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State hub · New Hampshire
New Hampshire's ghost towns are mostly logging camps, hill farms and early settlements gone back to forest. Wikipedia's list names 70, from White Mountain logging villages to unpeopled grants in Coos County. Monson, founded in 1737, was one of New Hampshire's first inland settlements; it was abandoned in 1770, a loss usually blamed on its poor soil. Cellar holes remain in a Forest Society reservation.
Livermore, the best known, was the Saunders family's sawmill town on the Sawyer River, incorporated in 1876 with its own railroad. It peaked at 191 people in 1900, its last mill closed in 1928, the last residents left in 1949, and the legislature dissolved it in 1951. The land is now White Mountain National Forest.
Offshore, the fishing township of Gosport on Star Island lost most of its people when the Shoals were evacuated in the Revolution, and the island was annexed to Rye in 1876; its 1800 stone chapel still stands. Two Shaker villages also emptied: Enfield's Shakers left in 1923, and Canterbury's last Shaker sister died in 1992. Both are museums now.
Where to start
Open attractions, living towns and true ruins, with their current status.
Grafton County
Sawmill town of the Saunders family on the Sawyer River, incorporated in 1876 and dissolved in 1951. The sawmill and powerhouse foundations, cellar holes and the school site lie in the national forest off Sawyer River Road, about 1.5 miles from US 302, per a November 2015 visit report. The road has been closed to vehicles since a December 2023 storm washed part of it out; the Forest Service still listed it closed on May 5, 2026.
Hillsborough County
Colonial settlement founded in 1737 and abandoned in 1770, a loss usually blamed on its poor soil. Monson Center is a 269-acre Forest Society reservation in Milford and Hollis, with early cellar holes and easy, level trails, walked on a guided hike on October 10, 2025.
Rockingham County
Fishing township on Star Island in the Isles of Shoals, set up in 1715. Most of its people left when the Shoals were evacuated in the Revolution, and the island was annexed to Rye in 1876. The 1800 stone Gosport Chapel still stands. The island is now a private conference center run by the Star Island Corporation, open to day visitors from June through September; Visit NH listed a public open house for September 20, 2026.
Merrimack County
Not a ruin but a museum village. The Shaker community was founded here in 1792 and had about 300 members in 1850; Sister Ethel Hudson, the last Shaker here, died in 1992. The historic site has 27 original Shaker buildings, open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the 2026 season; the grounds and trails are free from dawn to dusk year-round.
Grafton County
Not a ruin but a museum. Shakers settled here on Mascoma Lake in 1793 and numbered nearly 300 by 1840; they left for Canterbury in 1923, and La Salette missionaries ran a seminary on the site until 1974. The Enfield Shaker Museum, with exhibits in the Great Stone Dwelling of 1837 to 1841, is open for the 2026 season through October 31.
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 New Hampshire index, with its county. A ◦ marks sites already on the map.
No sites match. Try fewer letters or another county.
Plan a trip
Livermore's ruins are about 1.5 miles up Sawyer River Road from US 302. A December 2023 storm washed out part of the road, and the White Mountain National Forest lists it as closed to vehicles until repaired (status of May 5, 2026). When the forest announced the closure in March 2024 it said foot travel was allowed but parking at the gate on US 302 is limited. Check the forest's road status page before you go.
Gosport is reached only by boat. The Star Island Corporation lists ferries from Portsmouth (Isles of Shoals Steamship Company) and Rye (Uncle Oscar's), suggests reservations, and opens the island to visitors from June through September. Visit NH listed its 2026 public open house for September 20, with a boat from Portsmouth.
Canterbury Shaker Village, at 288 Shaker Road, was open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the 2026 season, with guided tours from May to November included in admission; the grounds and trails are free from dawn to dusk all year. The Enfield Shaker Museum, at 447 NH Route 4A, is open from May through October 31 in 2026, Wednesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Livermore is on national forest land, where removing historic artifacts breaks federal law. Monson Center belongs to the Forest Society; leave its cellar holes as you find them. Its parking lot is small, off Adams Road in Hollis.
FAQ
We found no official count. Wikipedia's list, which calls itself incomplete, named 70 places in its October 26, 2026 version, many of them logging camps and unpeopled land grants in the White Mountains and Coos County. Our index lists only 5 sites in New Hampshire.
Livermore, the Saunders family's logging town in the White Mountains, dissolved by the legislature in 1951. Foundations of the sawmill and powerhouse, cellar holes and the school site remain in the national forest off Sawyer River Road, closed to vehicles since a December 2023 storm.
Monson was founded in 1737, but its land was poor and its resources limited, and it was abandoned in 1770. Its land is now part of Hollis, Milford, Amherst and Brookline. Why the settlers left so completely is still debated.
Monson Center, on the Milford and Hollis line, is about 21 miles and 40 minutes from Manchester by road. Canterbury Shaker Village is about 31 miles and 45 minutes north, and the Enfield Shaker Museum about an hour and a half away. Livermore is in the White Mountains, about 1.5 miles up Sawyer River Road from US 302, on foot while the road is closed to vehicles.
Abandoned