Abandoned Towns

State hub · Maryland

Ghost towns in Maryland

Maryland's ghost towns are mill towns, river landings, coal camps and military posts. On the Patapsco, the Ely family built a textile mill in 1810 at what became Daniels; in 1968 the owner gave notice that it would close all the housing, and Tropical Storm Agnes wrecked most of the empty buildings in 1972. Lapidum, a landing at the head of navigation on the Susquehanna, lost its trade to the railroads by 1900. Frenchtown on the Elk River, a steamboat and stagecoach relay, faded once canal and rail took the traffic.

In Garrett County, the Davis Coal and Coke Company founded Kempton in 1913 on the West Virginia line. It had about 900 people in the 1930s and emptied after Mine No. 42 closed in 1950. Wikipedia's list names more than a dozen other Garrett County places. The 20th century added federal ghost towns: the Bainbridge Naval Training Center at Port Deposit, closed in 1976, and Fort Ritchie at Cascade, closed in 1998. Baltimore bought out the last residents of Wagner's Point, beside its sewage plant, in the late 1990s and razed their homes.

What survives is mostly in parks: church and house ruins at Daniels, a hotel foundation and canal lock at Lapidum, and a reconstructed Civil War fort at Point Lookout.

22Sites indexed
8Counties
12Mapped
6Featured
Washington CountyAllegany CountyCaroline CountyWicomico CountySt. Mary's CountyCarroll CountyDorchester CountyGarrett CountyKent CountyMontgomery CountyTalbot CountyBaltimore CountyCecil CountyHoward CountyCalvert CountyQueen Anne's CountyCharles CountySomerset CountyWorcester CountyAnne Arundel CountyHarford CountyBaltimore CountyFrederick CountyPrince George's CountyWashingtonAlleganyCarolineWicomicoSt. Mary'sCarrollDorchesterGarrettKentMontgomeryTalbotBaltimoreCecilHowardCalvertQueen Anne'sCharlesSomersetWorcesterAnne ArundelHarfordBaltimoreFrederickPrince George'sBaltimoreCumberlandAnnapolisHagerstownSalisburyKemptonPoint LookoutGood LuckFrenchtownWilsonFrankville
Other sitesCity
Select a dot to see the site. 12 of 22 sites have reliable coordinates so far.

Where to start

Maryland's best-known ghost towns

Open attractions, living towns and true ruins, with their current status.

The roofless stone walls of St. Stanislaus Kostka church in the woods above Daniels, October 2015

Daniels

39.32, -76.82

Howard County

Patapsco River mill town founded as Elysville in 1810, renamed Alberton and then Daniels. In 1968 the owner gave notice that it would close all housing, and Agnes wrecked most of the empty buildings in 1972. In Patapsco Valley State Park, the walls of St. Stanislaus Kostka church and stone house foundations stand in the woods, per a November 12, 2025 report.

State park · Nov 2025 report
Stone foundation walls of the old Susquehanna Hotel at Lapidum on a grassy slope, with an interpretive sign, May 2007

Lapidum

39.60, -76.13

Harford County

Ferry landing and canal town on the Susquehanna with a three-story hotel built in 1868, a mill and wharves. Railroads took its trade by 1900 and the hotel was torn down in the 1960s. Its stone foundation and Lock 9 of the Tidewater Canal are in Susquehanna State Park, photographed in May 2007.

State park · May 2007 photo
The Point Lookout Lighthouse, a two-story keeper's house with a red lantern on the roof, behind a chain-link fence, May 2016

Point Lookout

38.04, -76.32

St. Mary's County

Tip of the peninsula where the Union built Hammond General Hospital in 1862 and, from 1863, Camp Hoffman, its largest prison camp; about 50,000 Confederates were held and nearly 4,000 died. Erosion has taken about half the stockade site. The state park has a reconstructed Fort Lincoln and the lighthouse, reopened for tours Thursday to Monday in June 2025.

State park · Jun 2025 report
The stone castle that served as Fort Ritchie's headquarters, February 2005

Fort Ritchie

39.70, -77.50

Washington County

National Guard camp from 1926 and the Army's wartime intelligence school for the Ritchie Boys, closed in 1998. The post then passed between owners; since a private owner bought it in 2021 it has added businesses and a museum, and on January 16, 2026 the county announced a $300,000 state grant to turn Building 603 into a boutique hotel.

Redeveloping · Jan 2026 report
A row of company houses in Kempton, photographed by John Vachon in May 1939

Kempton

39.21, -79.49

Garrett County

Coal company town built in 1913 on the North Branch of the Potomac, with about 900 people in the 1930s. Mine No. 42 closed in 1950 and most families left. A September 2019 Frostburg State University report said a handful of households remained, and its students mapped the overgrown house foundations with LIDAR.

A few households · Sep 2019 report
An empty columned Tome School building with a cupola, seen through bare trees on the Bainbridge site, uploaded in 2012

Bainbridge Naval Base

39.61, -76.09

Cecil County

Navy recruit training center opened in 1942 on the Tome School campus above Port Deposit; 244,277 recruits trained there by the end of World War II, and it closed in 1976. Arson fires from 2014 to 2020 destroyed several old school buildings; logistics construction began in 2022, and a state grant for public roads and utilities on the site went to the Board of Public Works on March 4, 2026.

Private redevelopment · Mar 2026 report

Near a city

Ghost towns near Baltimore, Cumberland and Annapolis

Driving distance and time from downtown, routed over OpenStreetMap roads. Dirt roads are usually slower than the estimate.

Near Baltimore drive

  1. Relay10 mi18 min
  2. Daniels18 mi32 min
  3. Lapidum37 mi54 min
  4. Bainbridge Naval Base42 mi1 h 00 min
  5. Harmony Grove54 mi1 h 08 min
  6. Fort Ritchie76 mi1 h 44 min

Near Cumberland drive

  1. Blooming Rose42 mi50 min
  2. Frankville33 mi1 h 00 min
  3. Kendall46 mi1 h 10 min
  4. Fort Ritchie85 mi1 h 42 min
  5. Kempton71 mi1 h 47 min

Near Annapolis drive

  1. Good Luck22 mi34 min
  2. Wilson24 mi42 min
  3. Daniels40 mi56 min
  4. Point Lookout82 mi2 h 13 min

Directory

All 22 Maryland sites

Every town, camp and settlement in our Maryland index, with its county. A ◦ marks sites already on the map.

22 sites

B

D

F

G

H

K

L

M

P

R

S

W

Plan a trip

Visiting Maryland's ghost towns

01

Arrive early at the small park lots

The Daniels Area of Patapsco Valley State Park, at 2090 Daniels Road, Ellicott City, is open dawn to dusk; a hiker in April 2019 counted parking for about eight cars and warned that people park illegally once it fills. In November 2025 a Banner reporter started from a tiny gravel lot off Dogwood Road and the Alberton Road trailhead, a flat mile and a half from the ruins, with a steep fire road up to the church. At Lapidum, a 2000 trail guide has the blue-blazed Mason-Dixon Trail climbing from Lapidum Road along the hotel terraces toward Rock Run, with parking at Stafford and Lapidum roads. Point Lookout's lighthouse opened for tours Thursday to Monday through September in 2025.

02

Respect private land and closed sites

Fort Ritchie is privately owned and being redeveloped, with businesses open on part of it. The Bainbridge site above Port Deposit is a private construction and logistics site, and its remaining Tome School buildings have been watched by security cameras since 2020. Kempton's few remaining houses are homes. Wagner's Point is now industrial land around Baltimore's sewage plant. Look from public roads unless a site is open to visitors.

03

Western Maryland means mountains and old mines

Kempton and the other Garrett County townsites are in the Allegheny highlands on the West Virginia line; check road and weather conditions before you go. Kempton's abandoned mines still drain acid water into the North Branch of the Potomac. Stay out of any mine opening.

04

Leave artifacts where they lie

Maryland Park Service rules forbid digging for relics, removing historic or prehistoric artifacts, and using metal detectors on lands, beaches and waters it controls, except where the rules allow it. That covers Daniels, Lapidum and Point Lookout. The Maryland Historical Trust asks finders to report artifact discoveries.

FAQ

Common questions

How many ghost towns are in Maryland?

We found no official count. Wikipedia's list named 43 entries in its June 12, 2026 version, with Daniels listed twice and more than a dozen in Garrett County. Our index lists 22 sites in Maryland, 12 of them with coordinates.

What is the best ghost town to visit in Maryland?

Daniels, in Patapsco Valley State Park west of Baltimore, has the most to see: the walls of St. Stanislaus Kostka church, house ruins and the old mill town's trails. Lapidum, in Susquehanna State Park, has the foundation of its 1868 hotel and a canal lock beside the road.

Can you visit Fort Ritchie?

Partly. The former Army post at Cascade is privately owned and being redeveloped. Since 2021 it has added businesses, a taproom, a cafe and a museum, and it hosts public events such as markets and the Ritchie Boy reunion. Other buildings are under restoration: in September 2025 the county said work was under way on several historic buildings.

Which ghost towns are closest to Baltimore?

Daniels is the closest to visit, about 18 miles and 30 minutes from downtown by road, in Patapsco Valley State Park. Lapidum is about 37 miles and 55 minutes northeast, in Susquehanna State Park. The Bainbridge site above Port Deposit is about an hour away but closed to the public, and Fort Ritchie is about an hour and 45 minutes west.

What happened at Point Lookout?

In 1862 the Union built Hammond General Hospital on the point, and from 1863 Camp Hoffman, its largest prison camp. Built for 10,000 men, it held 12,000 to 20,000 at a time; about 50,000 soldiers passed through and nearly 4,000 died. A mass grave holds 3,384 Confederate dead. The area is now Point Lookout State Park.

Sources

  1. Coordinates: Wikipedia articles (GNIS) for each site, accepted only where the article is the site's own.
  2. Drive times: OSRM routing on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), October 28, 2026.
  3. Wikipedia, "List of ghost towns in Maryland", version of June 12, 2026, read October 28, 2026: 43 entries, the Garrett County places, Frenchtown and Wagner's Point.
  4. Wikipedia, "Daniels, Maryland", revision of September 19, 2026: Elysville in 1810, Alberton in 1853, Daniels in 1940, the 1968 notice, Agnes in 1972, the church ruins, coordinates. Mid-Atlantic Day Trips, "Daniels Old Main Line and Ruins Loop Trail", April 20, 2019: dawn-to-dusk hours, about eight parking spaces, house ruins. The Banner, "You can still climb the ruins of one of the Baltimore area's last company towns", November 12, 2025: the St. Stanislaus Kostka church ruins, stone foundations in the woods, the Dogwood Road lot and Alberton Road trailhead, the flat mile and a half.
  5. Wikipedia, "Lapidum, Maryland", revision of June 3, 2025: the ferry, canal and landing, the 1868 hotel, decline by 1900, demolition in the 1960s, the foundation and Lock 9 in Susquehanna State Park, coordinates. P. H. Anderson, "Lapidum", August 1999: the hotel ruins at Lapidum and Stafford roads, the Mason-Dixon Trail. P. H. Anderson, "Mason Dixon Trail, Lapidum North to Rock Run", September 2000: the blue blazes, the hotel terraces, parking at Stafford and Lapidum roads.
  6. Wikipedia, "Point Lookout State Park", revision of August 10, 2026: Hammond General Hospital, Camp Hoffman, about 50,000 held and nearly 4,000 dead (per Maryland DNR), 3,384 in the mass grave, half the stockade site eroded, coordinates. Lex Leader, Point Lookout Lighthouse reopening, June 7, 2025: tours Thursday to Monday until September. Chesapeake Bay Program, "Experiencing the Bay's past at Point Lookout State Park", October 31, 2013: of three forts only a reconstructed Fort Lincoln remains.
  7. Wikipedia, "Fort Ritchie", revision of October 10, 2026: the 1926 Guard camp, the Military Intelligence Training Center, closure in 1998, the 2021 sale and new businesses, coordinates. Washington County, "Community Legacy Grant awarded for Historic Fort Ritchie redevelopment", January 16, 2026: a $300,000 state Community Legacy grant for Building 603 as a boutique hotel. Washington County, "Historic Fort Ritchie undergoes major revitalization", September 24, 2025: the taproom, cafe and museum, events, restoration work on historic buildings.
  8. Wikipedia, "Kempton, Maryland", revision of July 17, 2026: the Davis Coal and Coke Company, 1913, about 900 people, Mine No. 42 closed in 1950, acid mine drainage, coordinates. Wikipedia, "Garrett County, Maryland": the county lies in the Allegheny highlands. Frostburg State University, "Ghost Town", September 30, 2019: the Kempton Historical Archaeology Project, students' LIDAR mapping of the overgrown foundations, a handful of households left.
  9. Wikipedia, "United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge", revision of August 23, 2026: the Tome School campus, 1942 to 1976, 244,277 recruits by war's end, fires from 2014 to 2020, cameras in 2020, construction from 2022, coordinates. Maryland Board of Public Works, agenda item, March 4, 2026: a grant agreement with the Bainbridge Development Corporation and Cecil County for public roads and utilities on the site.
  10. Wikipedia, "Frenchtown (ghost town), Maryland", revision of September 20, 2026: the Elk River relay point and its decline. Wikipedia, "Wagner's Point, Baltimore", revision of January 22, 2026: the late-1990s buyout, demolished homes, the Patapsco wastewater plant.
  11. COMAR 08.07.06.18, relics, treasures and metal detectors on Maryland Park Service land. Maryland Historical Trust, "Metal Detecting in Maryland", read October 28, 2026: reporting finds.
  12. Site index: ghosttowns.com Maryland lists and Wikipedia, October 2026. County outlines: US Census via us-atlas (public domain).

Photo credits

  1. Daniels: Patorjk, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  2. Lapidum: Williamborg, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  3. Point Lookout: Famartin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. Fort Ritchie: Preservation Maryland, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
  5. Kempton: John Vachon, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  6. Bainbridge Naval Base: Patron Vectras, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0