You’ll find Rhode Island’s ghost towns quietly disappearing beneath forest canopies, where nature’s reclaimed what humans abandoned. Fort Wetherill‘s military fortifications, decommissioned in 1946, now crumble under coastal erosion and creeping vegetation across 61.5 acres. Meanwhile, Hanton City—a colonial settlement that vanished between 1800-1850—hides stone foundations, cellar holes, and quarry scars beneath dense woodland in Smithfield. Nearly two centuries of ecological succession have transformed these sites, leaving only stone remnants as wooden structures rotted away. The stories behind their abandonment reveal fascinating patterns of disappearance.
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7.1 Are There Other Ghost Towns in Rhode Island Besides Hanton City?…