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Dust in the Wind -

A Guide to American Ghost Towns

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In 1791, the State of Vermont became the 1^st of the “non-13 Colonies” to join the Union.  As the 14^th state, that gives it a unique part in our nation’s history. The territory that eventually became Vermont was originally settled in the 1600s by French and English settlers, and was a part of New York. 

During the French & Indian, Revolutionary and 1812 wars, Vermont was very active in the conflicts.  A large number of forts and other military posts were established in Vermont, and after the various conflicts ended, were not longer needed.

Agriculture, iron furnaces, railroad expansion and logging also became big industries, and a number of communities based on those economies popped up around the state.  Mining was not a major industry, but enough mines did develop that a few mining camps and mining towns grew up and faded away as the mines pinched out.

Then there are the resorts and spas, which grew up around mineral springs. Vermont had well over 100 such locations, with nearly a third of them with hotels or bathhouses where folks could stay for a time while they “partook of the waters.”  Most of these locations are now abandoned, and mostly forgotten.

Over Vermont’s 300+ year history of settlement, many other towns grew up and died, adding many interesting and unique locations to the growing roster of ghosts that Ghost Town USA is out to discover and share.

If you know of any ghost towns in the Green Mountain State that are not listed here, or know the current status of towns listed with little information, please contact us…

PLEASE NOTE:  Where photos are indicated thusly (PHOTO!), please use your browser’s “BACK” button to return to this page.  More photos will be added over time.

AVERY'S GORE

Essex Co.

This community was in the northeast part of state, near Island Pond.  It was disenfranchised in 1963.

CALEDONIA SPRING HOUSE

Caledonia Co.

The exact location of this old Caledonia County resort is not determined.

CHIMNEY POINT TAVERN

Addison Co.

Jacobus de Warm of Albany, New York, established a short-lived outpost here in 1690.  In 1730 the French rebuilt it, renaming it Fort de Pieux.  By 1759 it was deserted. 250 years later, only cellar holes and rubble are said to remain.  Also located here is the Chimney Point Tavern, an 18th Century tavern that today acts as the interpretive center for the site.  It is located just off SH 17, eight miles southwest of Addison, at the south end of Lake Champlain, where the Champlain Bridge crosses to New York

FORT STE. ANNE

Grand Co.

This old French fort was located on West Shore Road, three miles north of the village of Isle la Motte, on Isle La Motte (island), in the northwest corner of Lake Champlain.  It was built in 1666 for protection against the Mohawk Indians. A small settlement grew up around the fort, and in 1670 the fort and town were burned by the Mohawks.

GLASTENBURY

Bennington Co.

All that remains of this old agricultural/charcoal town on the Appalachian Trail, ten AIR miles northeast of Bennington, are cellar holes and rubble.  At one time there was a hotel, charcoal kilns and a railroad line (1872-1894/8). Glastenbury was established in 1761, but growth was slow.  In 1840 only 53 people were counted in the census, and by 1880 it peaked at 241.  By the early 1930s it was abandoned.  In 1937 the town was officially declared “unorganized.”

This was our Ghost Town of the Month for Feb-Mar 2007.

KEENES CORNER

Unknown Co.

Exact location not determined.

MOSQUITOVILLE

Caledonia Co.

This old farming community is located in a marshy area south of Harvey Lake, two miles south of West Barnet, about 15 miles southwest of St. Johnsbury, east of Montpelier.  All that remains is overgrown cellar holes and rubble.

NORTH POMFRET

Windsor Co.

In 1990, 50 people lived in this class D small town located west of I-89, about ten miles northwest of the junction I-89/91.

PLYMOUTH FIVE CORNERS

Windsor Co.

Located near Plymouth, this little agricultural village was the focus of Vermont's 1850s era gold rush.  In 1855, a returning California gold miner panned for and found gold in Reading Pound Brook.  It wasn't a lot, and despite his secrecy, Reading Pound, Broad and Buffalo brooks were overrun with people looking for quick riches. 

The small rush around Plymouth Five Corners only lasted four years.  But what years they were.  The tiny community grew, had a gold mill and crusher as well as a couple hotels, and a wandering butcher.  By 1860 the nation's focus shifted to the increased tensions between the North and South, and Vermont gold was forgotten.  By 1884 it was just “a hamlet located in the eastern part of town” (Town of Plymouth). Little remains to mark the area where the village with two hotels once flourished.

PLYMOUTH UNION

Windsor Co.

In 1884, this was considered a post village, and consisted of two chair stretcher (what are these?) factories (George M. Whitney owned one, Sanderson & Sumner owned the other), a Methodist church, two hotels, mechanic shops, three stores, the Vermont Liberal Institute (school?) and about 100 people.

It is now a rural community located along the Black River in the western part of the Town of Plymouth.

POMFRET

Windsor Co.

About seven miles north of Woodstock.  In 1990 the population was 50

RICKER BASIN

Washington Co.

This old milling community was first established in 1783.  About all that remains are the foundations and cellar holes of a town that once had several homes, a church, school and three gristmills.  Most of the buildings that survived into the 1960s were torn down at that time.  The former site is located in a high basin near Waterbury Reservoir in Little River State Park. 

ROOKS MINE 

(AKA Fox Mine)

Windsor Co.

Located at Camp Plymouth in the Okemo Valley. 

In 1880 a group of miners returned to the Plymouth Five Corners area and traced placer gold in Buffalo Creek to its source in a vein high on the slope above the creek.  Two years later, the Rooks Mining Company was organized and the mine was in operation.  By 1884 the Rooks Mine was big news in the area, as it was producing $50/ton ore.  But all good things must end, and in 1887 the Rooks mine was bankrupt, and the gold rush was over.  In its later years the mine superintendent was Henry Fox, who lived there until 1919.

ROXBURY

Washington Co.?

Roxbury VT in the early 1800s was located on top of Cram Hill Rd.  The only way to get there is on an old mail route.  There are many old buildings and graveyards in the woods.  Also on the other side of town, behind the town office and about a half-mile down the railroad tracks, there is a pathway built through the middle of a large pond leading over the mountain to the Roxbury Marble Quarries.

Contributed by Dave (Oct 15, 2005)

(I found a Roxbury in Washington Co., with a 1990 population of 325.  Don’t know if it’s the same place.  I lost Dave’s E-mail address, so I couldn’t ask…SORRY Dave!...GBS)

SOMERSET

Windham Co.

Two folks lived here in 1990.  This old, abandoned farming community is nothing but memories and overgrown cellar holes.  It is located south of Somerset Reservoir, 12 miles northwest of Wilmington.

TYSON

(AKA - Tyson Furnace)

Windsor Co.

Also known as Tyson Furnace, this rural community is located on SH 100, at the south end of Echo Lake, five miles south-southeast of Plymouth, six miles north of Ludlow, at the southern end of the Town of Plymouth.  It is also the home for the still-operating, 1840 Echo Lake Inn.  Nearby Buffalo Brook is also the site of some MINOR glacial placer gold deposits.

In 1884 it had blacksmith (George W. Merrill), Addison Webster’s boarding house, Alonzo F. Hubbard & C. H. Scott’s cheese factory, A. F. Hubbard’s saw/grist/chair-stock mill, Amherst A. Sumner’’s grist/sawmill, harness maker (Simeon H. King), Tyson House hotel, two physician (Dr. Charles A. Scott, Dr. Henry Stickney), post office (John W. Stickney – Postmaster), public hall, John P. Aylward’s sawmill, schoolhouse, A. F. Hubbard & Willis P. Bowman’s store (dealing in boots, crockery, dry goods, groceries, hardware, shoes, stoves, tinware, etc.) and 75 people.

“While the iron forges have been all but erased by time, the town of Tyson is doing quite well.”

Contributed by Ted Lylis (May 26, 2006)

VERSHIRE COPPER MINE

(AKA – Ely Mine)

Orange Co.

“I recently went to the site of this (1880s copper) mine, it was listed in a Rockhounds Guide to Vermont.  It listed the name of the town as Copperfield.  There are still stone walls and ruins from the town and smelter.  It is located on SH 113A between West Fairlee and South Vershire.”

Contributed by Ethan Morin (Apr 19, 2006)

WHITINGHAM

Windham Co.

On SH 100, at the south end of the Harriman Reservoir, 11 miles south of Wilmington, in the southwest corner of county.

Historians estimate that there may be as many as 50,000 ghost towns scattered across the United States of America. Gary B. Speck Publications is currently in process of publishing unique state, regional, and county guides called The Ghost Town Guru's Guide to the Ghost Towns of *** ™

These original guides are designed for anybody interested in ghost towns. Whether you are a casual tourist looking for a new and different place to visit, or a hard-core ghost town researcher, these guides will be just right for you. With over 30 years of research behind them, they will be a welcome addition to any ghost towner's library.

Thank you, and we'll see you out on the Ghost Town Trail!

For more information on the ghost towns of VERMONT, contact us at Ghost Town USA.

E-mailers, PLEASE NOTE:

Due to the tremendous amount of viruses, worms and “spam,” out there, I no longer open or respond to any e-mails with unsolicited attachments, OR messages on the subject lines with “Hey”, “Hi”, “Need help”, “Help Please”, “???”, or blank subject lines, etc.  If you do send E-mail asking for information, or sharing information, PLEASE indicate the appropriate location AND state name, or other topic on the “subject” line. 

THANK YOU!  :o)

IMPORTANT

These listings and historical vignettes of ghost towns, near-ghost towns and other historical sites in VERMONT above are for informational purposes only, and should NOT be construed to grant permission to trespass, metal detect, relic or treasure hunt at any of the listed sites.

If the reader of this guide is a metal detector user and plans to use this guide to locate sites for metal detecting or relic hunting, it is the READER'S responsibility to obtain written permission from the legal property owners. Please be advised, that any state or nationally owned sites will probably be off-limits to metal detector use. Also be aware of any federal, state or local laws restricting the same.

When you are exploring the ghost towns of VERMONT, please abide by the

Ghost Towner's Code of Ethics.