| Every state has ghost towns. Eastern and | | | | experiences and treasures. Many times, in the areas |
| Midwestern States are no exception. At one time or | | | | surrounding the ghost towns, are pieces of history, |
| another you may have driven your car right by a | | | | lying on the ground, untouched for hundreds of |
| ghost town, not aware of it. If you are a hiker, | | | | years. Old bottles and pottery shards often lay |
| backpacker, or a hunter, you may have walked past | | | | scattered. I also use a metal detector to search for |
| or through a ghost town not knowing one was there. | | | | relics lost or buried by the past inhabitants. |
| When people hear the words "ghost town", they | | | | The First Pioneers |
| associate the term with the old, abandoned towns of | | | | The first pioneers were a hardy bunch. They had to |
| the Western frontier. Many of those settlements are | | | | deal with harsh winter months and hot, humid |
| still standing, but in the Eastern states, the majority | | | | summers. In addition wild animals and infectious |
| of old towns from the 1800's to the early part of | | | | diseases were a constant problem. Of course, there |
| the 1900's are no longer visible. And it is because | | | | was no running water or electricity either. Everything |
| they are no longer visible, that makes them virtually | | | | was done by hand, including digging the cellars for the |
| unknown. | | | | homes. |
| Another reason why people are not aware that | | | | Nor was raising a family easy. Many young babies and |
| ghost towns exist in the east is because historians | | | | children died of disease. This is confirmed by the fact |
| and writers have overlooked them. | | | | that as I locate old cellar holes, I often stumble upon |
| History writers never took the time to research the | | | | an old tombstone erected on the property by the |
| ghost towns of Middle America and the Eastern | | | | family, and often the grave is the burial site of a |
| states. Instead, there has always been the | | | | young child. |
| fascination with the ghost towns of the Western | | | | I have a lot of respect for those pioneers |
| states. Most books or stories having to do with the | | | | How To Find Eastern Ghost Towns |
| "gold rush" will probably mention a Western town | | | | Ghost towns existed as a small town or village. They |
| that once thrived; yet today it is a ghost town. | | | | were probably the first settlement of an area. Today |
| Those stories have kept alive the interest about the | | | | they are holes in the ground, covered and hidden by |
| Western ghost towns. | | | | hundreds of years of vegetation. Time, weather and |
| The excitement that surrounds the ghost towns in | | | | man, have all played their parts in the ruins of the old |
| the Midwest and the East, becomes even more | | | | towns of the Eastern and Midwestern States. |
| interesting, because they are more difficult to locate. | | | | Start by browsing used bookstores. Look for old |
| And the difficulty of locating these ghost towns | | | | books in the local history sections. Oftentimes by |
| makes them more of a mystery. | | | | reading through an old book about an area, you can |
| My travels as a treasure hunter have taken me to | | | | gather information about an old town. |
| many Eastern Ghost towns. I have hiked through | | | | Historical Societies |
| miles of brush, crossed hundreds of streams and | | | | Visit your local historical societies. A great amount of |
| rivers and climbed steep ravines in search for the old | | | | information on the history of your area can be found |
| towns of the east. | | | | there. I have found ghost towns by searching |
| Anyone who is interested in American History should | | | | through old newspapers that were on file at the |
| take the time to research and to explore the | | | | historical societies. |
| settlements that once populated our rural areas. It's a | | | | Libraries |
| great adventure and an interesting way to spend | | | | The history sections of your local libraries are another |
| time outdoors. | | | | great place to search for the old settlements. |
| Cellar Holes | | | | The Internet |
| In the Eastern and Midwestern States, most of the | | | | A great tool for research now is the Internet. |
| ghost towns are nothing more than a hole in the | | | | Researching ghost towns on the Internet is no |
| ground. The holes are cellar holes. They are what's | | | | different. For a recent television series I produced, |
| left of the houses that once sat on top of them. | | | | the Internet and my computer provided valuable |
| Searching for cellar holes or ghost towns is an | | | | information for my search of a ghost town. |
| exciting adventure that can lead to some interesting | | | | |