The founders of the town of
Minnesela standing on the balcony of the Minnesela Hotel in 1889.
This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in South Dakota , United States of America .
Classification [ ]
Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have any trace of civilization and have reverted to pasture land or empty fields. Other sites are unpopulated but still have standing buildings.
Barren site [ ]
Sites no longer in existence or have been destroyed
Deserted or barren
Covered with water
Reverted to pasture
May have a few difficult-to-find foundations/footings at most
Neglected site [ ]
Only rubble left
Buildings or houses still standing, but majority are roofless
Abandoned site [ ]
Building or houses still standing but all abandoned
No population, except possibly a caretaker
Site no longer in existence except for one or two buildings
Ghost towns [ ]
A through B [ ]
The Volunteer Fire Department in
Ardmore in 2010.
Sign marking the location of
Burdock in 2013.
Name
County
Dates
Status
Notes
Addie Camp
Pennington
1892-1917
Neglected
Also known as Kennedyville, Canadaville, or Addie Spur.
Lawrence
Pennington
Lawrence
Pennington
1870s-?
Neglected
Also known as Altamine.
Lawrence
Barren
The exact location is unknown due to flooding that has destroyed all traces of the town.
Lawrence
This town was in the Ragged Top mining district. Not to be confused with .
Lawrence
This was an early mining camp close to Deadwood . Also called Anchor; not to be confused with .
Lawrence
Also called Stanley City or Reliance.
Ardmore
Fall River
1889-2004
Abandoned
Argonne
Miner
1886-1970s
Barren
Custer
Barren
Arpan
Butte
Lawrence
1887-?
Neglected
Athboy
Corson
Abandoned
Custer
Barren
The exact location of the town and its mine are a mystery.
Custer
Barren
Butte
Lawrence
c. 1897-1910s
Neglected
Possibly an earlier name for Cyanide, which was in the same mining district.
Walworth
Barren
Lawrence
Not to be confused with Bear Butte , the butte located to the southeast of the town site. It is also called Bare Butte.
Lawrence
c. 1870s-?
Not to be confused with the Bear Gulch (Elkhorn) settlement in Pennington County.
Pennington
Barren (submerged)
Submerged under Pactola Lake . This was a stop along the Black Hills & Western Railroad. Not to be confused with the Lawrence County settlement by the same name. It is also called Elkhorn.
Custer
An early placer mining camp. It housed the first post office in the Black Hills, which was only a cave where mail was delivered.
Lawrence
01/1878-?
Barren
Lawrence
c. 1877-?
Barren
Exact location unknown, but is somewhere one-half mile east of the Wyoming state line.
Lawrence
Neglected
Also called Besant Flats or Besant Park.
Big Bottom
Meade
1878-1887
Neglected
Bismuth
Custer
Neglected
Pennington
Blacktail
Lawrence
Brown
?-1877
Barren
Was destroyed by outlaws.
Pennington
?-c. 1900
Barren
Clay
Abandoned
Lawrence
Barren
Lawrence
?-1880s
Barren
Also called Boulder Park.
Lawrence
February 2, 1881-June 1882
The dates listed are the dates that the post office was in operation.
Pennington
Also called Warbonnet and Siding Eleven.
Fall River
Neglected
Lawrence
Barren
Custer
?-1880s
Barren
Burdock
Fall River
Neglected
Also called Argentine.
C through D [ ]
Name
County
Dates
Status
Notes
Meade
Barren
Also called Quarry.
Pennington
Neglected
Carbonate
Lawrence
c. 1881-1939
Neglected
The town was mostly abandoned in 1891, but the town's last resident died in 1939. It was also called West Virginia, Virginia, Carbonate Camp, Carbonate City, and Crow Creek Carbonate Camp.
Lawrence
Not to be confused with . Also called Lincoln.
Pennington
1879-?
Not to be confused with . Also called Carter.
Meade
Barren
Fall River
1888-?
Abandoned
Also called Cascade Springs.
Castle Rock
Butte
1910-?
Pennington
1876-1880, 1890s
Neglected
The town was abandoned twice: first in 1880, when the mines failed; and again in the 1890s.
1877-1879
Barren
The location of the town is unknown other than that it was located in or around the Black Hills . It could have also been located in Wyoming.
Lawrence
Barren
Existed around 1876.
Lawrence
Barren
Had a population of 52 in 1900.
Lawrence
Barren
It was a very small town that was only shown on one map. It was about 3 miles northwest of Nemo.
Fall River
Barren
A very small community that never had a large population. It had a post office in 1900.
Coal Springs
Perkins
Custer
Abandoned
This mining town once had a school and cemetery.
Conata
Pennington
Pennington
c. 1900-?
Creston
Pennington
Neglected
Lawrence
Neglected
Was in the same mining district as Balmoral, Preston, and Dacy.
Lawrence
?-c. 1915
Barren
Was in the same mining district as Balmoral, Cyanide, and Preston.
Custer
?-1886
Barren
Had a maximum population of 50-75 people. Also named Danby.
Deerfield
Pennington
Barren (submerged)
Also called Mountain and Mountain City. The town site is underwater.
Butte
Faulk
Lawrence
Barren
Existed around 1880. The surviving ruins of the town were torn down in 1967.
Lawrence
1890-?
Barren
Moody
Historic post office[1]
E through H [ ]
I through L [ ]
Storage building in
Igloo , photographed in 2008.
Name
County
Dates
Status
Notes
Igloo
Fall River
c. 1942-after 1970
Abandoned
Also known as the Black Hills Ordnance Depot, it was a residential community located near a munitions storage and maintenance facility.
Imlay
Jackson
1907-?
Neglected
Custer
Barren
Not to be confused with , which was also called Ivanhoe but was a separate community.
Custer
c. 09/1879-c. 1881
Neglected
Custer
before September 20, 1879-?
Neglected
Lakeview
Todd
Neglected
Only the school and church are still in use by the farming community, but the actual town no longer exists.
Lancaster City
Lawrence
Barren
Custer
Neglected
LeBeau
Walworth
Barren (submerged)
It is submerged beneath Lake Oahe .
Lawrence
Lawrence
Barren
Lily
Day
1883-2017
Dissolved
Dissolved in March 2017 by the Day County court due to its population reaching zero.[2]
Fall River
Barren
Most likely submerged beneath .
Lawrence
Barren
Was an early mining camp. The exact location is unknown, but it was around Maitland and Carbonate .
Pennington
c. 1884-c. 1890
Neglected
The residential community of Fort Lookout.
Lawrence
Neglected
Marshall
Barren
M through O [ ]
Aerial view of
Manchester after the tornado outbreak that destroyed the town in 2003.
Name
County
Dates
Status
Notes
Butte
Maitland
Lawrence
1877-c. 1915
Neglected
Also called Midland, Garden City, and Sherman.
Fall River
Barren
Manchester
Kingsbury
June 29, 1881-June 24, 2003
Barren
The town was already in decline when it was completely destroyed during the 2003 South Dakota tornado outbreak . All that remains are the foundations of the buildings.
Fall River
Barren
Custer
Mason
Butte
Lawrence
Now the site of the power plant for the Homestake Mine .
Pennington
Neglected
Existed around 1891.
Custer
Neglected
Melvin
Custer
Merritt
Lawrence
Barren
Lawrence
Barren
This town's existence was proven by early photographs. However, its exact location is unknown.
Pennington
Barren
Pennington
Barren
Existed in 1920.
Minnesela
Butte
1882-1901
Barren
The first county seat of Butte County, it was notable for its rivalry with the neighboring town of Belle Fourche in the 1890s.
Lawrence
Lawrence
1879-?
Not to be confused with Gregory, South Dakota , which was also called Montana City and was also located in Lawrence County. Montana City later became part of Deadwood .
Lawrence
Moon
Pennington
Neglected
Union
Custer
Its exact location is unknown. It was most likely in eastern Custer County. It had a post office during the Black Hills Gold Rush days, but its population was never determined.
Myers City
Pennington
Neglected
Also called Myersville.
Mystic
Pennington
Abandoned
Also called Sitting Bull.
Nahant
Lawrence
1890-?
Barren
Lawrence
Barren
Existed around 1910 as a booming logging camp.
Lawrence
1896
Located about 1,500 feet (460 m) north of .
Lawrence
1878-?
Barren
Lawrence
c. 1875-1877
Barren
Was a camp later absorbed into Maitland, South Dakota .
Pennington
c. 1878-?
Barren
Lawrence
Barren
The exact location is unknown, but it was probably somewhere around Galena . It was also called Carter City.
Novak
Lawrence
Neglected
Also called Cindell Spur.
Lawrence
Barren
Was in existence before or around 1898.
Lawrence
Barren
Pennington
Barren
Was a booming mining community around 1879.
Okobojo
Sully
Neglected
Spink
Neglected
Ordway
Brown
Lawrence
Also called North Lead.
Custer
Barren
The was built on the site of the town's mill.
P through R [ ]
Name
County
Dates
Status
Notes
Pactola
Pennington
Barren (submerged)
Submerged beneath Pactola Lake .
Pedro
Pennington
Also called Lewisville.
Lawrence
Barren
The only indication of the site is that it was within twenty miles of Deadwood .
Pennington
Barren
Pennington
Barren
Lawrence
Abandoned
Lawrence
Barren
An early mining camp near Central City . Its exact location is unknown.
Meade
Barren
Was in existence around 1891.
Lawrence
Barren
Also called Potato Creek, after the town it was located on.
Lawrence
c. 1897-?
Neglected
Was in the same area as Balmoral, Dacy, and Cyanide.
Todd
Neglected
Lawrence
01/1878-?
Barren
Due to the inaccuracy of the maps drawn of the area, its exact location is unknown.
Pennington
1880s-1930s
Barren
A large fire destroyed all remains of the town in the 1930s.
Ragged Top
Lawrence
1880s-c. 1915
Neglected
Was also the name of the school district and mining district in which Preston, Cyanide, Dacy, and Balmoral were also included.
Lawrence
Abandoned
Also spelled Reavsaw.
Lawrence
Barren
Butte
Barren
Existed around 1921.
Butte
1905-1910
Neglected
Only the school house remains.
Lawrence
c. 1880-c. 1945
Neglected
Rockerville
Pennington
1870s-1930s
Abandoned
The site has been rebuilt and is now a tourist attraction. Also called Rockville.
Pennington
Existed around 1935.
Pennington
Was in existence around 1883.
Meade
c. 1900-?
Barren
The only real marker of the town is an apple orchard that still stands today. Also spelled Runkle.
S through T [ ]
V through Z [ ]
Name
County
Dates
Status
Notes
Lawrence
Not to be confused with the Pennington County location.
Pennington
Not to be confused with the Lawrence County location.
Lawrence
Also called Virginia Moll. Not to be confused with Carbonate , which was alternatively called West Virginia or simply Virginia.
Meade
Barren
Existed in the early 1900s.
Pennington
Barren
Custer
Weta
Jackson
1907-?
Neglected
Lawrence
Existed around 1900.
Lawrence
Barren
Not to be confused with Whitewood , which is still an active community.
Lawrence
Barren
The exact location is unknown. The town existed in the early days of the Black Hills Gold Rush .
Brown
1889-?
Barren
Lawrence
Custer
Barren
Also called Ivanhoe. Not to be confused with the other settlement called , which was also in Custer County but was a different town.
Pennington
Barren
It was mentioned in a newspaper in fall 1879.
Notes [ ]
References [ ]
Engebretson, Pat; Heck, Kay; Herrett, Helen (1989). A History of Butte County, South Dakota . Dallas, TX: Curtis Media. ISBN 0-88107-139-0 .
Parker, Watson ; Lambert, Hugh K. (1974). Black Hills Ghost Towns (1st ed.). Chicago, IL: The Swallow Press. ISBN 0-8040-0637-7 .
Klock, Irma H. (June 1975). Yesterday's Gold Camps and Mines in the Northern Black Hills (1st ed.). Lead, SD: Seaton Publishing Company.
Wolle, Muriel Sibell (1966) [1953]. The Bonanza Trail: Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of the West (5th ed.). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press.
"Ghost Towns in South Dakota" . Ghost Towns . Retrieved September 28, 2013 .