Kentucky’s creepy ghost towns

While “ghost town” often conjures images of out West, Kentucky has several eerie ghost towns of its own:

• Barthell – a once booming coal mining town launched in 1902, but was abandoned by 1961 after fires devastated the community.

• Bells Mine – this 18th century settlement became partially deserted after a huge Civil War battle; its graveyard is the only thing that remains today.

• Golden Pond – a 19th century town known for moonshiners during prohibition, it was abandoned in 1969.

• Creelsboro – several buildings and a rock house are all that remains of this once thriving 19th century trade center along the Cumberland River.

– Margaret Willard, The 100 Companies