Abandoned Towns

Ghost town record · Botetourt County, Virginia

Lignite

Unincorporated area in the United States.

Record

About Lignite

Lignite is a ghost town in Botetourt County, Virginia, United States. A former lignite mining town owned by Allegheny Ore and Iron Company (which later became a subsidiary of Lukens Steel Company in 1907, it contained a company store, churches, school, post office, and a main street theater.

This is a site record: what public sources say about Lignite, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.

Map

Where Lignite is

USGS topographic map around Lignite
USGS topographic map, The National Map (public domain). The pin marks the coordinates in the record; old townsites are often a little off.

Historic maps

17 historic USGS maps cover Lignite

Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.

Showing the first 16.

Directions

Getting there

Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Before you go

  • Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
  • Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
  • Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.

Nearby

Other sites near Lignite

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our Virginia index.

Sources

Sources

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Lignite": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
  2. Wikipedia, "Lignite, Virginia": coordinates and summary.
  3. Wikidata Q6546705.
  4. USGS GNIS 1484841.
  5. USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
  6. USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).