List of ghost towns in Oklahoma

This article is about abandoned settlements in Oklahoma. For supposedly haunted places in Oklahoma, see List of reportedly haunted locations in the United States § Oklahoma.

The U.S. state of Oklahoma has an estimated two thousand ghost towns. These towns began for a number of reasons, often as liquor towns, boomtowns, or mining towns, with some pre-dating statehood. The population and activity later declined in these locations due to the exhaustion of natural resources, manmade or natural disasters, urbanization, the creation of a water source, or after being bypassed by highways and interstates.

Collection of maps from the ghost towns documented in Ghost Towns of Oklahoma (first seven images) and Here Today (final image)

These places vary in their current states with some having completely disappeared while others still have small communities. A small number have also gained notability for other reasons, such as being part of the Tar Creek Superfund Site, for existing in an unusual location, or for crimes. The earliest known ghost town in the state was said to have been one by 1839 while the latest were evacuated in 2010.

Contents

• Top
• History
• List of ghost towns
  

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• V
• W
• Y
• Z

• See also
• Notes
• References
• Further reading
• External links

History

Oklahoma is a U.S. state in the South Central region of the United States. It has the nation's twenty-eighth largest population and ranks twentieth in terms of land area in the United States.^[1] There are an estimated two thousand ghost towns within the state.^[2] Many of these sites emerged quickly for various reasons. Prior to statehood, these were often "liquor towns" (or "whiskey towns"), located in Oklahoma Territory which served alcohol to adjacent residents of Indian Territory, a then-dry territory. Similarly, towns in the Oklahoma panhandle (then called "No Man's Land") were a place for lawlessness where alcohol was also served to residents of the surrounding towns in Kansas and Texas where it was otherwise prohibited. In later years, after Oklahoma was admitted to the union, several boomtowns were established after the discovery of natural resources, such as oil or petroleum jelly. Several mining towns also took form when lead, zinc, gold, or coal was discovered.^[3][4][5][6]

Over time, these towns ceased to exist for a variety of reasons. Some towns diminished as the natural resources were exhausted and the population moved to other locations. The residents in other places frequently relocated to be closer to newly-laid railroad tracks, a post office, a water source, or larger cities. Some towns were abandoned when the townspeople were displaced after manmade and natural disasters such as tornadoes, fires (both wild and arson), floods, sinkholes, or being declared a superfund site. A number of places were also demolished to create artificial lakes and dams. In later years, many towns faded away when they were bypassed by the U.S. Numbered Highway System, and later the Interstate Highway System.^[3][4]

Ghost towns in Oklahoma have been extensively researched and documented in two books, both released by the University of Oklahoma Press: Ghost Towns of Oklahoma (1978) by John W. Morris and Here Today: Oklahoma's Ghost Towns, Vanishing Towns, and Towns Persisting Against the Odds (2024) by Jeffrey B. Schmidt. The definition of "ghost town" varies from author to author. Morris, for example, classified them as such if they met one of three criteria: places that no longer exist and have no physical evidence remaining, places in which structures remain but have been abandoned and are unused, or places where the population has decreased eighty percent or more from its peak.^[3][4]

Schmidt, meanwhile, had a lower threshold for population decline and placed listed towns into one of five specific categories—Barren Site, Neglected Site, Abandoned Site, Semi-Abandoned Site, or Historic Community—which are used as a methodology to describe the locations' then-statuses. While still covering historic communities in his book, Schmidt did not consider them to meet the criteria of a ghost town. Further definitions of what a ghost town is have been shaped by various other authors whose scope often extends outside of Oklahoma itself.^[4]

Oklahoma's ghost towns are in various states of existence. The locations of Autwine and Zincville, among others, have very little to no physical evidence remaining, such as ruins or foundations, and have been reverted for agricultural use. Other locations are similar to those of Gotebo and Warwick and may still have abandoned buildings or even a community that contains businesses, schools, or a local government, and in which citizens reside.^[7][8]

A few ghost towns have also become particularly notable in their own right for other reasons. For example, Picher has been referred to as the most toxic town in America,^[a] while residents in Texola were classified as both Oklahomans and Texans because the town was surveyed eight different times, often with different results about whether the area actually existed in Oklahoma or Texas.^[13] Kenton is known for being the only place in Oklahoma to observe Mountain Time^[14] and Shamrock rose to notoriety after it was discovered that local law enforcement were issuing illegal traffic tickets because they were not actually police officers to begin with.^[15]

List of ghost towns

• 
  Abandoned church building in Meridian, Oklahoma
• 
  Abandoned duplex housing units in Picher, Oklahoma, the most recent ghost town in Oklahoma
• 
  Abandoned convenience store with an attached gas station in Shamrock, Oklahoma
• 
  Abandoned high school in Skedee, Oklahoma
• 
  Abandoned restaurant and service station in Texola, Oklahoma

List of ghost towns in Oklahoma^[b]

Town	Other name(s)	County	Existed[c]		Current remnants/status	Ref(s).
			Incorporated	Dissolved
Academy	Armstrong Academy, Chahta Tamaha	Bryan	1844	c. 1921	Foundations and cemetery	[16]
Acme	—	Grady	1911	1930	Residences and ruins	[17]
Adamson	—	Pittsburg	c. early 1900s	1950	Residences and grocery stores	[18]
Addington	—	Jefferson	1901	c. 1930s	Businesses and abandoned structures	[19]
Afton	—	Ottawa	1886	1997	Small community and abandoned structures	[20][21]
Akins	—	Sequoyah	1894	1943	Few residents in an agricultural community	[22]
Aline	—	Alfalfa	1894	2000	Small community and abandoned structures	[23]
Alluwe	Lightning Creek	Creek	c. 1880s	c. 1950s	Current site of Oologah Lake	[24]
Alpha	—	Kingfisher	1893	1902	None	[25][26]
America	—	McCurtain	1907	1944	Current site of the Ouachita National Forest	[27][28]
Atwood	Newburg	Hughes	1897	1967	Small community and abandoned structures	[29]
Autwine	Virginia City	Kay	1899	1930	None	[30]
Avard	—	Woods	1904	2010	Restaurant, grain elevator, and abandoned structures	[31][32]
Avery	—	Lincoln	1902	1957	Residences and abandoned structures	[33]
Beer City	White City	Texas	1888	1890	Agricultural use	[34]
Benton	—	Beaver	c. early 1880s	1920	Agricultural use	[35]
Bernice	Needmore	Delaware	c. late 1880s	1941	Current site of Grand Lake o' the Cherokees	[36]
Bessie	—	Washita	1903	1950s	Small community	[37]
Bickford	—	Blaine	1904	1929	Current site of Roman Nose State Park	[38]
Bigheart[d]	—	Osage	1905	1921	Few structures	[39]
Big Cedar	Bigcedar	LeFlore	1903	1943	Gas stations and John F. Kennedy monument	[40]
Blackburn	—	Pawnee	1893	1960	Churches and abandoned structures	[41][42]
Boggy Depot	Old Boggy Depot	Atoka	1837	1883	Cemetery	[43]
Bridgeport	—	Caddo	1893	1909	Grocery store	[44]
Brinkman	—	Greer	1910	1974	None	[45]
Bromide	Juanita, Zenobia	Coal	c. early 1900s	1930	Grocery store	[46]
		Johnston
Brooksville	Lelian, Sewell	Pottawatomie	1909	1955	Residents and abandoned structures	[47]
Burke City	—	Okfuskee	1901	c. 1903	None, flooded by North Canadian River	[48]
Byars	—	McClain	1902	1964	Residences and abandoned buildings	[49]
Caney	—	Atoka	1879	1960	Small community	[50][51]
Cardin[e][f]	Tar River	Ottawa	1913	1938	Abandoned	[53][54]
			1983	2010
Carter	—	Beckham	1900	2002	Small community	[55]
Catesby	—	Ellis	1902	1970	Church	[56]
Cayuga	—	Delaware	1884	1913	Structures	[57]
Center	—	Pontotoc	c. mid 1880s	1900	Vacant structures	[58]
Centralia	—	Craig	c. mid 1890s	c. 1930s	Store, post office, and abandoned structures	[59]
Cestos	—	Dewey	1892	c. early 1920s	Store and abandoned structures	[60]
Cherokee Town	—	Garvin	1874	c. mid 1880s	Agricultural use	[61]
Clearview	Abelincoln, Lincoln	Okfuskee	1889	1992	Residences and abandoned structures	[62]
Cloud Chief	Tacola	Washita	1892	1913	Church and abandoned structures	[63]
Cold Springs	—	Kiowa	1901	c. 1903	None, cleared for West Otter Creek	[64]
Colony	Seger's Colony	Washita	1886	1941	Abandoned structures	[65]
Corbett	—	Cleveland	1893	1930	Church and abandoned structures	[66]
Crawford	—	Roger Mills	1910	1930	Small community and abandoned structures	[67]
Cromwell	—	Seminole	1923	1930	Small community	[68]
Cross[g]	—	Kay	1893	1894	Unknown	[69][5]
Denoya	Whizbang	Osage	1921	c. 1930s	Oil rigs and foundations	[70]
Devol	—	Cotton	1907	1959	Small community	[71]
Doaksville	Fort Towson	Choctaw	1820	c. early 1900s	Cemetery	[72][73]
Doby Springs[h]	Bellaire	Harper	1907	1912	City of Buffalo park and water source	[74]
Dougherty	Henderson Flat, Strawberry Flat	Murray	1887	1993	Small community and abandoned structures	[75]
Douthat[e]	Century	Ottawa	1916	1970	Abandoned	[76]
Eagle City	Dillon	Blaine	1902	1960s	Small community and abandoned structures	[77][78]
Earlsboro	—	Pottawatomie	1891	1940	Businesses and abandoned structures	[79][80]
Fallis	Mission	Lincoln	1892	1970	Residences and abandoned structures	[81]
Faxon	Slogan	Comanche	1902	1995	Abandoned structures	[82]
Fay	—	Dewey	1894	1969	Small community and abandoned structures	[83]
Fleetwood	—	Jefferson	1885	1961	Farms and abandoned structures	[84]
Foraker	—	Osage	1905	c. 1930s	Few residences	[85]
Foss	—	Washita	c. 1890s	1977	Grocery store, gas station, and abandoned structures	[86]
Francis	Newton	Pontotoc	1894	1940	Businesses and abandoned structures	[87]
Gene Autry	Berwyn, Dresden, Lou	Carter	1883	1975	Small community	[88][89]
Gerty	Guertie, Raydon	Hughes	1893	1965	Abandoned buildings remain	[90]
Gotebo	—	Kiowa	1904	1990	Small community and abandoned structures	[91]
Gould	Gibson	Harmon	1917	1990	Small community and abandoned structures	[92]
Grand	—	Ellis	1892	1908	Landscaping and abandoned structures	[93]
Grayson	Wildcat	Okmulgee	1897	1967	Churches and community building	[94]
Gray Horse	—	Osage	1884	1931	Residences and abandoned structures	[95]
Hanna	Hasson	McIntosh	1902	1938	Schools	[96]
Hanson	—	Sequoyah	1888	1910	Few residences	[97]
Hastings	—	Jefferson	1902	1960s	Small community	[98][99]
Hess	—	Jackson	1889	1920	Abandoned structures	[100]
Hitchcock	—	Blaine	1901	1959	Small community and abandoned structures	[101]
Hockerville[e]	—	Ottawa	1916	2010	Abandoned	[76]
Hollister	—	Tillman	1909	1968	Abandoned structures and ruins	[102]
Independence	—	Custer	1892	1922	None, agricultural use	[103]
Ingalls	—	Payne	1889	1938	Monument	[104]
Ingersoll	—	Alfalfa	1901	1942	Small community and abandoned structures	[105]
Jefferson	—	Grant	1866	1974	Churches and few residents	[106]
Jumbo	—	Pushmataha	1906	1950s	Small community	[107]
Kaw City	—	Kay	1902	1970	Current site of Kaw Reservoir	[108]
Kenton	Carrizo, Florence	Cimarron	1886	1913	Museum and post office	[109][110]
Keokuk Falls	Keokuk	Pottawatomie	1891	1918	Abandoned structure	[111][112]
Knowles	Sands City	Beaver	1906	1966	Grocery store and post office	[113][114]
Kosoma	—	Pushmataha	1888	1954	Residences and abandoned structures	[115]
Lamar	Scott Company Town	Hughes	1908	1961	Churches and abandoned structures	[116]
Lehigh	—	Coal	1880	1956	Residences and businesses	[117]
Lenora	—	Dewey	1896	1955	Small community	[118]
Lima[i]	—	Seminole	1904	1978	School and abandoned structures	[119]
Loco	—	Stephens	1890	early 1980s	Small community and abandoned structures	[120][121]
Logan	—	Beaver	1888	1973	Cemetery and abandoned structures	[122]
Lookeba	—	Caddo	1898	1960	Small community	[123]
Lost City	—	Cherokee	early 1890s	2008	Small community	[124][125]
Loveland	Harriston	Tillman	1908	1968	Small community and abandoned structures	[126]
Lovell	Perth	Logan	1889	1950	Residences, abandoned structures, and foundations	[127]
Loyal	Kiel	Kingfisher	1894	1940	School, agricultural use	[128][129]
Lugert	—	Kiowa	1901	1940	Ruins, current site of Lake Altus-Lugert	[130]
Macomb	McComb	Pottawatomie	1903	1950	Small community	[131][132]
Maramec	—	Pawnee	1901	1957	Small community	[133]
Marshall	—	Logan	1890	1976	Small community and abandoned structures	[134]
Martha	—	Jackson	1889	1993	Few residences and abandoned structures	[135]
May	—	Harper	1896	1973	Post office and abandoned structures	[136]
Meers	—	Comanche	1901	1905	Abaonded structures	[137]
Meridian	—	Logan	1902	2000	Few residences and abandoned structures	[138][139][140]
Mineral	Mineral City	Cimarron	1886	1910	Abandoned structures	[141]
Mouser	—	Texas	1928	Unknown[j]	Abandoned	[142]
Mulhall	—	Logan	1889	1920	Small community and abandoned structures	[143]
		Payne
Nash	Nashville	Grant	1894	1993	Small community and abandoned structures	[144]
Navajoe	—	Jackson	1887	1905	Cemetery	[145]
Oakwood	—	Dewey	1899	1958	Small community and abandoned structures	[146]
Oktaha	—	Muskogee	1872	1920	Post office and ruins	[147][148]
Omega	—	Kingfisher	1892	2009	Small community and abandoned structures	[149]
Orlando	—	Logan	1893	1964	Small community and abandoned structures	[150]
		Payne
Osage	Osage City	Osage	1906	1961	Church and post office	[151]
Park Hill	—	Cherokee	1836	1942	Cemeteries and tourism building	[152]
Peoria[e]	—	Ottawa	1891	1941	Small community	[153]
Picher[e]	—	Ottawa	1916	2010	Chat piles, abandoned structures, and foundations	[154][54][155]
Pittsburg	—	Pittsburg	1909	1959	Small community	[156]
Port	—	Washita	1901	1966	Few structures, agriculture use	[157]
Putnam	—	Dewey	1895	1950	Store, abandoned structures, and foundations	[158]
Quay	Lawson	Pawnee	1894	1957	Few structures	[159]
		Payne
Quinlan	—	Woodward	1893	late 1920s	Church and few structures	[160]
Reed	—	Greer	1892	1975	Small community and abandoned structures	[161]
Red Bird	Redbird	Wagoner	1902	1975	Church and abandoned structures	[162]
Ringo	—	Washington	1889	1900	Hotel	[163]
Rocky	—	Washita	1898	1967	Small community and abandoned structures	[164]
Roosevelt	—	Kiowa	1901	1993	Abandoned structures	[165]
Rosedale	—	McClain	1908	1971	Residences and abandoned structures	[166]
Sacred Heart	Sacred Heart Mission	Pottawatomie	1879	1954	Small community and abandoned structures	[167]
Santa Fe	—	Stephens	1921	1950	Oil rigs and foundations	[168]
Shamrock	—	Creek	1910	2010	Small community and abandoned structures	[169][170][171]
Silver City	—	Grady	1883	1890	Cemetery, agricultural use	[172]
Skedee	Lamert	Pawnee	1902	1963	Small community and abandoned structures	[173][174][175]
Skullyville	Scullyville	LeFlore	1831	1917	Cemetery	[176]
Slick	—	Creek	1920	1930	Small community	[177]
Sparks	—	Lincoln	1902	1930s	Small community and abandoned structures	[178]
Spencerville	—	Choctaw	1844	Unknown	Small community	[179]
St. Louis	Simpsonville	Pottawatomie	1906	1993	Small community and abandoned structures	[180]
Stecker	—	Caddo	1909	1954	Small community and abandoned structures	[181]
Strong City	—	Roger Mills	1911	1956	Small community and abandoned structures	[182]
Stuart	Hoyuby	Hughes	1896	1940	School and residences	[183][184]
Sugden	—	Jefferson	early 1890s	1955	Small community and foundations	[185]
Summit	—	Muskogee	1896	1959	Cemeteries	[186]
Sumner	—	Noble	1893	1964	Churches and foundations	[187]
Tahlonteeskee	—	Sequoyah	c. 1828–1829	1839	Unknown	[188]
Taft	—	Muskogee	1902	1990	Small community	[189][190]
Talala	—	Rogers	1890	early 1920s	Small agricultural community	[191]
Tamaha	—	Haskell	1884	1964	Small community	[192]
Tatums	Tatum	Carter	1894	1990	Small community and abandoned structures	[193][194]
Texola	Texokla, Texoma	Beckham	1901	1990	Small community and abandoned structures	[195][196]
Terlton	—	Pawnee	1894	1962	Small community	[197]
Three Sands	—	Kay	1921	1951	Agricultural use	[198]
		Noble
Vernon	—	McIntosh	1910	1991	Residences and abandoned structures	[199]
Vinson	Francis, Trotter	Harmon	1903	1964	Churches	[200]
Wanette	Aberline	Pottawatomie	1877	1930	Small community and abandoned structures	[201]
Warwick	—	Lincoln	1892	1972	Small community	[202][203]
Whitefield	—	Haskell	1881	Unknown[k]	Post office, agricultural use	[205][204]
Willow	—	Greer	1899	1957	Churches and restaurants	[206]
Wirt[l]	Ragtown	Carter	1913	1972	Abandoned structures	[207]
Woodford	Bywater	Carter	1870	1974	Abandoned structures	[208]
Woodville	Harney	Marshall	1880	early 1940s	Current site of Lake Texoma	[209]
Yeager	—	Hughes	1902	1974	Few residents	[210]
Yewed	—	Alfalfa	1898	1958	Residences and abandoned structures	[211]
Zincville[e]	St. Louis[m]	Ottawa	1917	1954	Abandoned	[76]

See also

• List of ghost towns by country

Notes

1. Attributed to multiple references: ^{[9][10][11][12]}
2. Although Oklahoma has an estimated 2,000 ghost towns, the following list only contains entries for locations that can be explicitly verified through a reliable source and have sufficient information to be assumed notable in their own right.
3. The year that the town was officially established or dissolved is listed when available. Some communities were never formally established. In other cases, the listed year may be the earliest or latest year in which a post office, school, railroad, major economic development, or a significant population existed. A year listed does not necessarily imply that the town has been formally dissolved or that the population in that location is zero.
4. Former city limits annexed by Barnsdall^[39]
5. Part of the Tar Creek Superfund Site^[52]
6. After being incorporated in 1913, Cardin was officially dissolved for the first time in 1938. The residents re-incorporated in 1983 before the town was dissolved for a second time in 2010 after federal buyouts by the Environmental Protection Agency.^[53]
7. Former city limits annexed by Ponca City^[69]
8. Former city limits annexed by Buffalo^[74]
9. Consolidated with the nearby town of New Lima^[119]
10. By 1975^[142]
11. Whitefield is said to have begun declining during the Great Depression.^[204]
12. Former city limits annexed by Healdton^[207]
13. Not to be confused with St. Louis, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma