15 Forgotten Towns Around The U.S. The Earth Swallowed Up
Sophia
Author
The legend of Atlantis has fascinated people throughout the ages. It’s hard to imagine an entire town swallowed by the Earth without any trace left behind, but this country is actually lousy with examples of underwater ghost towns and dissapearing communities. Read on to learn more about these remarkable places that have been wiped off the map.
Rawsonville was once located near modern-day Ypsilanti Charter Township, and was a thriving village during the 1830s. However, when the community failed to create a successful railroad service in the 1880s, the town began to decline. It was eventually drowned by the French Landing dam in 1925, and today Rawsonville sits beneath the surface of Belleville Lake.
The town of Old Linn Creek was completely covered by water by the damming of the Osage River in the 1920s. Founded in 1941, the town was once a steamboat hub and center of trade. Today, all that remains above the water is the local cemetery.
The town of Kane began life as a railroad shipping hub in 1912. Located just 12 miles east of Lovell, Kane’s ferry was once the only way to cross the Bighorn River. When the Yellowtail Dam was built in 1965, Kane was completely flooded. Today, the town is decaying beneath the water.
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In 1946, the town of Somerfield was flooded to make way for the Young Dam. Every once in a while, the water level in the dam becomes low enough that glimpses of this underwater ghost town can be seen. The historic 1818 US 40 bridge is one such rarely seen landmark.
Monument City was once located near present-day Huntington County. The town was only home to about 30 residents, and in 1965, Monument City was buried beneath the waves of the Salamonie Reservoir. However, a severe drought in 2012 revealed many of the original structures of the underwater ghost town.
The town of Birmingham had its heyday in the in the mid-1800s, when it was home to 322 people and did a bustling trade in shipping poultry, hickory nuts, and rabbits. In 1938, the town was flooded by the dam that created Kentucky lake. Today, some old building foundations can be seen when the water level drops.
This gold rush town was submerged by the creation of the Folsom Lake Reservoir in 1955. Founded in 1848 as a Mormon community, the island town was once home to over 2,500 residents. Recent archaeological finds in the area, including old masonry and personal belongings, have shed new light on the history of this drowned city.
Did you know about any of these forgotten towns around the U.S.? Do you know of any other long lost towns? Let us know!
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