The Now Lost And Forgotten Ghost Towns Of Minnesota

Imagine driving down a deserted Minnesota backroad, the kind where cell service is spotty, and it's eerily quiet.

You pass an old building that's seen better days with boarded-up windows and a sign so faded it might as well be invisible, something feels... off. It’s almost feels like a scene right out of a horror movie!

And just like that, you’ve stumbled into one of Minnesota’s many ghost towns.

Also See: The Most Beautiful and Underrated Small Towns in Minnesota

Sure, these forgotten places may be a little on the creepy side, but they are also super fascinating. Like a time capsule of Minnesota’s early days! Back in the day, these towns were booming with miners, railroad workers, and settlers.

Trains ran through busy depots and general stores were fully stocked. But when industries collapsed, railroads rerouted, or disasters struck, these once-thriving places slowly emptied, leaving behind little more than memories and crumbling walls.

The Now Lost And Forgotten Ghost Towns Of Minnesota

These historically busy towns have disappeared from our Minnesota maps. In fact, most are completely forgotten.

Gallery Credit: Shel B

Google Maps

Elcor

Elcor was inhabited between 1897 and 1956. It was built on the Mesabi Iron Range near the city of Gilbert in St. Louis County, according to Wikipedia.

It once was a mining location, built by the mining company to house the workers for its mines. People were allowed to own their homes, but the land on which the houses stood belonged to the mining company.

Related: Minnesota's Most Haunted Hotels Will Send Chills Down Your Spine.

After the Corsica mine closed in 1954, the residents were ordered to vacate the property so the mining company could reclaim the land. By 1956, Elcor was completely abandoned. Now, the Minorca mine sits directly over the site.

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Forestville

Forestville is in Fillmore County by Wykoff and Preston. It was founded in 1852, but the town's population began to drop after the railroad bypassed Forestville in 1868 according to Wikipedia.

By 1880, the town's population was only 55 and most businesses had closed. As families left town, the Meighen family, some of the first Forestville settlers, began buying up cheap property, and by 1889, they owned the entire town and its surrounding area.

By the early 1900s, even the Meighen family had left Forestville, and their general store's doors were closed in 1910, marking the end of the town's life.