A ghost town is an abandoned hamlet, town, or city that has significant visible ruins. A town frequently becomes a ghost town when the economic activity that sustained it fails, or because of natural or man-made calamities such as floods, government acts, unrestrained anarchy, war, or nuclear disasters. The word is occasionally used to describe cities, towns, and neighborhoods that are nonetheless populous, but much less so than in previous years. Iowa, like every other state, has its share of ghost towns.
Rockville
Rockville was created in 1845 in Delaware County, Iowa, United States. It was one of Delaware County’s oldest settlements, second only to Delhi. The location was an important commercial station, with a sawmill, a gristmill, a blacksmith, a hotel, and several businesses. The region is now just known as a rural area on the outskirts of Worthington.
Elkport
Elkport was established as a town in 1855. The population was 37 at the time of the 2010 census, down from 88 at the time of the 2000 census. In May 2004, flooding devastated the town. Following the floods, all residents of the community selected federal buyout, surrendering their homes to the federal government of the United States for destruction. Elkport’s buildings were virtually all destroyed in September 2006.
Buckhorn
Buckhorn is a ghost town in Jackson County, located just off Highway 64. A simple search finds that it was a farmers’ cooperative created in the early twentieth century that was purchased by a big dairy in 1962. All that remains is a cemetery, an abandoned church, and this structure, the old Buckhorn Creamery.
Carrollton
This historic ghost town in Carroll County was formerly the county capital. The town progressed slowly, as did the county until the Northwestern Railroad was built in 1867, and Carroll was laid out. The majority of the homes have been relocated to the surrounding countryside and are now utilized as stables or other outbuildings. There is still a store, post office, blacksmith shop, and one or two houses.
Sunbury
Sunbury, Iowa, was a tiny community located approximately 30 miles west of Davenport. The town was established when the train arrived in the region, and its population is believed to be 50 people. Sunbury was sustained by tiny farms in the surrounding area; most were modest, family farms that persisted because to the highly rich, loamy soil. The Sunbury Bank, housed in a brick structure, collapsed during the Great Depression and was abandoned, finally being demolished about 2014.
Mount Etna
Mount Etna is a village in the vicinity of Lake Icaria. Mount Etna, which is now almost deserted, originally had a post office, a grocery shop, and many churches. The historic one-room schoolhouse is located in Adams County, Iowa, near the once-bustling hamlet of Mt. Etna. The Corning school system shuttered thirteen rural schools in 1960, including the schoolhouse.
Stiles
Stiles is a Davis County ghost town. This community is no longer shown on the map of Iowa. Stiles had a population of one hundred people in 1858, and the town had three businesses, a grist mill, a blacksmith shop and sawmill, and two physicians, each with their own drug store.
Stanzel
Stanzel is currently nothing more than a ghost town. There are only a few dwellings, a church, and one structure. The town’s ruins may be seen on Highway 92 in Adair County, between Winterset and Greenfield.
Dublin
Dublin, Iowa is mostly gone. This Odd Fellows Lodge was erected in 1874, and the first floor was used as a shop from 1904 to 1969. The village had its own cornet band, a blacksmith shop, a cheese factory, a glass factory, two additional businesses, a post office, a wagon shop, and a cheese factory.
Unique
Unique, Iowa was a hamlet in Humboldt County, Iowa, in the United States. When it was thought that a train would cross through the wetlands, settlers began to develop in the region. From April 1878 until September 1891, the town had a post office. It was re-established in April 1892 and was permanently disbanded in January 1902.