Welcome to the Atlas of Drowned Towns!

This very simple website is the first small step in a long-term, big project: recovering the histories of the dozens of communities inundated by river development projects — especially large dams — in the American West in the twentieth century. If you know, or even have a hunch, about such communities, please leave a comment! Some examples of what you might share:

  • The name and location of an inundated community
  • What happened to that community? Was it moved?
  • When was the community drowned?
  • What dam or other river development project led to the community’s inundation?
  • What historical resources about that community are available? Local archives, museums, avid collectors of historical memorabilia from the area, etc.

Thanks for participating in this exciting project!

Published by Bob H. Reinhardt

Associate Professor of History, Boise State University and Director, The Atlas of Drowned Towns

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