A Tour of Abandoned Places of the Midwest

From ghost towns to forgotten theme parks, the United States is filled with abandoned places. Though these places exist in varying states of ruin, many of them still have a certain level of charm, character, and history about them. With its rich industrial past and frontier legacy, the American Midwest has quite a collection of abandoned places. Some are buried deep in the woods, while others lie inside city limits from Cleveland to Chicago.

Down an ungraded, gravel road along Rocky Creek in Winona, Missouri, stands a turbine mill that has existed since the 1920s and still stands on its original stone foundation. Joliet, Illinois was once home to the second-largest steel mill in the United States. Today all that remains of the once sprawling complex are several concrete ruins now preserved by the county forest district. From abandoned silos to estates reclaimed by nature, take a tour across the abandoned Midwest.