Think about the town you live in. Now, if you can, recall how many new construction sites you passed on your way to work or to the grocery store today. Chances are you have passed at least one. Now, what would you say if I were to tell you that right now, as you drive by that new house being built or the new shopping center going up, there are entire cities in America that have been abandoned and left for nature to reclaim them? Seems like a plot for a movie or a video game doesn’t it? I agree and I’m completely fascinated. In this new monthly series, I plan to explore and introduce places across this great nation that have long since been forgotten.

1. The Wonderland Club Hotel; Great Smoky Mountains; Elkmont, Tennessee

This is the amazingly beautiful Wonderland Club, or rather, what it looked like in its heyday when its guest list read like a who’s who in Tennessee society. Built by Knoxville business men in 1919, the Wonderland Club was the go to vacation spot for the wealthy. This gorgeous hotel boasted fifty rooms, each with its own décor theme and bathroom, some rooms even had claw foot tubs in their bathrooms. In addition to the luxury hotel there were cottages on the property.

The Wonderland Club flourished and was the choice spot among those who graced the society pages until the government formed the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in 1934. Those who owned the cottages were offered a lifetime lease on their property, meaning they could stay but when the last person living in the structure passed away the government would assume ownership. Eventually, these leases were revoked and turned into ones with twenty year limits and the national park service refused to renew the leases when they expired. As time progressed the once majestic hotel suffered severe structural failure and collapsed.

This is all that remains today:

2. Centralia, Pennsylvania

Founded in 1866, Centralia was once a booming town which flourished on the back of its lucrative coal mining industry. In the early 1900’s the demand for the type of coal found in Centralia’s mines diminished and as a result the population dwindled from a once staggering 2800 persons to about 2000. In 1962, a fire which was intended to reduce the amount of waste in a landfill, traveled underground into Centralia’s network of mines and because of the existence of so many vents and openings to these mines it has resisted all attempts at being extinguished. Centralia is quite literally a city on fire and most likely it will continue to burn well into the future. Because of unsafe conditions residents were evacuated and relocated to neighboring towns. Those who did stay had their land and houses seized under eminent domain by the Pennsylvania government.

Today Centralia boasts a population of ten residents whose dedication to their beloved town far outweighs their concerns of safety. This ghost town is so creepy to most people who visit it that it actually inspired the movie and video game “Silent Hill”.

You can learn more about Centralia, its history, as well as the remaining residents by clicking here.

3. River Country; Disney World Resort; Orlando, Florida

Unless you have lived in total isolation your whole life, you have heard of Disney World. I would even be willing to wager that the majority of you reading this have visited or vacationed there at least once in your lifetime. However, I’d also be willing to bet that only a handful of you have ever heard of River Country. Chances are, unless you are over the age of about 25, you would not know that the current Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are not Disney World’s first ventures into the land of water parks.

River Country opened to the public in June 1976 and was highly popular in its day. It was built with the intent to be a model of somewhere Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn would have gone for a swim and featured a sandy bottom "lake", water slides, and a unique water filtration system which drew water directly from the adjacent Bay Lake to fill up its two pools. Visitors loved River Country and it was among Disney World’s most popular and busiest park within the resort for many years.

In November 2001 the park was closed for the season as it always was and the public was expecting it reopen the following spring. With the decline in the number of guests all over the resort, Disney made the executive decision to delay the opening of River Country in the spring of 2002. In appeared as though the fate of the attraction was in limbo. It remained as such until the year 2005 when Disney announced River Country would be closed for good. Since that time it has been left in its current state, untouched, and seemingly forgotten. Disney announced plans earlier this year to drain the remaining water in the pools, but as of today there are no plans to demolish what remains or reuse the land for another attraction.

4. The Elko Tract; Henrico County; Richmond, Virginia

Okay, I admit I may be biased as this is located in my home state, but I do believe this is the most interesting one on the list. I say this because not a whole lot is known about it and not many pictures of what actually exists there today can be found easily online without a lot of digging around. Most of the information that actually exists online is comprised of speculation and urban legends. Curious about the picture above? Let me explain.

In the 1940’s VA was kind of a big deal militarily speaking. In Norfolk, the naval base was a hub for warships and the various air bases were vital to the war effort as well. One of these air bases was Richmond’s Byrd airport. Well, urban legend has it that the government was concerned about possible air raids by German and other Axis forces. In an effort to protect Richmond and her air base a fake city was built not far from Richmond’s city limits. This decoy city supposedly had houses, paved streets, and even a large air field.

Now here’s where it gets really interesting and where the picture above really comes into play. The idea was that when the enemy attacked Richmond and her surrounding cities would go completely black, save for this decoy. The enemy would subsequently fire on this uninhabited city thus saving Richmond and her vital air base. Again, most of this is hearsay, but nevertheless this little town does appear to exist. It’s exact purpose though remains unknown to this day.