Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Puglia Italy - Matera
Italy • 8 days, 7 nights
Southern Italy: Castles, Caves & Coastal Treasures in Puglia
from
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Pinal Airpark
Note the chrysanthemum crests.
Hachiman Bridge
Clarendon War Memorial.
Clarendon War Memorial
This fried chicken is one of Bangkok’s most famous.
Gai Tord Jae Kee
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Everything at Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe is served in takeout containers.
Li’l Dizzy’s Cafe
The fried green tomato sandwich comes on jalapeño cornbread toast.
Café Reconcile
BBQ shrimp braised in beer are a popular menu item.
High Hat Cafe
The pastries at Lagniappe Bakehouse are worth waking up for.
Lagniappe Bakehouse
Peter Vazquez has been quietly making a name for himself for years.
The Appetite Repair Shop
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Haleakalā National Park’s summit region, shrouded in the pre-dawn fog.
Beware the Legends Behind These National Park Souvenirs
13 days ago
For Aguilar-Carrasco, nature is a powerful reminder of the interconnectedness of all life.
How Can National Parks Be Made Accessible to All? AO Wants to Know.
14 days ago
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
15 days ago
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
16 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States South Dakota Hermosa Spokane Ghost Town
Spokane Ghost Town is permanently closed.

This entry remains in the Atlas as a record of its history, but it is no longer accessible to visitors.

Spokane Ghost Town

Despite repeated attempts to make it work, this former mining town is now nothing but dust and memories.

Hermosa, South Dakota

Added By
Greg Janetka
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Spokane Ghost Town   Gregory T. Janetka
Spokane Ghost Town   Gregory T. Janetka
Spokane Ghost Town   Gregory T. Janetka
Stairs inside the watchman’s house   Gregory T Janetka / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the root cellar   Gregory T Janetka / Atlas Obscura User
Years of wallpaper in the watchman’s house   Gregory T Janetka / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The town of Spokane, South Dakota was born out of the fever of extracting lead, zinc, gold, and other metals from the Earth. However, it would go on to suffer the same fate as hundreds of other similar mining towns and is now abandoned.

Founded in 1890, the town was named for a silver mine in (the more famous) Spokane, Washington. The remnants of the town are situated in the Black Hills area of Custer County, 16 miles east of Custer. A functioning mine until the early 1940s, Spokane's profits fluctuated from year to year. According to surviving accounts, one of the best years for the town was 1927 when it shipped $114,742 worth of metals in today's dollars. The money allowed for a schoolhouse to be built and attracted plenty of miners to keep the place running.

With the stores of metal (and thus profits) drying up, the mine was closed in 1940. Several companies tried to turn a profit from it during the 1950s, including one that used it as an illegal dump site, but none of them had much luck. It is unclear when, but the mine's buildings burned down, while others which were deemed unsafe were destroyed by the U.S. Forest Service. A watchman stayed in the town until the mid-1980s, when it was officially abandoned.

Little has survived to this day, but explorers can still find the watchman's house, intact enough to walk through the first floor of, and the schoolhouse, which it is on its last legs. In addition to those buildings, there are some rusting cars, a root cellar complete with empty wooden shelves, and some foundations.

 

Related Tags

Ghost Towns Mines Ruins Abandoned

Know Before You Go

There are no signs for Spokane. It sits to the east of US-16, between North and South Playhouse Rd.

Community Contributors

Added By

Gregory T Janetka

Edited By

GlennL, EricGrundhauser

  • GlennL
  • EricGrundhauser

Published

May 23, 2014

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.inlander.com/spokane/rip-spokane/Content?oid=2189166
  • http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/sd/spokane.html
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane,_South_Dakota
Spokane Ghost Town
Spokane Ghost Town
Hermosa, South Dakota, 57744
United States
43.818708, -103.220183
Get Directions

Nearby Places

World's Largest Bigfoot

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Cosmos Mystery Area

Rapid City, South Dakota

miles away

Hall of Records in Mount Rushmore

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of South Dakota

South Dakota

United States

Places 59
Stories 7

Nearby Places

World's Largest Bigfoot

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Cosmos Mystery Area

Rapid City, South Dakota

miles away

Hall of Records in Mount Rushmore

Keystone, South Dakota

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of South Dakota

South Dakota

United States

Places 59
Stories 7

Related Stories and Lists

The United States of Abandoned Places

List

By Mar Nwe Aye and Charlotte Chadwick

Related Places

  • Bankhead

    Bankhead, Alberta

    Bankhead Ghost Town

    The ruins of the "20-year town" lay out among the mountains of Alberta.

  • United States Minor Outlying Islands

    Jarvis Ghost Island

    An abandoned guano-mining city in the South Pacific.

  • Postcard of the ghost town cemetery.

    Terlingua, Texas

    Terlingua Ghost Town

    An abandoned quicksilver mining town surrounded by the Big Bend parks.

  • Newcomb, New York

    Tahawus

    An old abandoned mining town in The Adirondacks where Theodore Roosevelt first learned of the shooting of President William McKinley.

  • Cabin made of old railroad ties.

    Carlin, Nevada

    Palisade

    Little is left of this formerly bustling railroad junction on the Transcontinental Railroad.

  • Decrepit shed.

    Denio Junction, Nevada

    Homer Verne (Adams) Mine

    An isolated early 20th-century gold mine in the remote Pine Forest Range contains much preserved equipment.

  • Malo Grablje, Croatia

    Abandoned Village of Malo Grablje

    This deserted town in the hills of Croatia’s "party island" may have a scandalous connection to King Henry VIII.

  • Argonne, South Dakota

    Argonne Ghost Town

    Once a thriving town of 100, Argonne was abandoned around 1970.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.