This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in the state of Kansas.
Causes Many reasons exist as to why a community becomes abandoned (or nearly so). Transportation: With the development of major highways and interstates, people were willing to travel farther for goods and services causing local businesses in smaller towns to lose customers and ultimately close. The more businesses that close, the more people are apt to want to move away to a bigger town. Transportation has played a major role in settlement in Kansas. As traffic from the Oregon and Santa Fe Trails increased, towns boomed along them. When railroads were established towns developed along the tracks or even moved to where the tracks were. Politics: In Kansas, the political atmosphere was highly divided. Towns were either proslavery or abolitionist. When Kansas became a free state in 1861, proslavery towns died out. Certain towns, lacking any other economic basis, banked their development on becoming a county seat. If they failed, there would be little employment, and the few inhabitants would abandon the town to find work elsewhere. Boom and bust: Towns that catered to a specific industry such as coal mining or military housing were boom towns that quickly died when their markets collapsed. Some towns that mainly relied on agriculture were abandoned in the 1930s during the Dust Bowl period. Eminent domain / flood control: Since 1951, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has sought to control floods through the building of dams along rivers and the resulting outcome is a town having to be moved or abandoned and demolished. Environmental degradation: Remnants of lead and zinc mining can cause soil contamination that can render entire communities uninhabitable; e.g. Treece.NY Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/magazine/last-ones-left-in-treece-kan-a-toxic-town.htm
List List of ghost towns in Kansas that are not incorporated cities or unincorporated communities:
Allen County Cofachique Octagon City
Anderson County Hyattville
Atchison County Mount Pleasant Pardee
Butler County Oil Hill Plum Grove Wingate
Chase County Elk Ellinor Homestead Hymer Thurman
Cherokee County Treece
Cheyenne County Calhoun Jaqua Lawnridge Marney Orlando
Clark County Lexington Letitia was located southwest of Minneola
Clay County Broughton Browndale
Cloud County Como Macyville Sibley Yuma Cowley County Floral Wilmot
Decatur County Bassetville Decatur Hawkeye Hooker Jackson Lund Sheffield Shibboleth Stephen Vallonia
Doniphan County Geary
Douglas County Belvoir Franklin Lapeer Louisiana Media Prairie City Twin Mound Weaver
Elk County Cave Springs Fiat Upola
Ellis County Chetolah Easdale Hog Back Mendota Rome Smoky Hill City Stockrange Turkville
Ellsworth County Terra Cotta
Finney County Eminence Ravanna
Franklin County Appanoose Greenwood Minneola Norwood Ohio City Silkville
Geary County Alida Pawnee
Gove County Alanthus Hackberry Jerome
Graham County Fargo Happy Houston Kebar Millbrook Olean Roscoe Togo Turnerville Whitfield Wild Horse
Greeley County Astor
Greenwood County Teterville Thrall Utopia
Harper County Albion
Harvey County Annelly
Haskell County Santa Fe
Jewell County Dentonia
Labette County Mortimer
Leavenworth County Delaware City
Lincoln County Bacon Bayne Cedron Herman Lone Walnut Milo Monroe Orbitello Orworth Paris Pinon Pleasant Valley Pottersburg Rosette Topsy Towerspring Union Valley Woodey Yorktown
Linn County Barnard Blooming Grove Brooklin Keokuk Hail Ridge Harmonia Jackson Linnville Mansfield Moneka Oakwood Paris Potosi Twin Springs
Logan County McAllaster Sheridan
Marion County Elk Gnadenau Hampson Oursler Waldeck Watchorn
Marshall County Bigelow Irving
Mitchell County Blue Hill Buel Coursens Grove Elmira Saltville Victor Walnut Grove West Asher
Montgomery County Le Hunt
Morris County Comiskey
Neosho Ladore
Norton County Bower Brett Cactus Devizes Fairhaven Hanback Hedgewood Rayville Rockwell Smithton Wakeman
Osborne County Banks Bristow Cheyenne Delhi Deliverance Dial Emley Forney Free Will Handy Pleasant Plain Potterville Roundmound Twin Creek Vincent Yoxall
Ottawa County Vine Creek
Phillips County Crow Dickeyville Goode Jimtown Luctor Matteson Myrtle Pleasant Green Powell Wagnerville West Cedar
Rawlins County Achilles Beardsley Beaverton Burntwood Celia Chardon Gladstone Greshamton Mirage Rawlins Rotate
Reno County Kent
Republic County Sherdahl White Rock
Rice County Crawford Galt
Rooks County Adamson Alcona Amboy Chandler Cresson Earnest Frankton Gould City Highhill Hoskins Igo Laton McHale Motor Nyra Portage Slate Sugarloaf Survey Rockport
Rush County Belfield Brookdale Fenton Flavius Hampton Hutton Lippard Olney Pioneer Ryan Saunders West Point
Russell County Bayne Blue Stem East Wolf Fay Forest Hill Greenvale Hawley Jack Kennebec Success Winterset Woodville
Seward County Arkalon
Shawnee County Richland
Sheridan County Adell Alcyone Chicago Lucerne Museum Mystic Phelps Sheridan Ute Violenta
Smith County Cora Germantown Hardilee Jacksonburg Twelve Mile
Stevens County Woodsdale
Sumner County Bushnell Cleardale Doster Ewell Metcalf Roland Sumner City
Thomas County Copeland Cumberland Kuka Otterbourne Quickville
Trego County Banner Bosna Cyrus Wilcox
Wabaunsee County Vera
Washington County Strawberry
Wichita County Farmer City
See also List of counties in Kansas List of townships in Kansas List of cities in Kansas List of unincorporated communities in Kansas List of census-designated places in Kansas Lists of places in Kansas Kansas locations by per capita income Kansas census statistical areas Kansas license plate county codes
References
External links Kansas Dead Town List The Kansas Historical Society has a list of the Kansas "Dead Towns" online. These lists are detailed in books available at the Society in Topeka. Lost Kansas Communities Project from the Chapman Center For Rural Studies at Kansas State University