Ghost Towns in Illinois: 21 Photo Spots, Light & Night Sky Guide

Name	County	Elevation	Nearest town	Sky
New Philadelphia National Historic SiteNew Philadelphia	Pike County	—	Barry	3
Millville	Jo Daviess County	—	Warren	3
Bourbonais	Bureau County	208 m	Princeton	3
Sylvan	Cass County	185 m	Ashland	3
Elm Point	Bond County	185 m	Greenville	3
Bethel	Clay County	157 m	Louisville	3
Wanborough	Edwards County	149 m	Albion	3
White Oak Springs	Brown County	208 m	Mount Sterling	2
Tedens	DuPage County	181 m	Lemont	7
Griffin	Clark County	177 m	Marshall	4
Gurney	Cass County	192 m	Ashland	3
Midway	Fulton County	186 m	Abingdon	3
Shasta	Alexander County	101 m	Scott City	3
Chamness	Williamson County	138 m	Marion	4
Civer	Fulton County	207 m	Canton	4
Dutton	Pike County	230 m	Pittsfield	3
Lexington	Edwards County	119 m	Albion	3
Mills Prairie	Edwards County	130 m	Albion	3
Piankashawtown	Edwards County	127 m	Albion	3
Quaker	Edgar County	195 m	Cayuga	3
Crawfordsville	Crawford County	137 m	Lawrenceville	3

Sky = estimated Bortle class (1 darkest – 9 brightest).

Map

Weathered wood and rusted metal show texture best in low-angle light; overcast skies suit interiors and moody black-and-white work.

Respect private property and closures: many ghost towns are on private land or protected historic sites — never enter unstable buildings.
For interiors with windows, blend two exposures (one for inside, one for the view) instead of relying on HDR alone.
Old buildings under the Milky Way make strong night images in dark rural skies.
Look for details: door hinges, faded signs, square nails and window frames tell the story.
Leave everything as you found it; removing artifacts from public land is illegal.

Season: High-elevation mining towns are reachable mostly from June to October; desert ghost towns are best in spring and autumn.