State hubs
50 states have a hub with a map and every known site: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. The others are greyed out until their hub is ready. Every site in all 50 states still has its own page, and the search box finds them.
State hub · Maine
Maine's ghost towns were built on wood, water and iron, and most were left by the 1950s. In the North Woods, Katahdin Iron Works smelted ore from 1845 to 1890 and housed about 200 families; its stone blast furnace and one charcoal kiln still stand in a state historic site. Riceville, a tannery village in Hancock County, had 136 people in 1890 and was empty by 1910, after its tannery burned in 1905. Askwith, a railroad and logging stop between Greenville and Rockwood, is now a name on the map called Tarratine.
On the Kennebec, the island town of Perkins on Swan Island had almost 100 people who built ships, farmed and cut ice. It was disincorporated in 1918 and empty by the 1940s; five old houses and a cemetery from 1802 remain in a state wildlife area. In 1950 a hydroelectric dam on the Dead River flooded Flagstaff and Dead River village to enlarge Flagstaff Lake, and foundations show when the water is drawn down.
Near Portland, the Oriental Powder Mills at Gambo, between Gorham and Windham, made gunpowder from 1824 to 1905, a quarter of the Union Army's supply in the Civil War; ruins line a short land trust trail.
Where to start
Open attractions, living towns and true ruins, with their current status.
Piscataquis County
Iron company town that smelted ore from 1845 to 1890, with homes for about 200 families. The restored stone blast furnace, one beehive charcoal kiln and foundations stand in a state historic site about 6 miles up a gravel road from Route 11, photographed in July 2017.
Sagadahoc County
Town of Perkins on Swan Island in the Kennebec, with almost 100 residents who built ships, farmed and cut ice in the 19th century. It was disincorporated in 1918. Five houses of the late 1700s and early 1800s and a cemetery from 1802 stand in the Steve Powell Wildlife Management Area. The state ferry stopped in 2022; a free weekend ferry resumed in July 2026 through early September, per the Portland Press Herald, and otherwise visitors come by private boat or paddle.
Somerset County
Plantation on the Dead River near Eustis, dismantled and disincorporated in 1950 when a hydroelectric dam flooded it and Dead River village to enlarge Flagstaff Lake. The lake is drawn down from spring to early fall, and a guide's boat tours visited the flooded village sites, per a December 2015 magazine feature.
Hancock County
Tannery village in Township 39, also called Hancock Tannery, where James Rice's company made sole leather. It had 136 people in 1890 and 75 in 1900; the tannery burned in 1905 and no one lived there by 1910. We found no dated report of what remains.
Somerset County
Railroad and logging stop between Greenville and Rockwood, now marked as Tarratine. Lumber companies worked there in the early 1900s, and a 1903 forest fire burned 300 to 400 acres nearby. The rail line is an ATV trail; we found no dated report of what remains.
Near a city
Driving distance and time from downtown, routed over OpenStreetMap roads. Dirt roads are usually slower than the estimate.
Directory
Every town, camp and settlement in our Maine index, with its county. A ◦ marks sites already on the map.
No sites match. Try fewer letters or another county.
Plan a trip
Katahdin Iron Works is reached by about 6 miles of gravel road west from Route 11 north of Brownville Junction, and the state lists the site as open all year from 9 a.m. to sunset with a fee. Around it, the roads of the KI Jo-Mary forest are working timber roads, where its managers say trucks and other heavy equipment always have the right of way. Riceville lies in an unorganized township in Hancock County, and Askwith's old rail line is now an ATV trail.
The state's ferry stopped in 2022 over its aging vessel and Coast Guard rules, and in February 2026 a legislator said access was limited mainly to people with private boats. In July 2026 a free weekend ferry resumed for the summer, through early September (Portland Press Herald, July 9, 2026). The state's page lists the free ferry on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, boats for hire, and a five-minute paddle from the mainland landing; the island is open for camping and day use from mid-May to mid-October. Check with the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife before you go.
Flagstaff Lake is a storage reservoir, drawn down from spring through early fall, sometimes by two dozen feet or more. That is when old foundations of the flooded villages are easiest to see from a boat. In December 2015 a Eustis guide was running half-day and full-day pontoon tours to the sites in summer.
The furnace and kiln at Katahdin Iron Works were restored by the state, and the Swan Island houses are part of a National Register historic district. Do not climb the furnace, enter the houses or take anything from the townsites, and stay on the marked trails at the Oriental Powder Mills, where the land trust asks visitors to carry out whatever they bring in.
FAQ
We found no official count. Wikipedia's list, which calls itself incomplete, named seven places in its June 3, 2025 version, including Appledore Island in the Isles of Shoals and Freeman in Franklin County. Our index lists 7 sites in Maine, 4 of them with coordinates.
Yes. Flagstaff and the village of Dead River were dismantled and flooded when a hydroelectric dam on the Dead River raised the lake in 1950; Flagstaff was legally disincorporated that year. When the lake is drawn down in summer and fall, boaters can see old foundations.
Yes, but only by boat. The state wildlife area is open for camping and day use from mid-May to mid-October, and five old houses of the town of Perkins and an 1802 cemetery remain. The public ferry stopped in 2022; a free weekend ferry ran again from July to early September 2026, and otherwise you need a private or hired boat, or a canoe or kayak.
Katahdin Iron Works, a state historic site with a restored blast furnace and charcoal kiln, open all year. Near Portland, the Gambo Preserve trail in Gorham passes the Oriental Powder Mills ruins and the old Cumberland and Oxford Canal.
Abandoned