Ghost towns across the American Plains emerged from railroad expansion and homesteading in the mid-nineteenth century, only to collapse due to environmental disasters like the Dust Bowl and economic shifts. You’ll find settlements like Dearfield, an African-American agricultural community that flourished briefly before succumbing to drought and Depression. These abandoned sites, with their weathered churches and crumbling foundations, preserve vital narratives of boom-and-bust cycles that shaped American development. Their silent ruins await your exploration.
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12.1 Can Visitors Legally Collect Artifacts From Ghost Town Sites?…