. 70-84.Igo ShastaIndependence Flat CalaverasIndian Gulch MariposaIndian Springs KernIowa Hill PlacerIsabella KernIvanpah San BernardinoJaeger City ImperialJoe Walker Town KernJoyfull KernKasson InyoKern River Slough KernKernvale KernKernville KernKearsarge InyoKeeler InyoKelso San BernardinoKingston KingsKumaini MariposaLa Panza San Luis ObispoLangdon KernLavers' Crossing KernLeadfield InyoLee InyoLee Camp KernLeliter KernLeon RiversideLexington Santa ClaraLiberty San JoaquinLinda Rosa Riverside Lila C InyoLillis FresnoLittle Cienega La Cienega, Falling SpringsLos Angelesbefore 1934after 1998BarrenFormer resort town most recently occupied by a religious group. Remnants mostly destroyed by the Curve Fire.Little LakeBramletteInyoLlano del Rio Los AngelesLone Pine Station InyoLookout City InyoLower Calaveritas CalaverasLudlow San BernardinoLyons Station Los AngelesMacheto MariposaMammoth City MonoManchester MontereyMalakoff NevadaManzanar InyoMartensdale KernMartinez Tuolumne County Masonic MonoMelones CalaverasMentryville Los AngelesMerced Falls MercedMercuryville SonomaMidland RiversideMidway KernMill Valley CalaverasMinear MariposaMinersville TrinityMount Ophir MariposaMiramonte KernMono Mills MonoMonterio KernMoore's Flat NevadaMormon Island Sacramento18481856SubmergedMountain House KernMuroc KernNarka InyoNegro Flat SiskiyouNeuralia Kern19141916BarrenNew Almaden Santa ClaraNew Idria San BenitoNewtown Mariposa Noonday Camp InyoNorristown SacramentoNorth Muroc KernNorth Shore RiversideNortonville Contra CostaNotomidula MariposaOlig KernOregon Bar CalaverasOregon City ButteOwensville InyoPackwood Station TularePanamint City InyoPasinogna San Bernardino Patchen Santa ClaraPetersburg KernPetroleopolis Los AngelesPicacho ImperialPinacate RiversidePioneertown San BernardinoPiute KernPolitana San Bernardino Port Chicago Contra CostaPort Wine SierraPrado San BernardinoPrairie City SacramentoProvidence San BernardinoPurissima San Mateo1868early 1900sBarrenDeclined slowly due to declined of Redwood Lumber industry, and failure of the Ocean Shore RailroadPylema KernQuartzburg KernQuartzburg MariposaRagtown San Bernardinoafter 1898unknownBarren Rincon San BernardinoRandsburg KernReefer City KernReilly InyoRice San BernardinoRidleys Ferry MariposaRincon San BernardinoRio Bravo KernRiverview KernRoachville InyoRock Springs KernSablon RudolphSan Bernardino1909unknownBarrenSage KernSan Carlos InyoSan Joaquin City San JoaquinSan Miguel de los Noches KernSakaya MariposaSalmon Falls El Dorado18501950sSubmergedCalifornia State Historical Marker #571Saltus San BernardinounknownunknownAbandoned Supported salt evaporation. Notable for an unverified claim to the hottest temperature ever recorded.Sandy Bar CalaverasSawmill Flat TuolumneScheelite InyoSchwaub InyoScovern Hot Springs KernSecond Garrotte TuolumneSeneca PlumasShamrock KernShasta ShastaSiberia San BernardinoSilver Mountain AlpineSilver City, Tulare TulareSilver Lake San BernardinoSkidoo InyoSloss Mariposa Smyrna KernSodan InyoSorrell's KernSpanish Bar CalaverasSt. Louis SierraStedman Steadman, Rochester, CopenhagenSan Bernardino18981930sNeglected Abandoned when the Bagdad-Chase Mine went into receivership. Stickneys Ferry TulareStonewall San DiegoStony Bar CalaverasStrader KernStrand KernStratton San DiegoStyx RiversideunknownunknownSemiabandoned Sullivan KernSunland InyoSunset KernSwansea InyoTaylors Bar CalaverasTeagle KernTehichipa KernTejon KernTelegraph CityGrasshopper CityCalaveras1860NeglectedTemescal RiversideTerese Siding KernTerra Cotta RiversideTimbuctoo YubaToolwass KernTumco ImperialUnadilla KernVaca Adobe KingsVallecito San DiegoValley Wells San BernardinoVanderbilt San BernardinoVaughn KernWater Station KernWenger MariposaWestville PlacerWhite Mountain City InyoWillard RiversideWingo SonomaWinter Garden KernWiskala MariposaWoodfords AlpineWoolsey Flat NevadaWrights Santa ClaraYaqui Camp CalaverasYou Bet NevadaA gold mining townZurichAlvord, Station Inyo
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References