List of ghost towns in South Dakota
This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in South Dakota, United States of America.
Classification
Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have any trace of civilization and have reverted to pasture land or empty fields. Other sites are unpopulated but still have standing buildings.Barren site
- Sites no longer in existence or have been destroyed
- Deserted or barren
- Covered with water
- Reverted to pasture
- May have a few difficult-to-find foundations/footings at most
Neglected site
- Only rubble left
- Buildings or houses still standing, but majority are roofless
Abandoned site
- Building or houses still standing but all abandoned
- No population, except possibly a caretaker
- Site no longer in existence except for one or two buildings
Ghost towns
A through B
| Name | County | Dates | Status | Notes |
| Addie Camp | Pennington | 1892-1917 | Neglected | Also known as Kennedyville, Canadaville, or Addie Spur. |
| Albany | Lawrence | |||
| Allen's Camp | Pennington | |||
| Allerton | Lawrence | |||
| Alta | Pennington | 1870s-? | Neglected | Also known as Altamine. |
| American City | Lawrence | Barren | The exact location is unknown due to flooding that has destroyed all traces of the town. | |
| Anchor | Lawrence | This town was in the Ragged Top mining district. Not to be confused with Anchor City. | ||
| Anchor City | Lawrence | This was an early mining camp close to Deadwood. Also called Anchor; not to be confused with Anchor. | ||
| Annie Creek | Lawrence | Also called Stanley City or Reliance. | ||
| Ardmore | Fall River | 1889-2004 | Abandoned | |
| Argonne | Miner | 1886-1970s | Barren | |
| Argyle | Custer | Barren | ||
| Arpan | Butte | |||
| Astoria | Lawrence | 1887-? | Neglected | |
| Athboy | Corson | Abandoned | ||
| Atlantic City | Custer | Barren | The exact location of the town and its mine are a mystery. | |
| Bakerville | Custer | Barren | ||
| Ball | Butte | |||
| Balmoral | Lawrence | c. 1897-1910s | Neglected | Possibly an earlier name for Cyanide, which was in the same mining district. |
| Bangor | Walworth | Barren | ||
| Bear Butte | Lawrence | Not to be confused with Bear Butte, the butte located to the southeast of the town site. It is also called Bare Butte. | ||
| Bear Gulch | Lawrence | c. 1870s-? | Not to be confused with the Bear Gulch settlement in Pennington County. | |
| Bear Gulch | Pennington | Barren | Submerged under Pactola Lake. This was a stop along the Black Hills & Western Railroad. Not to be confused with the Lawrence County settlement by the same name. It is also called Elkhorn. | |
| Bear Rock | Custer | An early placer mining camp. It housed the first post office in the Black Hills, which was only a cave where mail was delivered. | ||
| Beaver City | Lawrence | 01/1878-? | Barren | |
| Bernardsville | Lawrence | c. 1877-? | Barren | Exact location unknown, but is somewhere one-half mile east of the Wyoming state line. |
| Besant | Lawrence | Neglected | Also called Besant Flats or Besant Park. | |
| Big Bottom | Meade | 1878-1887 | Neglected | |
| Bismuth | Custer | Neglected | ||
| Black Fox | Pennington | |||
| Blacktail | Lawrence | |||
| Bloomington | Brown | ?-1877 | Barren | Was destroyed by outlaws. |
| Bluevale | Pennington | ?-c. 1900 | Barren | |
| Bon Homme | Clay | Abandoned | ||
| Boughton | Lawrence | Barren | ||
| Boulder | Lawrence | ?-1880s | Barren | Also called Boulder Park. |
| Brashville | Lawrence | February 2, 1881-June 1882 | The dates listed are the dates that the post office was in operation. | |
| Brennan | Pennington | Also called Warbonnet and Siding Eleven. | ||
| Buena Vista | Fall River | Neglected | ||
| Buena Viste | Lawrence | Barren | ||
| Bugtown | Custer | ?-1880s | Barren | |
| Burdock | Fall River | Neglected | Also called Argentine. |
C through D
E through H
| Name | County | Dates | Status | Notes |
| East Sioux Falls | Minnehaha | |||
| Elizabethtown | Lawrence | Later incorporated into Deadwood. | ||
| Elmore | Lawrence | Abandoned | ||
| Emmet | Union | 1871-? | Neglected | |
| Englewood | Lawrence | Also called Ten Mile Ranch. | ||
| Etta | Pennington | Barren | Also called Etta Camp. | |
| Eureka | Pennington | Not to be confused with Eureka in McPherson County. | ||
| Evans Place | Lawrence | Barren | Its exact location is unknown. | |
| Everts | Walworth | Barren | ||
| Fair View | Pennington | Barren | Existed around 1887. | |
| Farmingdale | Pennington | Abandoned | ||
| Firesteel | Davison | 1875-? | Barren | |
| Flatiron | Lawrence | 1890s-? | Neglected | Not to be confused with the other Flatiron. It was a successful mining town from the 1890s until about the 1930s. |
| Flatiron | Lawrence | c. 1921-? | Barren | Not to be confused with the Flatiron which was much bigger and existed long before this town. |
| Flora | Custer | 1890s | Barren | Was a tin mining town. Its exact location is unknown. |
| Floral | Pennington | Neglected | Also called Florence. Not to be confused with Florence, South Dakota located in Codington County; or the similarly-named ghost town Flora. | |
| Folsom | Custer | Was a gold mining town. | ||
| Forest City | Submerged under Lake Oahe. | |||
| Fountain City | Lawrence | Also called Mountain City. Was incorporated into Deadwood. | ||
| Gayville | Lawrence | Also called Troy, it was an early placer mining camp that had a significant population, but was later absorbed into Deadwood. Not to be confused with the Gayville in Yankton County. | ||
| Gibralter | Meade | 1877-? | Barren | Also spelled Gibraltar. |
| Glendale | Pennington | 1880s-? | Also called Otho. | |
| Golden Centre | Lawrence | |||
| Golden Summit | Pennington | Also called Summit. Not to be confused with Summit, also located in Pennington County. | ||
| Golden West | Pennington | c. 1900-c. 1920 | Barren | |
| Gold Hill | Lawrence | |||
| Gopher | Corson | 1910-? | Barren | |
| Gothland | Union | |||
| Grandview | Pennington | Barren | ||
| Greenwood | Lawrence | 1885-1912 | Barren | Also called Laflin. The last house was torn down in 1971. |
| Gregory | Lawrence | 1879-? | Barren | Also called Montana City. Not to be confused with the Gregory, South Dakota located in Gregory County; or the other Montana City in Lawrence County. |
| Griggs | Lawrence | Barren | ||
| Hagginsville | ||||
| Hammer | Roberts | ?-1930s | Neglected | |
| Harney | Pennington | 1876-1900 | Abandoned | Not to be confused with the military encampment by the same name in Custer County. |
| Hayward | Pennington | 11/1876-? | Abandoned | Also spelled Hayword. |
| Heppner | Fall River | |||
| Hillhead | Marshall | 1915-1970s | Neglected | Also called Hilltop or Airmont. |
| Hillside | Butte | Neglected | ||
| Hill Side | Union | |||
| Hooker | Turner | Abandoned | ||
| Hoover | Butte | |||
| Hornblende Camp | Pennington | 1899-1915 | Barren | Also called Horneblende. |
| Huseboe | Corson | Neglected | Also called Lightcap. | |
| Hustleton | Pennington | Existed around January 1877. |
I through L
| Name | County | Dates | Status | Notes | - |
| Igloo | Fall River | c. 1942-after 1970 | Abandoned | Also known as the Black Hills Ordnance Depot, it was a residential community located near a munitions storage and maintenance facility. | - |
| Imlay | Jackson | 1907-? | Neglected | - | |
| Ivanhoe | Custer | Barren | Not to be confused with Yamboya, which was also called Ivanhoe but was a separate community. | - | |
| Junction City | Custer | c. 09/1879-c. 1881 | Neglected | - | |
| Kiddville | Custer | before September 20, 1879-? | Neglected | - | |
| Lakeview | Todd | Neglected | Only the school and church are still in use by the farming community, but the actual town no longer exists. | - | |
| Lancaster City | Lawrence | Barren | - | ||
| Lauzon | Custer | Neglected | - | ||
| LeBeau | Walworth | Barren | It is submerged beneath Lake Oahe. | - | |
| Lentz | Lawrence | - | |||
| Lexington | Lawrence | Barren | - | ||
| Lily | Day | 1883-2017 | Dissolved | Dissolved in March 2017 by the Day County court due to its population reaching zero. | |
| Lithia | Fall River | Barren | Most likely submerged beneath Angostura Lake. | - | |
| Lone Camp | Lawrence | Barren | Was an early mining camp. The exact location is unknown, but it was around Maitland and Carbonate. | - | |
| Lookout | Pennington | c. 1884-c. 1890 | Neglected | The residential community of Fort Lookout. | - |
| Lost Camp | Lawrence | Neglected | - | ||
| Luffman | Marshall | Barren | - |
M through O
| Name | County | Dates | Status | Notes |
| Macy | Butte | |||
| Maitland | Lawrence | 1877-c. 1915 | Neglected | Also called Midland, Garden City, and Sherman. |
| Maitland | Fall River | Barren | ||
| Manchester | Kingsbury | June 29, 1881-June 24, 2003 | Barren | The town was already in decline when it was completely destroyed during the 2003 South Dakota tornado outbreak. All that remains are the foundations of the buildings. |
| March | ||||
| Marietta | Fall River | Barren | ||
| Martin Valley | Custer | |||
| Mason | Butte | |||
| Maurice | Lawrence | Now the site of the power plant for the Homestake Mine. | ||
| Maverick | Pennington | Neglected | Existed around 1891. | |
| Mayo | Custer | Neglected | ||
| Melvin | Custer | |||
| Merritt | Lawrence | Barren | ||
| Middle Boxelder | Lawrence | Barren | This town's existence was proven by early photographs. However, its exact location is unknown. | |
| Minneapolis | Pennington | Barren | ||
| Minnelusa | Pennington | Barren | Existed in 1920. | |
| Minnesela | Butte | 1882-1901 | Barren | The first county seat of Butte County, it was notable for its rivalry with the neighboring town of Belle Fourche in the 1890s. |
| Mogul | Lawrence | |||
| Montana City | Lawrence | 1879-? | Not to be confused with Gregory, South Dakota, which was also called Montana City and was also located in Lawrence County. Montana City later became part of Deadwood. | |
| Montezuma | Lawrence | |||
| Moon | Pennington | Neglected | ||
| Morganfield | Union | |||
| Moss City | Custer | Its exact location is unknown. It was most likely in eastern Custer County. It had a post office during the Black Hills Gold Rush days, but its population was never determined. | ||
| Myers City | Pennington | Neglected | Also called Myersville. | |
| Mystic | Pennington | Abandoned | Also called Sitting Bull. | |
| Nahant | Lawrence | 1890-? | Barren | |
| Nasby | Lawrence | Barren | Existed around 1910 as a booming logging camp. | |
| Nerve City | Lawrence | 1896 | Located about north of Balmoral. | |
| New Berlin | Lawrence | 1878-? | Barren | |
| New Chicago | Lawrence | c. 1875-1877 | Barren | Was a camp later absorbed into Maitland, South Dakota. |
| Newton City | Pennington | c. 1878-? | Barren | |
| North Galena | Lawrence | Barren | The exact location is unknown, but it was probably somewhere around Galena. It was also called Carter City. | |
| Novak | Lawrence | Neglected | Also called Cindell Spur. | |
| Nugget City | Lawrence | Barren | Was in existence before or around 1898. | |
| Oak Flat | Lawrence | Barren | ||
| Ochre City | Pennington | Barren | Was a booming mining community around 1879. | |
| Okobojo | Sully | Neglected | ||
| Old Ashton | Spink | Neglected | ||
| Ordway | Brown | |||
| Oro | Lawrence | Also called North Lead. | ||
| Oreville | ||||
| Otis | Custer | Barren | The Custer State Game Lodge was built on the site of the town's mill. |