Creepy Abandoned Ghost Towns Still Hiding in Minnesota

There’s something unsettling about a Minnesota backroad at dusk. The kind where cell service disappears, the trees close in, and suddenly an abandoned building with boarded windows comes into view. It feels like you’ve stumbled into a horror movie, but really, you’ve just discovered one of Minnesota’s forgotten ghost towns.

Ghost towns aren’t just a Wild West thing - Minnesota has plenty of its own. These once-thriving communities were abandoned after industries collapsed and railroads shifted, leaving behind eerie reminders of a different era.

Also See: One Minnesota Haunted House Named Among America's Scariest

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.

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.

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.

Google Maps

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.