Texas Ghost Towns Map

About Texas Ghost Towns Map

Explore the map of Texas showing Ghost Towns with international boundary, state boundary, and state capital.

List of Ghost Towns of Texas

Ghost Town	County	Peak Population (approx.)	Current Status / Remaining Structures	Peak Years / Reason for Decline	Current Attractions / Access Notes
Abandoned / Shafter	Presidio	≈ 4,000 (silver boom)	Ghost town – scattered ruins, church, cemetery	1880s–1950s / silver mine closure	Historic church & cemetery; remote – dirt roads
Albion	Red River	≈ 200–300	Near ghost – few foundations, cemetery	1890s–1920s / timber & railroad decline	Very rural; limited visible remains
Atascosa (ghost section)	Atascosa	≈ 500 (railroad era)	Partial ghost – old depot area, cemetery	1910s–1940s / railroad reroute	Small rural ghost area near modern Atascosa
Blessing	Matagorda	≈ 1,200 (railroad peak)	Near ghost – historic buildings, cemetery	1900s–1960s / railroad & agriculture decline	Historic downtown still partially standing
Bodieville	Starr	≈ 500–800	Ghost town – ruins, cemetery	1910s–1930s / oil boom & bust	Remote border area near Rio Grande
Burkett (ghost section)	Coleman	≈ 300	Partial ghost – old school, church, cemetery	1900s–1950s / oil & agriculture decline	Small rural remains near modern Burkett
Carlsbad	Tom Green	≈ 200–400	Ghost town – cemetery, foundations	1890s–1940s / railroad bypass	Very rural; cemetery is main visible feature
Chapel Hill	Smith	≈ 600 (pre-Civil War)	Ghost town – cemetery, few foundations	1850s–1870s / railroad bypassed	Historic cemetery, very little left
Clarksville (ghost section)	Red River	≈ 4,000 (1840s–50s peak)	Partial ghost – historic buildings, courthouse	1830s–1870s / county seat lost, railroad bypassed	Historic downtown still partially intact
Comyn	Comanche	≈ 200–300	Ghost town – cemetery, ruins	1890s–1940s / coal & railroad decline	Rural; cemetery & foundations remain
Desdemona	Eastland	≈ 1,000 (oil boom)	Near ghost – few buildings, cemetery	1910s–1920s / oil boom & bust	Oil boom ghost town; historic cemetery
Dublin (ghost section)	Erath	≈ 3,000 (peak)	Partial ghost – historic buildings downtown	1890s–1960s / railroad decline	Historic downtown still active but faded
Forsyth	Angelina	≈ 200	Ghost town – cemetery, foundations	1880s–1920s / lumber & railroad decline	Rural; little visible remains
Glenrio	Deaf Smith	≈ 500 (Route 66 peak)	Ghost town – abandoned Route 66 buildings	1930s–1980s / I-40 bypass	Classic Route 66 ghost town on TX–NM border
Indianola	Calhoun	≈ 5,000 (1850s–70s)	Ghost town – foundations, cemetery	1850s–1886 / hurricanes destroyed town	Once a major port; destroyed by hurricanes
Jefferson (ghost section)	Marion	≈ 30,000 (1850s–70s)	Partial ghost – historic downtown	1870s–1900s / railroad bypassed, silted river	Best-preserved 19th-century ghost town in Texas
Kopperl	Bosque	≈ 300	Near ghost – old store, cemetery	1880s–1940s / railroad decline	Small rural ghost near Lake Whitney
Lobo	Culberson	≈ 60 (1960s)	Ghost town – abandoned buildings, gas station	1960s–1990s / interstate bypass	Classic West Texas highway ghost town
Maryneal	Nolan	≈ 200	Near ghost – few buildings, cemetery	1900s–1950s / railroad decline	Rural West Texas ghost
Nemo	Somervell	≈ 500 (peak)	Near ghost – cemetery, church ruins	1880s–1940s / railroad & coal decline	Rural near Glen Rose
Pearsall (ghost section)	Frio	≈ 1,000 (railroad peak)	Partial ghost – old depot area	1880s–1960s / railroad decline	Small ghost section near modern Pearsall
Shafter	Presidio	≈ 4,000 (silver boom)	Ghost town – church, cemetery, mine ruins	1880s–1950s / silver mine closure	Historic silver mining ghost town
Terlingua (ghost town section)	Brewster	≈ 2,000 (mercury boom)	Partial ghost – ruins, cemetery, Starlight Theatre	1900s–1940s / mercury mine closure	Famous for chili cook-off & Big Bend proximity
Toyah	Reeves	≈ 100 (peak)	Near ghost – few buildings, cemetery	1910s–1980s / railroad & oil decline	Classic West Texas ghost town

Texas Ghost Towns

Across Texas, you find one of the biggest collections of abandoned town sites in the country - between 500 and over a thousand lie quiet. Hidden throughout the state's wide terrain, each holds pieces of lives once full. Gold rushes in silver veins, then quick spikes from mercury digs - these shook towns into being. Oil gushed up next, changing everything almost overnight. Trains came through, cutting paths that left villages behind. Ranch work shaped communities too, just as coal digging did in its time. Life surged in those places, schools opened, hotels hummed, theaters lit up nights. Newspapers spread news on paper thin rolls. Then mines closed, trains moved on without stopping, pay dropped, families left. Silence returned where loud activity once ruled. Now, you can see empty graves, broken mud huts, silent mine sites - pieces of Texas's harsh early life just standing still.

Why Texas Has So Many Ghost Towns

Out in the open, Texas stretched wide - just big enough for fast-growing towns during gold runs, drilling sprees, and train arrivals. Railroads screeching in brought people, then vanished when mines shut tight. Oil wells cracked silent, freight slowed, workers left - and whole places vanished before winter’s first freeze. Storms tore through dirt streets, rivers stayed low, folks drifted elsewhere, leaving behind empty water wells and faded camp roads. Some villages vanished entirely, yet fragments remain - churches, schools, graveyards - silent proof of what once was.

The Most Famous Texas Ghost Towns

Far below the desert skies, Terlingua hides in Brewster County, drawing crowds like few places ever did. A former hub for mercury digging, it buzzed with life - close to two thousand souls called it home early last century. By the 1940s, most had vanished, yet something stayed. Now people wander past faded adobe walls, step over weathered grave markers, then gather under the open sky for music that begins when the sun dies. November brings chili smoke and loud applause, all under the glow of the old Starlight stage. Far from big, Shafter rose in Presidio County during silver rushes, hitting four thousand by the 1880s. A stone's throw from its peak stands an old adobe church - quiet, still - holding up a cemetery that tells more than words. Down near the coast, Indianola thrived along the Gulf Coast in Calhoun County; back then it pulled in crowds bigger than five thousand between the 1850s and 1870s. Storms changed everything though - first one hit in 1875, then another in 1886 - and what stayed wasn’t buildings so much as bare earth marked by old graves and a few scattered records. Near where Texas and New Mexico meet, in Deaf Smith County, once thrived a small place named Glenrio. When Interstate 40 cut through in the 1970s, life faded fast - just like so many other Route 66 spots. Now empty parking lots hold old hotels, silent pumps, reminders of how people moved across the country decades ago.

Current Status and Preservation Efforts

By 2026, not one ghost town in Texas sits completely empty. A few folks still call these places home, often among old buildings falling apart. Some run tiny stores, others care for landmarks frozen in time. Take Terlingua - it now draws visitors with rough-­around-­the-­edges eateries and guest rooms tucked into canyon walls. Even pieces of Jefferson’s past gather new life, where travelers wander past restored buildings turned into museums. Buried sites find care through teamwork between state groups and neighborhood heritage clubs. When old churches sit empty, rules might apply before stepping inside. Some former mining spots sit behind locked gates today. Guided paths exist for those willing to follow set routes across once bustling centers. Ownership matters - some places remain under personal control.

Visiting Texas Ghost Towns Today

Out in the desert, old mine camps fade where railroads once hummed. Places like Terlingua draw crowds snapping rocks and stories under wide skies. Others - Shafter, Glenrio - are short drives down dusty roads that vanish at state lines. Deeper you go: Lobo needs tough tires, maps, patience, plus permission from landowners. Bodieville stands near abandoned wells, and Indianola's remains lie behind electric fences nobody touches. Each stop feels like stepping into a forgotten poem. Fall often brings softer days to explore ghost towns. Spring light also works well if you plan carefully. Heat fades, paths clear, just before winter locks them in. Bring water along any path you choose. Check how rough the roads might get before heading out. Take nothing but memories, leave behind all traces.