This Haunting Road Trip Through Kentucky Ghost Towns Is One You Won't Forget

Our state is known for Mother Nature more than abandoned places, but quite a few of them exist. Some lie beneath the water at the bottom of a lake, others have degraded to where only a building or perhaps a lone cemetery still stand. We covered some of these lifeless communities in the past, but now we’ve created a ghost town road trip in Kentucky, just for fun. We even included a map that you can tweak to add your own location.

Here are 10 places to go on a ghost town road trip in Kentucky:

Google Maps

There are many former communities in Kentucky, and this tour will take you to some of the most famous. This road trip is interactive, so be sure to add your address in Google Maps to find the best route to take from your home.

10. Paradise

The beautiful community of Paradise, along the banks of the Green River, has been immortalized in song. The town was renowned for its beauty, until the coal plant came to town. Not long after the factory was built, residents found they were having rains of ash and other pollution issues. The town is all but gone now, but the area is still beautiful. Sadly, what primarily remains is the coal factory.

9. Gunpowder Creek (AKA, Sugartit)

This community in Boone County once stood between Florence and Union along KY Route 42. It was located near the creek, which is where it got one of its names. The other, Sugartit, was given by the wives of the men who once spent their days at the local general store. The spouses deemed the storefront gossip site as the place their husbands went for their daily sugartit. It was also once known as Pleasant Ridge, a fact that’s plain to see thanks to a landscape that’s still lovely to this day.

8. Boonesborough

Back in 1775, Boonesborough was the brainchild of Daniel Boone himself. The Natives decided the new neighbors weren’t welcome and ran them off in 1778. It took a while, but the community slowly became a small farming town again till around 1877, at which point it disappeared. The replica of the fort and buildings is well maintained so visitors can actually see this real ghost town at Fort Boonesborough.

7. Lawton Mushroom Mine

This abandoned limestone mine town in Carter County was once home to an old brick yard and mushroom mine. A few families still live scattered in the area, but the town itself is pretty much gone. The old mines still stand, along with the general store and some old tracks. What remains can be found is located past the DeHarts Bible and Tire Store.

Google

Once located around 1.3 miles from Bedford, this Trimble Country ghost town was named after a nearby creek. The creek was a source of life and food for residents, so they deemed the town Barebone. Not much is left but a few crumbles and fragments of what was once a thriving little community.

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This McCreary County coal mining town was one of many coal mining camps in Kentucky. It became a coal mining community in 1902. There was a huge coal fire some years later that toppled several of the local mines, causing the miners and their families to abandon the area. The remaining homes have been remodeled into "historic stays," for those visiting the area in 1984.

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National Archives

Crittenden County was once home to a town of miners that worked out of the Bells Mine. The workers built a small community with farmers during the 18th century. When the Civil War broke out, many of the residents abandoned their homes. The cemetery still stands holding generations of miners, farmers and their families. The old church remained until 2002, but was torn down.

Archives

This trapping, mining and farming community in Leslie County was home to over 500 members of the Whitehead clan, men, women and children. The town itself is gone, other than a little place called Redbird. The Dryfork Cemetery is also there, holding the Whitehead family as they slumber.

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Pike County is home to quite a few old coal towns, such as Jonican. This empty community is along Jonican Road and Jonican Branch, around 7.2 miles southeast of Pikeville. It is still shown on many country highway maps, and the old Levisa Junction Railroad Bridge, once used for mining still stands.

Archives

The actress, Patricia O’Neal was born in this little coal town. It is located in Whitley County, and was established in 1908. When the local coal business started to have problems in the mid 1900s, the town slowly became abandoned.

This ghost town road trip in Kentucky can be a lot of fun if you like history. Each one of the communities thrived before they faded away. Many of these only have a few foundations or cemeteries left, but the areas still hold an allure. If you’re longing for more abandoned places in Kentucky, you’ll want to pay a visit to places like the infamous Waverly Hills Sanatorium or the iconic Red Bridge.