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Rhyolite, NV - Located in the Bullfrog Hills about 120 mi northwest of Las Vegas, this town sprang up in the early 20th century as a mining town with the promise of gold.

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Rhyolite, NV - By 1907, the town—named after the local silica-rich volcanic rock—was bustling with life. It included a symphony and Sunday school. However, the promise of gold failed to pan out and the town was deserted in just a few years.

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Bodie, CA - Located along the California-Nevada border, this former mining town was booming with activity in 1876 when gold reserves were discovered nearby.

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Bodie, CA - Strolling through the town’s abandoned buildings might tempt visitors into taking a souvenir to bring home, but be aware: Local legends say ghosts guard the abandoned town from pilferers.

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Goldfield, AZ - The town sprang up in 1892 upon the discovery of gold ore in the region. Within five years, the town boasted a population of 1,500.

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Goldfield, AZ - By 1897, residents began to flock away in search of greener pastures—leaving the town completely deserted.

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Centralia, PA - A coal mine fire that started 50 years ago is still burning underground in this Pennsylvania town.

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Centralia, PA - As a result, most residents have left the near-ghost town. Only seven residents remain.

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Tombstone Historic District, AZ - The town is infamous for the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. The incident involved a 30-second shootout between lawmen and a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys. 

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Tombstone Historic District, AZ - The event is regarded as the most famous shootout in the history of the American Wild West.

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Calico, CA - Located in San Bernardino County in southern California, the former silver-mining town was bustling with life by the 1880s. It contained 3,500 residents, three hotels, five general stores, a meat market, bars, brothels, and three restaurants and boarding houses.

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Calico, CA - However by 1907, with the end of borax mining in the region, the town was completely abandoned.

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Glenrio, TX and NM - Formerly known as Rock Island, this town on the former U.S. Route 66 was founded in 1903 alongside the Rock Island Railroad.

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Glenrio, TX and NM - Because it was a busy road stop in its heyday, the town boasted filling stations, a restaurant, and a motel. When I-40 was built, the town no longer served its purpose and was abandoned.

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St. Elmo, NV - Founded in 1880, the town lies in the heart of the Sawatch Range, 20 mi southwest of Buena Vista at an elevation of 9,961 ft. During the gold and silver rush in the 1890s, about 2,000 people settled here.

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St. Elmo, NV - At its peak, it included a telegraph office, general store, town hall, five hotels, saloons, dancing halls, a newspaper office, and a schoolhouse.

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Bannack, MT - Named after the local Bannock Indians, the town was the site of a major gold discovery in 1862, and briefly served as the capital of Montana Territory in 1864.

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Bannack, MT - The infamous American West outlaw Henry Plummer—who was accused of leading a band of road agents and murdering many people—was elected the town's sheriff in 1863.

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Nelson, NV - Located near the El Dorado Canyon in the Eldorado Mountains, the town developed a reputation for being lawless. During the Civil War, deserters from both sides would wind up there.

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Nelson, NV - Because the town attracts tourists, the town contains about 30 residents still running businesses.

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Los Cerrillos, NM - The former mining town was rich in gold, silver, lead, and turquoise. It now makes up a part of the Santa Fe metropolitan area. 

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Los Cerrillos, NM - The Spaniards used the area's native inhabitants, the Tano Indians, as forced labor in the mines. After protesting and boycotting, they drove the Spaniards from the mining town. However, it was rediscovered by two Coloradan men in 1879, and the town resumed mining activities until resources were depleted in 1900.

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Ironton, CO - In the span of just three weeks during 1883, 300 buildings were built, bringing the town to life.

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Ironton, CO - A major transportation junction between Red Mountain Town and Ouray, the town served as a staging area for supplies coming from the latter, in addition to containing some of its own mines. Its last remaining resident, Milton Larson, died in the mid-1960s.

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Virginia City, MT - When two men discovered gold in the 1863, they tried to keep it a secret. However their plan failed, and soon the town was a designated mining district booming with life and activity.

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Virginia City, MT - The remote region of the Idaho Territory lacked law enforcement, with the exception of miners' courts. In late 1863, the region's wealth, lack of a justice system, and the poor travel infrastructure gave rise to criminal activity—in particular theft and murder along surrounding trails and roads. Road agents ended up killing up to 100 people between 1863 and 1864, resulting in the formation of vigilante groups, including the Vigilance Committee of Alder Gulch and the infamous Montana Vigilantes.

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Thurmond, WV - The former coal mining town prospered in its day, with a number of businesses and facilities catering to the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway.

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Thurmond, WV - Because the town still maintains many of the characteristics of a 1920s Appalachian coal town, Thurmond served as the filming location for John Sayles's 1987 movie, 'Matewan.'

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Kennecott, AK - The now-abandoned mining camp in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area was the center of activity for several copper mines in the early 1900s.

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Kennecott, AK -

The town's hospital stood out as the only white-washed building. The vast majority of the town's structures, including workers' bunkhouses, were painted the least expensive color at the time: red.

See also: The scariest places around the world

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