If you are a fan of history, America’s landscape is riddled with historic tourist sites. However, if you want to get off the beaten path, and really discover some interesting pieces of American history, grab your camera and head off to one or more of these amazing, and often forgotten, abandoned historic places.
Cahawba, Alabama
A visit to Cahawba, Alabama is one you are not soon to forget. Cahawba served as the first state capitol of Alabama for six short years, from 1820-1826. Nestled along the Alabama and Cahaba rivers, this antebellum town thrived despite its low elevation and frequent flooding.
After the capitol was changed to Tuscaloosa in 1826, the town became a major distribution hub for cotton. During the Civil War the railroads to and from Cahawba were torn up by the Confederate army and used to lengthen another stretch of rail line.
The city then became a prison for Union soldiers who became infested with lice due to Cahawba’s unhealthy atmosphere. A massive flood in 1865 led to most of the town being abandoned by the following year. Although the town was briefly a Mecca for freed slaves after the Civil War, within 10 years, most of the houses in the town had been moved or torn down due to flooding.
Although nature has taken back much of the town over the decades, you can still see the ruins of many buildings such as the Fambro/Arthur mansion house, and St. Luke’s Church and cemetery as you navigate the once busy, but now decayed streets.
Salton Riviera, California
Not too far from Palm Springs and Los Angeles, once stood a thriving and beautiful resort town known as the Salton Riviera. Where nothing but desert used to be, the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake, was formed after flooding from the Colorado River caused man-made irrigation canals to overflow and keep overflowing in 1905.
For two years, the desert land became flooded, until finally the flooding ceased, and the Salton Sea was formed. However, it was not until the 1960’s that anyone thought the Salton Sea could be the next glittering resort town.
Once home to thousands of residents, tourists, politicians and movie stars, the Salton Riviera was lined with hotels, restaurants, businesses, and homes. Thousands of people came every year to vacation, boat, swim, and enjoy the beach along the lake.
Unfortunately the good times were not to last. Farm runoff in the 1970’s caused millions of fish and birds to begin dying from toxic Hydrogen sulfide gas. The smell was so foul and the gas so deadly, that many residents simply left, leaving everything behind. Today, where a glittering resort once stood, are the remains of homes, hotels, boats, vehicles, and even furniture.
Lake Shawnee Amusement Park, West Virginia
Amusement parks are supposed to be full of fun and magic. Unfortunately, for the now abandoned Shawnee Amusement Park, it also has a dark and cursed history. The park was built on desecrated Native American burial grounds and the site of a massacre of early settlers, the Clay family.
Built in the 1920’s, the amusement park was plagued by accidents and a few deaths, until it closed in 1966. Left to rot, you can still see the swings, Ferris wheel, and other rides, which are now overgrown with weeds and foliage. The Shawnee Amusement Park is open every October for Halloween tours, in honor of its dark history.