Old mining camps, abandoned buildings and forgotten communities still dot the American landscape. Some have been preserved almost exactly as they were, while others have found unexpected new lives. From California and Alaska to Montana, Colorado, Maine, Oklahoma, Wyoming and New York, these ghost towns offer a glimpse into places that once had schools, hospitals, railroads, saloons and busy streets, as per a report by Smithsonian Magazine.
Their stories are different, but each one shows what can happen when the reason for a town's existence disappears.
