10 Ghost Towns in America They Don't Want You to Find

In 1943, the US Army gave the families of two Washington towns thirty days to leave, and never told them why. They weren't the only Americans whose town was taken away. These are 10 American ghost towns that were burned, poisoned, swallowed, bought, or seized, and then quietly wiped off the map. Some you can still drive through. Some are behind fences. One is locked behind a chemical plant's security gate. You'll see Hanford and White Bluffs, seized for the atomic bomb; Centralia, where a mine fire has burned for more than 60 years; Hinkley, the Erin Brockovich town; Cheshire, Ohio, the village a power company bought; Bayou Corne, swallowed by a sinkhole; Reveilletown, founded by freed slaves and bulldozed for a chemical plant; Times Beach, poisoned by its own roads; Treece, the town that begged to be bought out; Love Canal, where a school was built on a chemical dump sold for one dollar; and Picher, Oklahoma, probably the most toxic town in America. Every date and number in this video was checked against at least two sources. Where only one source has a number, we say who it comes from. Is there a town near you that disappeared? Tell us in the comments. Chapters: 0:00 The secret towns the Army took in 1943 1:16 #1 Hanford & White Bluffs, Washington 3:46 #2 Centralia, Pennsylvania 6:15 #3 Hinkley, California 8:33 #4 Cheshire, Ohio 10:18 #5 Bayou Corne, Louisiana 12:08 #6 Reveilletown, Louisiana 14:08 #7 Times Beach, Missouri 16:13 #8 Treece, Kansas 17:58 #9 Love Canal, New York 20:32 #10 Picher, Oklahoma 22:58 The towns America would rather forget Sources: "Atomic Bomb Manufacturing Plant: Hanford Engineer Works" (US Army Signal Corps, 1945, National Archives 111-ADC-9866, public domain), US Department of Energy (hanford.gov), Yakima Herald-Republic, US EPA, National Weather Service Tulsa, NPR, Slate / Atlas Obscura, Voice of America, ABC News, Charleston Gazette, Mother Jones, WWNO, Louisiana Environmental Action Network, Lawrence Journal-World, KOAM News, University at Buffalo Love Canal archive, SUNY Geneseo, okfronline.com, and Wikipedia's articles on each town. Photo credits (Wikimedia Commons): Centralia Graffiti Highway - SPP1996, CC BY-SA 4.0 Fire under Centralia, Pennsylvania in December 2006 - Scott Drzyzga, CC BY 2.0 Centralia Warning Sign 2 - Lyndi & Jason, CC BY-SA 2.0 Centralia smoke rising - Jrmski (English Wikipedia), CC BY-SA 2.5 Centralia smoke rising b - Jrmski (English Wikipedia), CC BY-SA 2.5 Detail Hinkley protest sign - Alison Cassidy, CC BY-SA 4.0 Cheshire OH 2004 - Analogue Kid (English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5 Chesire Ohio 2025 - JECWV, CC BY-SA 4.0 Gavin Power Plant - Analogue Kid (English Wikipedia), CC BY 2.5 Locals living on Bayou Corne, Assumption Parish, Louisiana - jc.winkler, CC BY 2.0 Pic from the canoe on Bayou Corne - jc.winkler, CC BY 2.0 Bayou Corne - jc.winkler, CC BY 2.0 Assumption Parish banner houses on Bayou Corne - jc.winkler, CC BY 2.0 Route 66 Times Beach visitor center - Mitchazenia, CC BY-SA 4.0 Times Beach Museum Building History - EagleScout2017, CC BY-SA 4.0 Route 66 to Times Beach - EagleScout2017, CC BY-SA 4.0 BNSF - Times Beach Bridge - EagleScout2017, CC BY-SA 4.0 Meramec River Route 66 bridge J421 - Kbh3rd, CC BY-SA 3.0 Love Canal site from Frontier Avenue, July 2023 - Mr. Matté, CC BY-SA 4.0 Love Canal site from 95th Street at Read Avenue, July 2023 - Mr. Matté, CC BY-SA 4.0 Lois Gibbs at NMU in Marquette, MI 10-15-10 (2) - Yoopernewsman, CC BY-SA 3.0 Chat pile near Picher, Okla. - Kpwa gok, CC BY-SA 3.0 Picher - Ole Miners Pharmacy (formulanone) - Flickr - formulanone, CC BY-SA 2.0 Statue of Picher High School Gorillas, Picher, Oklahoma - NevinThompson, CC BY-SA 4.0 U.S. Rte 69 at East 1st St, Picher, Oklahoma, looking south, August 2023 - NevinThompson, CC BY-SA 4.0 Picher, OK - Abandoned Houses - TheDoctorWho, CC BY-SA 4.0 Picher, Oklahoma - Robert Jones, CC BY-SA 4.0 Picher, Oklahoma youth soccer field - Robert Jones, CC BY-SA 4.0 White Castle and Plaquemine Ferries - Mcdonaat, CC BY-SA 3.0 Erin Brockovich - Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 Plaquemine, Louisiana - Elisa.rolle, CC BY-SA 4.0 Picher Water Tower (formulanone) - Flickr - formulanone, CC BY-SA 2.0 Picher Main Street - US69 (formulanone) - Flickr - formulanone, CC BY-SA 2.0 Calcite (Mid-Continent Mine, Treece, Kansas, USA) 1 - James St. John, CC BY 2.0 Other archival photos are public domain (US Army, Atomic Energy Commission, Department of Energy, National Park Service, US EPA, FEMA, NWS, Voice of America). Stock footage: Pexels. Some images were made with AI tools as illustrations. They are reconstructions, not real photos of these events. #ghosttowns #abandoned #americanhistory