A Gallery of Michigan Ghost Towns, 1870-1930

What can I say about Michigan's Ghost Towns, other than we are so lucky to have so many? Sure, the ghost towns that are littering the western states like Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah are extremely cool, but many are difficult to find let alone GET to. We're talkin' desolate desert atmosphere for many of 'em. But Michigan's ghost towns are easily accessible - and plentiful.

Little villages popped up during the mining and lumber booms of the 1800s, and after the boom was gone...so were most of these villages. Other ghost towns were nothing but postal stations, railroad stations, or stagecoach stops...and many of them have gone the wayside, leaving their empty shells behind.

Get our free mobile app

The 50+ ghost towns in the gallery below vary in their 'ghostability'. Some of them do not exist anymore, others have a few buildings left, many even still have residents. So if some still have people living there, why is they called 'ghost towns' you might ask? Some of those mining and lumber towns (and others) who were once bustling and booming with businesses and success - and are now reduced to a handful of people – are considered ghost towns because of how much they have dwindled in size, business establishments, and residents.

So a ghost town can be one of four things:
1) Completely devoid of anything
2) Devoid of people
3) Devoid of businesses
4) Reduced to a shell of its former self.

The gallery below shows examples of all of these, showing what these towns once looked like, most from over 100 years ago. If you try to plan yourself a ghost town roadtrip, I suggest you start with this list. Many of them you can locate on Google Maps...others, good luck. In the meantime, enjoy the gallery!