While the town was abandoned, the area was never completely demolished.
The town was evacuated during the 1940s for the Weldon Spring Ordnance Works, which processed uranium and manufactured dinitrotoluene and trinitrotoluene. I’d highly recommend checking the area out if you’re nearby. Of all the ghost towns in Missouri, Times Beach has one of the wildest stories.
Many people left behind their homes, possessions, and way of life. Times Beach’s mayor, Marilyn Leistner, says that she has questions about the evacuation. Residents connect through social media sites and hold reunions. Today, despite the ominous news, the spirit of Times Beach remains. This park is easily accessible from I-44, exit 266. In 1999, it opened a historical museum on the site and preserved several Times Beach homes. The Missouri state government cleared the town of its toxic waste and added a Route 66 State Park. It is estimated that Times Beach once numbered more than two thousand people. Despite the dust, residents continued to live in Times Beach. When a major flood hit the town, the poison spread to water supplies and natural groundwater. Residents had hired someone to spray a dust suppressant on the roads without knowing he was spraying waste oil and dioxin. In 1982, the town of Times Beach, Missouri, suffered from the worst environmental disaster in US history.
