List of ghost towns in Massachusetts

Last updated

An example of a "Babson Boulder" at Dogtown, Massachusetts Nevertry.jpg
An example of a "Babson Boulder" at Dogtown, Massachusetts

This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in Massachusetts . Ghost towns can include sites in various states of disrepair and abandonment. Some sites no longer have any trace of civilization and have reverted to pasture land or empty fields. Other sites are unpopulated but still have standing buildings. Some sites may even have a sizable, though small population, but there are far fewer citizens than in its grander historic past.

Contents

Classification

A lighthouse and part of a Civil War artillery battery are all that remain at Long Point. Cape Cod Lighthouse (2769258284).jpg
A lighthouse and part of a Civil War artillery battery are all that remain at Long Point.

Barren site

Neglected site

Abandoned site

Semi-abandoned site

Historic community

List by county

Barnstable County

Berkshire County

Bristol County

Essex County

Franklin County

Hampshire County

Middlesex County

Worcester County

  • Dana, submerged to form Quabbin Reservoir

Notes and references

  1. A map of the extremity Of Cape Cod including the Townships of Provincetown & Truro: with a chart of their sea coast and of Cape Cod Harbour, State of Massachusetts (Map). 1 : 10,560. Cartography by U.S. Topographical Engineers, under direction of Maj. J.D. Graham; Reduced from orig. by Washington Hood. Bureau of U.S. Topographical Engineers. 1836. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  2. "Historical Timeline of Provincetown, Massachusetts" (PDF). Town of Provincetown. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  3. Vorse, Mary Heaton (1942). A. Heller, J. O'Brien (ed.). Time and the town: a Provincetown chronicle (reprint, illustrated ed.). New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. p. 87. ISBN   9780813517520 . Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  4. Brooks, Rebecca Beatrice (March 14, 2021). "Ghost Towns in Massachusetts". History of Massachusetts Blog. Retrieved February 13, 2023.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provincetown, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincetown has a summer population as high as 60,000. Often called "P-town" or "P'town", the locale is known for its beaches, harbor, artists, tourist industry, and as a popular vacation destination for the LGBT+ community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truro, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Truro is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, comprising two villages: Truro and North Truro. Located slightly more than 100 miles (160 km) by road from Boston, it is a summer vacation community just south of the northern tip of Cape Cod, in an area known as the "Outer Cape". English colonists named it after Truro in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provincetown Harbor</span> Harbor in Provincetown, Massachusetts, USA

Provincetown Harbor is a large natural harbor located in the town of Provincetown, Massachusetts. The harbor is mostly 30 to 90 feet deep and stretches roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) from northwest to southeast and 2 miles (3.2 km) from northeast to southwest – one large, deep basin with no dredged channel necessary for boats to enter and exit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quabbin Reservoir</span> Massachusetts reservoir which serves the Boston area

The Quabbin Reservoir is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts, and was built between 1930 and 1939. Along with the Wachusett Reservoir, it is the primary water supply for Boston, 65 miles (105 km) to the east, and 40 other cities and towns in Greater Boston. The Quabbin also supplies water to three towns west of the reservoir and acts as backup supply for three others. By 1989, it supplied water for 2.5 million people, about 40% of the state's population at the time. It has an aggregate capacity of 412 billion US gallons (1,560 GL) and an area of 38.6 square miles (99.9 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Point (Cape Cod)</span> Extreme tip of Cape Cod, Massachusetts and former human settlement

Long Point is a peninsula located in Provincetown, Massachusetts, at the extreme tip of Cape Cod, as it curls back in on itself to create Provincetown Harbor. The Long Point Light was built on this point in 1827. The lighthouse once shared this peninsula with a settlement of fishermen that came to be known as Long Point, Massachusetts. This Provincetown village grew and thrived from 1818 until the late 1850s. When the settlers decided to leave Long Point, they took most of their houses with them – about 30 structures in all – by floating them across the harbor.