List of ghost towns in Oklahoma

This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in Oklahoma, United States of America, including abandoned sites.

Autwine, in Kay County, Oklahoma.

Picher, in Ottawa County, Oklahoma.

Classification

Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have any trace of civilization and have reverted to pasture land or empty fields. Other sites are unpopulated but still have standing buildings. Some sites may even have a sizable, though small population, but there are far fewer citizens than in its grander historic past.

Barren site

• Sites no longer in existence
• Sites that have been destroyed
• Covered with water
• Reverted to pasture
• May have a few difficult to find foundations/footings at most

Neglected site

• Only rubble left
• Roofless building ruins
• Buildings or houses still standing, but majority are roofless

Abandoned site

Only traces remain of Grand, the county seat of Old Day County.

• 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

Many of these communities played important roles in the history, settlement, and growth of the state. Platted town sites organized by railroads, speculators, or the government during the opening of Oklahoma, many times, failed to prosper after initial settlement. Other communities grew up around rural schools, post offices, or general stores, and faded away when the attracting facilities closed. Several important Indian settlements developed around frontier forts, trading posts, Indian agencies, or where natural resources attracted permanent dwellings and dissolved when the Indian lands were opened. Oil boom towns also sometimes attracted thousands of people but disappeared when the boom ended. Abandoned sites in Oklahoma are almost always located on private, state, tribal, or federal land, and trespassing laws apply.

Semi abandoned site

• Building or houses still standing
• Buildings and houses largely abandoned
• few residents
• many abandoned buildings
• Small population

Historic community

• Building or houses still standing
• Still a busy community
• Smaller than its boom years
• Population has decreased dramatically, to one fifth or less.

Ghost towns

Town name	Other name(s)	County	Established	Disestablished	Current status	Remarks
Aaron[1]		Jackson	1899	1905
Abbott[2]		Pushmataha	1897	1899
Acme[3][4]		Grady	1911	1930	Neglected site	Grew around the Acme Cement and Plaster Company mill and power plant.
Adamson[3]		Pittsburg	ca 1906		Semi-abandoned	Former coal mining town in eastern Oklahoma
Addington[3]		Jefferson	1890s	present	Historic community
Agawam[4][5]		Grady	1909	1919
Alhambra[4]		Johnston	1896	1904	Barren site
Alluwe[3]	Lightning Creek	Nowata	1872	1950s	Barren site	Founded by the Delaware Indians. Moved to New Alluwe after the creation of the Oologah Reservoir.
Alpha[3]		Kingfisher	1893	1903	Abandoned
Alsuma		Tulsa	1906	1926	Semi-abandoned	Pre-statehood community, annexed by Tulsa in 1966[6]
America[3][4][7]		McCurtain	1903	1944	Neglected site
Antioch[5]		Garvin	1895	1932
Arthur[5]		Stephens	1890	1934	Barren site
Autwine[3]	Pierceton, Arta, Virginia City	Kay	1894	1930	Barren site
Avard[3]		Woods	1904	still present	Semi-abandoned site
Avery[3][4]	Mound City	Lincoln	1902	1957	Neglected site
Avoca	Asher	Pottawatomie	1894	1906
Bailey[8]		Grady	1892	1932
Baker		Beaver
Bathsheba[4][9]		Garfield
Beck[4]		McIntosh
Beer City[3][4][9][10]	White City	Texas	1888	1890	Barren site
Bell[11][12]		LeFlore	1891	1897	Abandoned
Benton[3][4]		Beaver	1880s	1920	Barren site
Bernice[3][4]	Needmore	Delaware	1880s	1941	Barren site	Original site flooded by Grand Lake o' the Cherokees.
Bethel[12]		Grant	1895	1895		Still exists
Bickford[3][10]		Blaine	1904	1927	Barren site	Site occupied by Roman Nose State Park
Big Canyon[5]	Arbuckle	Murray		1961
Big Cedar[3]	Bigcedar	LeFlore	1903	1943
Bismark	Wright, Wright City, Oklahoma	McCurtain	1909	1920	Historic community	Name changed in 1920 because of anti-German sentiment in WWI.
Blackburn[3][4]		Pawnee	1893	1960	Semi-abandoned site
Boggy Depot[3][4][5][10]	Old Boggy Depot	Atoka	1837	1883	Barren site	Site occupied by Boggy Depot State Park
Bookertee[8]		Okfuskee				All black town.
Box		Cleveland			Barren site	Cemetery still exists
Braithwaite[4]		Washita	1910	1923
Bridgeport[3][4][5]		Caddo	1890s	present	Semi-abandoned site
Brinkman[3][4]		Greer	1910	1965	Abandoned site
Bromide[3][4]	Juanita, Zenobia[13]	Coal, Johnston	1905	present	Historic community
Burke City[10]		Okfuskee
Button Springs[4]		Johnston
Byron[1][14]		Alfalfa	1898	present	Historic community	Population as of 1910 census: 286. Population as of 2010 census: 35.
Canadian Colored[8]						All black town.
Cardin[15]		Ottawa	1913	2010	Abandoned site	Part of Tar Creek Superfund site. 2010 Population (prior to federal buyout): 3.
Carpenter[4]		Roger Mills
Carter Nine		Osage	1920	1967	Abandoned site
Catesby		Ellis
Cayuga[3][4]		Delaware	1884	1913	Semi-abandoned site
Center[3]		Pontotoc	1880s	1900	Semi-abandoned site	Destroyed by fire. Old site 1/2 mile north of new community of Center, Oklahoma.
Centralia[3][4]	Lucas[13]	Craig	1898	ca. 1929	Semi-abandoned site
Cestos[3][4]		Dewey	1898	1923	Semi-abandoned site
Chahta Tamaha[3][16]	Armstrong Academy	Bryan	1844	1883	Barren site	Former capital of the Choctaw Nation
Chant		Haskell		1922		Merged into McCurtain, Oklahoma[17]
Charleston[11]		Harper			Abandoned
Chase[8]	Beland	Muskogee				All black town[18]
Cheek[4]
Cherokee Town[3][4]		Garvin	1874	1877	Barren site
Chism[4]		McClain
Chisholm Spring		Pottawatomie	1847	1862	Abandoned site
Citra[4]		Hughes
Clarkson[12]		Payne			Abandoned
Clebit[10]						A logging camp of the Dierks Lumber Company
Clemscott[5]		Carter				An oil camp in the Healdton Oil Field.
Cline		Beaver	1894	1948	Barren site
Cloud Chief[3][4][10]	Tacola	Washita	1892	1964	Semi-abandoned site	Former county seat of Washita County.
Cohn		Pushmataha
Cold Springs[3][4]		Kiowa	1903		Barren site	Cleared for Tom Steed Reservoir.
Conditville[5]		Stephens
Cooperton[3][4]		Kiowa	1903	still present	Semi-abandoned site
Corbett[3][4]		Cleveland	1893	1930s	Neglected site
Corner[10]		Pottawatomie	1903	1906
Cornish		Jefferson
Cowboy Flats[4]	Campbell, Pleasant Valley	Logan
Cox City[5]		Grady	1927	1964
Crawford[3]		Roger Mills
Cromwell[3]		Seminole
Cross[3][4][10]		Kay
Crum Creek		Pushmataha
Dawson[4]		Tulsa	1949			Annexed by the City of Tulsa.
Denoya[10]	Whizbang	Osage	1921	1942	Abandoned site
Devol[3]		Cotton
Dillard[4]		Carter
Diamond		Haskell			Barren site
Doaksville[3][4][12]		Choctaw	1847	1903	Barren site	Choctaw capital from 1850-1863.
Doby Springs[3][12]	Bellaire	Harper	1907	1922	Abandoned
Douglas City[3]		Oklahoma	1894			Black community
Douthat[4]	Century	Ottawa			Neglected site
Downs[3]		Kingfisher	1889	1900	Barren	town moved south, now known as Cashion
Driftwood[1][19]		Alfalfa	1898	present	Historic community	Unincorporated as of 1980 census. Abandoned businesses cleaned up. Church, cemetery, and a few homes remain.
Eagle[3]	Eagle Town, Eagletown	McCurtain
Eagle City[3][4]	Dillon	Blaine	1902	1971
Earlsboro[3]		Pottawatomie
Eddy[4][9][10]		Kay
Emet		Johnston
Empire[4]		Stephens
Eram		Okmulgee
Erin Springs[5]		Garvin
Eschiti[10][3]	Eschite	Tillman
Eubanks		Pushmataha	1907	1924
Eva		Texas			Abandoned Site
Fallis[3][4]	Mission	Lincoln	1892		Abandoned site
Fame[4]		McIntosh
Fennell[4]		Choctaw
Ferguson[8]						All black town.
Fisher[4]	Fisher's Bottom, Fisherman's Bottom	Tulsa
Fleetwood[3][4]		Jefferson
Floris		Beaver
Fonda[1]		Dewey			Abandoned Site	Little Robe Township in 1920 census
Foraker[3][4][9]		Osage	1903
Foss[3] [5][20]		Washita	1900		Semi-abandoned
Fowlerville[4]		McCurtain
Francis[3][4]	Newton[4][13]	Pontotoc			Historic community
Frazer[3][4]		Jackson				Relocated to higher ground and renamed Altus
Frisco[3]	Veteran City	Canadian
Garnetville[4]		Oklahoma	1892
Gas City[5]		Stephens
Gate		Beaver			Historic community
Gee		Pushmataha	1909	1911	Abandoned site
Gene Autry[3][5]	Lou, Dresden, Berywn	Carter	1883	present
Gibson Station[8]		Wagoner				All black town.
Glenwood[4]		Oklahoma
Gotebo[4]		Kiowa			Semi-abandoned site
Grand[3][4][7][12]		Ellis	1892	1943	Abandoned site	Second county seat of Day County, first seat of Ellis County.
Gray Horse[3]		Osage
Gumbo Pit[4][9]		Oklahoma
Hale[11]		Tulsa			Abandoned
Hanson[3][4]		LeFlore				Flooded by Arkansas River.
Harrison[12]		Sequoyah	1908	1912	Abandoned
Helsel[4]		Cleveland
Hext[4]		Beckham	1901	1902		Along historic Route 66.
Hochatown[3]		McCurtain
Hockerville[4]		Ottawa	1916		Neglected site
Holder[4]
Hollister[4]		Tillman
Hope[4]		Stephens
Hough		Texas
Hoxbar[5]		Carter
Humphreys[4]		Jackson			Semi-abandoned site
Huntville[5]		Kingfisher			Barren site
Indianapolis[4]		Grady			Abandoned site
Independence[3][4][9]		Custer	1892	1922	barren site	Town missed the railroad and moved to Custer City
Ingalls[3][4][7][9]	Signet[21]	Payne	1889	1907
Ingersoll[3][4][10]		Alfalfa	1901	1942	Abandoned site	Post office closed December 31, 1942.
Ioland		Ellis	1894	1908	Abandoned site	First seat of Day County, Oklahoma (now defunct), Only Cemetary Remains Visable.
Iron Post[4]		Creek
Jefferson[3][4]		Grant		1887
Jennings[4]		Pawnee
Jester[4]		Greer
Johns		Pushmataha
Jumbo[10][3]		Pushmataha	1906			Named for Jumbo Asphalt Company.
Kaw City[3]		Kay
Kell City[10]
Kenton[3]	Carrizo, Florence	Cimarron	1893		Semi-Abandoned Site
Keokuk Falls[3][4][7][9][10]		Pottawatomie	1892	1918
Keystone[3][4][9][10]	Appalachia	Pawnee		ca 1958	Abandoned Site	Flooded by Keystone Lake; construction begun in 1958.
Kiamichi		Pushmataha
Kibby[4]		Harper
Knowles[3]	Sands City	Beaver
Kosoma[10][3]		Pushmataha	1888	1854
Kusa[4]		Okmulgee	1916	1936
Lacey[4]		Kingfisher	1890	1909
Lake Creek[4]	Greer
La Kemp[4]	Lakemp	Beaver	1909	1919
Lawrie[3]		Logan
Lehigh[3][4]		Coal	1882	still present	Semi-abandoned site	Former county seat of Coal County.
Lenna[4]
Lenora[3]	Lanora	Dewey			Semi-abandoned
Liberty[8][12]		Noble	1893		Abandoned	All black town.
Little Chief		Osage
Lima		Seminole			Semi Abandoned Site
Lodi[3]		Latimer
Logan[3]		Beaver
Lone Pine[4]		Osage
Lone Star[4]	Lonestar	Custer	1895	1904
Loveland[3]	Harriston	Tillman	1908		Semi-abandoned site
Lovell[3]	Perth	Logan	1889	1957
Lugert[3][9][10]		Jackson	1902	1950		Cleared for Lake Altus-Lugart Reservoir
Lyceum		Pushmataha
Lyman[4]		Osage
Manning		Pittsburg
Magee[4]		Garvin
Marina[4]		Payne
Marshall Town[8]						All black town.
Mayes[3]		Adair	1883	1896	Abandoned site	Formed around Flint Courthouse, Flint District, Cherokee Nation.
Maxwell[4]
Meers[3][4][5][9][10]		Comanche	1902		Abandoned site
Miller Court House[16]		McCurtain	1824	1838	Abandoned	Originally in Miller County, Arkansas before boundary was redrawn.
Milton[3]	Needmore	LeFlore	1870	1950s	Neglected site	Site of the Milton Colony.
Mineral[3]	Mineral City	Cimarron	1886	1911
Moral[10]
Mouser[3]		Texas	1928
Navajoe[7][3]		Jackson	1887
New Spring Place[4]
Newby[4]		Creek
New Tulsa	Oak Grove	Wagoner	1968	2001	Historic community	Absorbed by Broken Arrow
Nicksville[3][4]		Sequoyah	1828	1829		Former county seat of Lovely County, Arkansas. Site of Dwight Mission.
Nicut		Sequoyah
Nolia		Pushmataha	1912	1920
Non[3]	Cannon	Hughes	1901	1954	Abandoned site
North Fork[8][10][3]	North Fork Town, Micco		1836	ca 1886		Established by Mvskoke Creeks in 1836 part of the Eufaula District of the Creek Nation.
Numa		Grant	1898	1943	Abandoned site
Oakdale[4]
Oak Wall[4]
Oil City[5]	Wheeler	Carter	1886	1930		A Healdton Oil Field camp.
Old Agency Village[3]	The Red Store	Comanche
Old Kaw City[10]
Olney	Parmicho[13]	Coal
Omega[5]		Kingfisher
Orr[3][4]		Love	1892	1957	Neglected site
Owen		Washington
Park Hill[3]		Cherokee
Parkland[4]		Lincoln	1894		Historic community
Parkersburg[3][10]		Custer	1901	1906	Barren site	100 buildings moved into Clinton
Parr[5]		Grady	1883
Pavilion[5]		Murray
Pawpaw[3]	Paw Paw	Sequoyah	1882	1915	Abandoned
Perryville[10]		Pittsburg	ca 1849	1943	Abandoned	Burned after a Civil War engagement in 1863; never regained its former population or importance.
Phroso[3]		Major	1900	1937	Neglected site
Picher[3][4]		Ottawa	1915	2009	Abandoned	Large zinc mining town.
Pine Valley[3][10]		LeFlore	1926	1953	Neglected site
Piney[3]	Piney CDP	Adair	1824	1940	Historic community	Cherokee Nation (1794–1907) "Head Town" (re: 'informal capital') from 1824-1828.
Pleasant Valley[3]	Campbell	Logan
Prot[3][4]		Washita	1901
Provine[4][9]
Pumpkin Center		Oklmulgee
Pyramid Corners
Quay[3]	Lawson	Pawnee and Payne	1894	2000	Semi-abandoned site
Quinlan[3]		Woodward
Radium Town[4][9]		Rogers			Historic community	Absorbed by Claremore
Redden		Atoka	1903	1954	Barren site
Reed[3]		Greer	1892		Semi-abandoned site
Reeding
Reno City[3]		Canadian	1889	1899	Barren site	Started in hopes railroad would arrive. When railroad went to El Reno instead, town was abandoned.
Richards Spur		Comanche			Semi-abandoned site
Rodney		Pushmataha	1890	1899
Ron[3]		Harmon
Roxana[4][9]		Logan	1927
Roy Rogers[4]
Sacred Heart[3][4]		Pottawatomie	1879	1954
San Bernardo[4][7]	Petersburg	Jefferson
Sante Fe[3][4]
Sardis[10]		Pushmataha	1905	ca 1980	Abandoned site	Flooded by construction of Lake Sardis
Scipio[4]		Pittsburg
Scratchout		Sequoyah
Shamrock[4][20]		Creek	1910	2010		There is still a historical museum
Short		Sequoyah
Silver City[3]		Creek
Skedee[4]		Pawnee	1902			Population of 51 in 2010; formerly called Lemert
Smackover[5]		Kay			Barren site
Stecker[4]		Caddo
Sumpter[4]		Kay
Stuart[4]		Hughes
Tahlonteeskee		Sequoyah	1828		Barren site
Texanna[4]		McIntosh	1839
Texola[4][20]	Texokla, Texoma, Beerola.	Beckham				On old Route 66.
Three Sands[3][4][10]		Kay, Noble
Trousdale[4]		Pottawatomie
Tuskegee[4]		Creek
Tussy		Carter and Garvin
Uncas[4]		Kay
Violet Springs[10]		Pottawatomie
Washunga[4]		Kay
Warwick[20]		Lincoln
Webb[4]		Dewey			Semi-abandoned site
Wellston Colony[8]		Lincoln				All black town.
Wheeless		Cimarron
White Bead[3][5]		Garvin
Whizbang	Denoya	Osage	1921	1942	Abandoned site
Wildman[3][4]		Kiowa
Wirt[3][4]	Ragtown	Carter	1913	present		Incorporated into Healdton.
Witcher[4]		Oklahoma
Wolf[4]		Seminole			Semi-abandoned site
Womack[4]		McClain	1899	1909	Barren site
Woodford[3][4][5]	Bywater	Carter
Woodville[22]	Old Woodville	Marshall		1944	Barren site	Covered by Lake Texoma|
Wybark[8]		Muskogee				All black town.[18]
Yewed[3][4][9]		Alfalfa	1902	1952	Neglected site	Post office closed in 1952. Town had a population of 2 in 1977.
Yonkers[4]		Wagoner	1913	1935	Abandoned site	Submerged by Fort Gibson Dam and Reservoir.[23]
Zena[4]		Delaware		1956	Semi-abandoned site	Zena had a population of 123 in 2010.
Zincville[4]	St. Louis	Ottawa	1917	1954	Abandoned site	Former mining town between Picher and Hockerville.[24]
Zoraya		Pushmataha	1905	1930	Barren site	Former Choctaw town; post office closed October 31, 1919. Only remnant is Zoraya cemetery.

See also

• History of Oklahoma
• List of cities in Oklahoma
• List of towns in Oklahoma
• List of unincorporated communities in Oklahoma
• List of Census Designated Places in Oklahoma

References

1. Shirk, George (1987). Oklahoma Place Names. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-2028-7.
2. Shirk, George B., Oklahoma Place Names, p. 3; Post Office Site Location Reports, Record Group 28, National Archives
3. Morris, John (1977). Ghost Towns of Oklahoma. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. p. 229. ISBN 978-0-8061-1420-0.
4. "Ghost Towns of Oklahoma". Ghost Towns. Atjeu Publishing. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
5. "Ghost and Almost Ghost Towns of Oklahoma". Retrieved May 10, 2009.
6. "Alsuma: The Town That Disappeared From Southeast Tulsa." Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine Arnett, David. GTR Newspapers. March 30, 2007. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
7. Etter, Jim (May 1, 1996). Ghost-Town Tales of Oklahoma: Unforgettable Stories of Nearly Forgotten Places. Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States of America: New Forums Press. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-913507-74-2.
8. "Historic All-Black Towns in Oklahoma". African-American Resource Center. Tulsa City-County Library. Archived from the original on April 14, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
9. "Ghost Towns, Oklahoma (History)". Ghost Towns. Online Highways. 2008. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
10. Wilson, Linda. "Ghost Towns". Oklahoma Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
11. United States Geological Survey. Geographic Names Information System. (accessed February 11, 2007)
12. Shirk, George H. Oklahoma Place Names. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987: ISBN 0-8061-2028-2
13. Grant, Foreman (September 1928). "Early Post Offices of Oklahoma". Chronicles of Oklahoma. 6 (3). Retrieved June 8, 2009.
14. Everett, Dianna. "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Byron". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Byron. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
15. Everett, Dianna. "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Cardin". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Cardin. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
16. Oklahoma Historical Society. Chronicles of Oklahoma. (accessed February 11, 2007)
17. Hyder, Glenn O. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "McCurtain." Retrieved February 16, 2014.
18. [ Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "Muskogee County."]
19. Everett, Dianna. "Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Alfalfa County. Oklahoma History Center. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
20. "Route 66 Ghost Towns". Legends of America. www.legends of america.com. 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2009.
21. McRill, Leslie. "Old Ingalls: The Story of a Town that Will Not Die." Archived 2006-09-05 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved September 16, 2014.
22. KTEN. Hair, Kris. "Secrets of the Lake: Old Woodville." November 2, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
23. "Yonkers Was Also An Area Ghost Town." Harris, Phil. Muskogee Sunday Phoenix & Times Democrat. May 23, 1976. Retrieved July 26, 2014.
24. "Zincville"

Further reading

• Berry, Shelley, Small Towns, Ghost Memories of Oklahoma: A Photographic Narrative of Hamlets and Villages Throughout Oklahoma's Seventy-seven Counties (Virginia Beach, Va.: Donning Company Publishers, 2004).
• Blake Gumprecht, "A Saloon On Every Corner: Whiskey Towns of Oklahoma Territory, 1889-1907," The Chronicles of Oklahoma 74 (Summer 1996).
• Carson, Mary. Guide to Treasure in Oklahoma Volume 1. 144.
• Shirk, George (1987). Oklahoma Place Names. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 0-8061-2028-2.
• "Ghost Towns," Vertical File, Research Division, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City.

External links

• View Ghost Towns in Google Maps
• Map of Ghost Towns in Oklahoma
• Oklahoma Ghost Towns
• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Ghost Towns
• Abandoned Oklahoma