Ghost Towns in Missouri: 94 Photo Spots, Light & Night Sky Guide

Name	County	Elevation	Nearest town	Sky
Far West	Caldwell County	—	Cameron	3
Times Beach	Saint Louis County	133 m	Eureka	6
Columbia Bottom Conservation AreaGateway Arch	Saint Louis County	—	Hartford	6
Alamode	Reynolds County	266 m	Piedmont	2
Emmett	Dade County	351 m	Ash Grove	3
Carson	Howell County	280 m	West Plains	4
Shepard	Iron County	361 m	Bismarck	2
Belmont	Mississippi County	88 m	Clinton	2
Wakenda	Carroll County	—	Carrollton	3
Dairyville	Reynolds County	362 m	Piedmont	2
Helvey	Reynolds County	182 m	Piedmont	2
Pinkley	Reynolds County	220 m	Ironton	2
Riverside	Reynolds County	163 m	Piedmont	2
Martinsburg	Ripley County	103 m	Doniphan	2
Corbin	St. Clair County	219 m	Warsaw	2
Valley Forge	Saint Francois County	260 m	Farmington	5
Blosser	Saline County	201 m	Marshall	3
Grays Point	Scott County	103 m	Scott City	4
New York	Scott County	94 m	Scott City	3
Castle Rock	Osage County	167 m	Wardsville	4
Dingley	Osage County	316 m	Belle	3
Feuersville	Osage County	232 m	Belle	3
Lisletown	Osage County	168 m	Taos	3
Fourteen Bend	Pemiscot County	84 m	Ridgely	3
Westbrook	Pemiscot County	78 m	Steele	3
De Camp	Phelps County	272 m	Saint James	3
Signal	Phelps County	275 m	Rolla	3
Westcott	Phelps County	287 m	Rolla	3
Clifford	Polk County	301 m	Buffalo	3
Dewey	Polk County	341 m	Bolivar	3
Gresham	Polk County	327 m	Willard	3
Ingalls	Polk County	322 m	Buffalo	2
Orleans	Polk County	302 m	Bolivar	3
West Liberty	Putnam County	271 m	Terre Haute	2
Congo	Shannon County	324 m	Mountain View	2
Sinkin	Shannon County	354 m	Salem	2
Castorville	Stoddard County	107 m	Bloomfield	2
Cedar Valley	Taney County	295 m	Hollister	3
McFarland	Taney County	226 m	Forsyth	3
Gravel Point	Texas County	384 m	Cabool	2
Raftville	Texas County	315 m	Licking	2
Greene Springs	Vernon County	262 m	El Dorado Springs	3
Pashaw	Vernon County	254 m	El Dorado Springs	3
Abattis	Warren County	172 m	Hermann	3
Morsey	Warren County	226 m	Warrenton	3
Prairieview	Warren County	239 m	Warrenton	3
Adelbert	Washington County	250 m	Potosi	3
Fourche a Renault	Washington County	221 m	Potosi	3
White	Washington County	250 m	Potosi	3
Barlow	Wayne County	128 m	Piedmont	2
Chaonia	Wayne County	110 m	Poplar Bluff	2
Kerrigan	Wayne County	178 m	Piedmont	2
Taskee Station	Wayne County	119 m	Poplar Bluff	2
Compton	Webster County	398 m	Strafford	4
Hiatt	Webster County	428 m	Marshfield	2
Antler	Wright County	457 m	Mountain Grove	2
Hawley	Wright County	420 m	Mountain Grove	3
Rembert	Wright County	391 m	Mansfield	2
Boxford	DeKalb County	292 m	Maysville	3
Lindersville	Adair County	257 m	Kirksville	3
Boonesborough	Boone County	252 m	Columbia	4
Cote Sans Dessein	Callaway County	186 m	Taos	3
Garrett	Callaway County	262 m	Hermann	3
Stroderville	Cape Girardeau County	121 m	Marble Hill	3
Fisher	Carroll County	298 m	Carrollton	3
Barren	Carter County	141 m	Doniphan	2
Eaudevie	Christian County	374 m	Merriam Woods	3
Lawing	Christian County	399 m	Ozark	4
Byberry	Cooper County	244 m	Tipton	3
Avery	Crawford County	264 m	Cuba	3
Bayfield	DeKalb County	270 m	Gower	3
Rippee	Douglas County	239 m	Ava	2
Tedrick	Douglas County	325 m	Ava	2
Boone	Franklin County	257 m	Bourbon	3
Calvey	Franklin County	200 m	LaBarque Creek	4
George	Franklin County	164 m	Saint Clair	3
Senate Grove	Franklin County	233 m	New Haven	3
Walbert	Franklin County	229 m	Gerald	3
Leduc	Gasconade County	271 m	Belle	3
Kings Grove	Holt County	303 m	Mound City	2
Landmark	Howard County	238 m	Fayette	3
Atchley	Laclede County	353 m	Lebanon	4
Fortyville	Lafayette County	257 m	Higginsville	4
Gaither	Lawrence County	351 m	Mount Vernon	3
Bunker Hill	Lewis County	211 m	Canton	2
Burr Oak	Lincoln County	171 m	Winfield	4
Mashek	Lincoln County	182 m	Troy	4
Leopolis	Livingston County	232 m	Chillicothe	3
Longville	Macon County	247 m	Macon	2
Cherry Dell	Marion County	213 m	Monroe City	2
Enterprise	McDonald County	245 m	Anderson	3
Hallett	Mississippi County	98 m	Charleston	4
Norfolk	Mississippi County	96 m	Cairo	2
Kingbee	Ripley County	106 m	Doniphan	2

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

Map

How to photograph ghost towns

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.