List of ghost towns in Georgia (U.S. state)
Railroad sign for Constitution, in Dekalb County, which was absorbed into Atlanta
The following is an incomplete list of ghost towns in Georgia . 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.
Classification
Street in Livingston
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
Old powerhouse in High Falls
Neglected site
Only rubble left
Roofless building ruins
Buildings or houses still standing, but majority are roofless
Historic Seaborn Goodall House , all that remains in Jacksonboro
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
Semi abandoned site
Building or houses still standing
Buildings and houses largely abandoned
Few residents
Many abandoned buildings
Small populationNew Echota has been preserved as a museum
Building or houses still standing
Still a busy community
Smaller than its boom years
Population has decreased dramatically, to one fifth or less.
List
Name
County
Other names
Location
Settled
Abandoned
Current status
Remarks
Agnes
Lincoln
1889
1955[ 1]
A small Hamlet located away from waterways or railroads.[ 2]
Allatoona
Bartow
Lake Allatoona
1838[ 3]
1949[ 4]
Submerged
Flooded in the mid-1940s to create Lake Allatoona , today a recreational spot. In the 1980s, low water levels allowed remnants of the town to be visible from the water.[ 4]
Allon
Crawford
early 1800s
An industry town for the Atlanta Sand & Supply Company .[ 5]
Apalachee
Morgan
Florence
1889
1995
Abandoned
One of the earliest settlements in Morgan County.[ 6]
Apollo
Putnam
appeared on maps as late as 1955.[ 7]
Argo
Fannin
Armstrong
Wilkes
Auraria
Lumpkin
Dean, Deans, Nuckollsville, Scuffle Town
settled during the Georgia Gold Rush but declined after the California Gold Rush and Colorado Gold Rush .
Barnett Shoals
Oconee
1995
a mill town dissolved in 1995.[ 8]
Beech Hill
Wilkinson
Belle Vista
Glynn
Bender
Laurens
Bethany
Baker
Neglected
Contains the collapsing remains of many buildings and stores.[ 9]
Bingham
Jeff Davis
Birdford
Tattnall
Bladen
Glynn
Blountsville
Jones
heavily damaged by the Civil War and never recovered.[ 10]
Brasstown
Towns
former Cherokee village.[ 11]
Broomtown
Chattooga
Burnt Fort
Camden
Burton
Rabun
1919
Submerged
flooded to create Lake Burton in 1919.[ 12]
Ceylon
Camden
Cement
Bartow
2 miles north of Kingston
Abandoned
Centerville
Charlton
Cheevertown
Baker
1882[ 13]
Christopher
Chattahoochee
Cole City
Dade
Cole
1995
a settlement founded near the mouth of the Dade Coal Company coal mine .[ 14] [ 15]
Colerain
Camden
Conasauga
Gilmer
a Cherokee settlement that was overtaken by European-Americans and later abandoned for larger towns.[ 16]
Constitution
DeKalb
1952
Absorbed
absorbed into Atlanta in 1952.
Corinth
Sumter County
12 miles east of Americus
Clyde
Bryan
Formerly the county seat of Bryan County.[ 17]
Dewsville
Baker
Doctortown
Wayne
Due
Fannin
Ebenezer
Effingham
Semi-abandoned
Today, the Jerusalem Lutheran Church is the only building in use.
Eelbeck
Chattahoochee
An old Cherokee settlement
Etowah
Floyd
Fairview
Chattooga
Floydtown
Miller
Ford
Bartow
Fowlstown
Decatur
settled and abandoned twice.
Franklinville
Lowndes
Gaillard
Crawford
1951
A railroad community that died after the closure of the rail line.[ 5]
Gerber
Walker
Grantville
Greene
Greenbush
Walker
Grisworldville
Jones
Largely destroyed in 1864 during the American Civil War .[ 18]
High Falls
Monroe County
High Falls State Park contains the abandoned industrial town of High Falls.[ 19]
Huguenot
Elbert
Hardwicke
Bryan
1754
Jacksonboro
Screven
Abandoned/historic
Houses the historic Seaborn Goodall House .[ 20]
Jamestown
Chattahoochee
Johntown
Dawson
Kite
Johnson
Abandoned, Decaying Downtown/Very low population
Knoxville
Crawford
Semi-abandoned
Population decreased as the railroads extended.[ 5]
Lang
Carroll
Laingkat
Decatur
Land Cat
Ligon
Bartow
Livingston
Floyd
Mimsville
Baker
ca. 1880[ 21]
1914[ 21]
New Bridge
Lumpkin
New Echota
Gordon
1830s
Historic
The capital city of the Cherokee Nation until their forced removal in the 1830s.
New Savannah
Augusta-Richmond
ca. 1740
A former Chickasaw settlement which became a tobacco town, waning with the tobacco industry in the early 19th century.
Oketeyeconne
Clay
Submerged
A former unincorporated town along the Chattahoochee River that was flooded to create Walter F. George Lake .[ 22]
Olympia
Lowndes
Oscarville
Forsyth
1912
Submerged
Flooded during the formation of Lake Lanier . In 1912, it was the site of a lynching which prompted the removal of all black residents.[ 23]
Owensbyville
Heard
Petersburg
Elbert
a tobacco town that was the third largest city in Georgia between 1800 and 1810.[ 24]
Recovery
Decatur
Roanoke
Stewart
1836
Raided by Creek Indians in 1836 and never rebuilt.[ 25]
Rollo
Crawford
early 1800s
An industry town for the Atlanta Sand & Supply Company .[ 5]
San Barnard
Worth
the county seat in the 1850s.[ 26]
Scull Shoals
Greene
Originally settled in the early 19th century to use the rapids to power watermills . By the 1880s, erosion upstream had halted this industry.[ 27]
Shackelton
Chattooga
1909
1920s
Mining community formed in 1909 and abandoned after the mines closed in the 1920s.[ 28]
Socrates
Monroe County
Starkville
Lee
1995
A cemetery remains at the site.[ 29]
Sunbury
Liberty
1864
lost much of its population to natural disaster and trading competition by the mid 19th century. In 1864, the remaining town was destroyed during Sherman's March to the Sea .
Sweden
Pickens
Tarver
Echols
Tatum
Dade
Taylors Creek
Liberty
1940s
Evicted
evacuated in the 1940s to make room for a military installation.[ 30]
Thalmann
Glynn
In 1979, a train stop in Thalmann was rerouted through Jesup ,[ 31] causing the community to decline.
Trader's Hill
Charlton
The first county seat in Charlton County.[ 32]
Treat
Haralson (located partially in Polk County)[ 33]
Troupville
Lowndes
c. 1900
largely abandoned by the end of the 19th century, after railroad traffic in nearby Valdosta drew away most of the town's residents.[ 34]
Visage
Towns
Walnut
Lumpkin
Warsaw
McIntosh
Westlake
Twiggs
Willie
Liberty
1940s
Evicted
evacuated in the 1940s to make room for a military installation.[ 35]
Wisdoms Store
Harris
Woodstown
Henry
Wynns Mill
Henry
Youngcane
Union
Zirkle
Pierce
1926
Died out following the closure of the sawmill in 1926.[ 36]
See also
References
^ "Lincoln County" . Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved September 6, 2017 .
^ Candler, Allen Daniel; Evans, Clement Anselm (1906). Georgia: Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons . State historical association. p. 29 .
^ "Allatoona – Etowah Valley Historical Society" . Retrieved May 2, 2019 .
^ a b winecoff (March 14, 2013). "History Of Allatoona Lake" . Lake Allatoona Association . Retrieved May 2, 2019 .
^ a b c d "Q&A with Victoria Simmons author of "Vanished Towns Revisited: Crawford County and Byron, Georgia" " . The Telegraph . May 28, 2015. Retrieved February 27, 2023 .
^ "Apalachee Historical Marker" . www.hmdb.org . Retrieved February 27, 2023 .
^ "Putnam County, 1955" . Rand McNally Map of Georgia, 1955 . GeorgiaInfo. Retrieved March 31, 2018 .
^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF) . Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-915430-00-2 .
^ Baker County Historical Society (1991). The History of Baker County . Newton, Baker County, Georgia, USA: Baker County Historical Society. pp. 54–69. LCCN 92080765 .
^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF) . Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 21. ISBN 0-915430-00-2 .
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Brasstown (historical)
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Burton (historical)
^ "Post Offices" . Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved April 7, 2018 .
^ Acts Passed by the General Assembly of Georgia . J. Johnston. 1873. p. 127.
^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF) . Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 48. ISBN 0-915430-00-2 .
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Conasauga (historical)
^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF) . Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 46. ISBN 0-915430-00-2 .
^ "Griswoldville" . American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved January 2, 2019 .
^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF) . Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 108. ISBN 0-915430-00-2 .
^ "The Goodall House" . GA Historical Society. Retrieved January 7, 2019 .
^ a b "Post Offices" . Jim Forte Postal History. Retrieved March 17, 2019 .
^ "Oketeyeconne, Georgia GA Community" . Georgia Hometown Locator. Retrieved July 5, 2011 .
^ "The truth behind Oscarville and the violent removal of Black residents from Forsyth County years before Lake Lanier was built" .
^ (Jones Jr. 1878:233-239)
^ Sherwood, Adiel (1837). A Gazetteer of the State of Georgia . P. Force. p. 219.
^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF) . Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 197. ISBN 0-915430-00-2 .
^ Coulter, E Merton (March 1964). "Scull Shoals: An Extinct Georgia Manufacturing and Farming Community". The Georgia Historical Quarterly . 48 (1): 33–63. ISSN 0016-8297 .
^ "Chattooga County" . Calhoun Times . September 1, 2004. p. 38. Retrieved April 24, 2015 .
^ Gosa, John. "Former Lee County seat now ghost town" . Retrieved November 15, 2017 .
^ "Fort Stewart" . New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved June 30, 2019 .
^ Thalmann, Georgia Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF) . Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 230. ISBN 0-915430-00-2 .
^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Treat (historical)
^ "Letter From Valdosta" . Savannah Morning News . Savannah, Georgia. May 5, 1874.
^ "The town of Willie, Georgia. It is in the Hinesville Army camp area and is being evacuated" . Library of Congress. Retrieved June 30, 2019 .
^ Krakow, Kenneth K. (1975). Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (PDF) . Macon, GA: Winship Press. p. 261. ISBN 0-915430-00-2 .