I Visited 2 Ghost Towns Along Route 66 Near St. Louis: Allenton & Times Beach

[@ChrisHarden]

Watch the video on Eureka here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWPUo4uJgb13prs Forgotton Towns Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLkAKbwTlGHeKD5no8Re8hEW5yDX9KPYr6 St. Louis Suburbs Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLkAKbwTlGHeI5aIcCV3CrAaJR-ruM5hYR Route 66 Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLkAKbwTlGHeIuEI5322mFtC8FDaQyH5re Missouri Playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLkAKbwTlGHeIXvc8HEI2mmzzTnnJCcnB9 Help me grow my 2nd channel! KZbin.com/@chrishardenarchives ==================================================================== EVERYTHING THAT I USE IN THE FIELD: Main Camera: amzn.to/3iS4vvF Side Cameras: amzn.to/2WuCYIs Media Mod for Camera: amzn.to/3j7CMGF Lav Mic: amzn.to/3lsMkz9 Drone: amzn.to/3ITcKBV SD Cards: amzn.to/3C2co9O Camera Mounts: amzn.to/2UXVR6p Cables Required for Longer Recordings: amzn.to/3BYnr3Q Computer: amzn.to/3787b2j External Hard Drive: amzn.to/3lb23Tf WHAT I USE AT HOME: Computer: amzn.to/3rKIdiN Sound Mixer: amzn.to/3C15Ubx Microphone: amzn.to/2VaCjvo Microphone Accessories: amzn.to/3v7A35Z INTERACTIVE MAP that shows you all of the places that I've made videos on: (Doesn't always work on mobile devices. Will always work on PC.) www.google.com/maps/d/u/2/edi... SOCIAL MEDIA & CONTACT INFO: Email: [e-mail] On Twitter: twitter.com/Chris_Harden55 On Instagram: instagram.com/c_harden7/?... On Facebook: facebook.com/ChrisHardenYT/ DISCLAIMER: Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you. As an Amazon Associate I do earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. As always, thank you for supporting my channel!

[@Huggy1959]

Chris, I enjoy your stories - I grew up in Detroit and I live immediately north of there in Warren today, but I wanted to mention a few things. First of all it’s kind of neat that you mentioned the towns of Eureka and Pacific. Those cities are home to two of the biggest suppliers to our industry (label printing) - Eureka, in addition to being the home of Six Flags Over Mid America is also the home of Rotometrics; Pacific is home to Lederle Tool & Machine Co. Both of them are major suppliers to the label industry and other players. One of the biggest machine suppliers (printing presses) is Mark Andy in Chesterfield. I believe there are other, smaller suppliers in the area as well. In 1966 I lived in a little town called Murphy, which was right outside of Fenton (where there are still more label industry suppliers). I remember some years ago when a friend and I were going to Six Flags. I was driving down I-44 and I remember passing the Times Beach exit - the exit was barricaded closed, the freeway sign was covered, but you could still see buildings and houses from i-44 - even a gas station. I read that they didn’t merely tear down the houses and buildings - they incinerated everything as well as all the dirt so as to destroy the dioxin. Oiling roads to keep dust down used to be pretty common everywhere but I have not seen it done years.

[@johnbersuch1767]

The large mound on the left at 28:00 is where everything in town was buried. Everything!

[@Insufficientfundsfml]

I grew up in Allenton. lived there until they bought us out. our house was right next door to the church that's still there. my great grandfather was the first minster of the church and helped build it. Allenton was a amazing place to grow up. sure we didn't have the money that our neighbors had but we where good people. its sad going thru a lot of memories in that town. The school house was deemed historical and is a family residence. also the bridge in times beach used to be open for pedestrians can't remember when they deemed it unsafe for that and removed the surface. my family moved from times beach to Allenton.

[@learemington1700]

I grew up on the Meremec river. This brought back memories of the towns closing. My family hails from the Bourbon/St. James area. We have a family cemetery just outside of Bourbon. We are old German immigrants from the 1800’s. Thanks for the details. We didn’t know back then.

[@shelbyz1974]

Wow Allenton! Pretty creepy with those old roads. Nice drone footage Chris!👍

[@ChrisHarden]

Thanks! And yes, very creepy

[@geno929]

I lived in Allenton while I was in college. Lots of wonderful people lived there too. We had a small post office, a pawn shop and the church was busy on weekends. We knew all of our neighbors and helped each other when needed. If you followed the road past the old Allenton School, it loops back towards Allenton and ends up on the east side of the church. There was a collection of river cabins along the Meramec that were damaged in the multiple floods along that river! It has a Missouri State River Access point, along Hunters Ford Road. We spent many years fishing and spending time with friends that lived in those old cabins! That was a different time and I do miss it! Thank You for your excellent video!

[@colinsuhre1558]

The historical context you add to these videos is outstanding. You're a great story teller, which adds a lot to the quality production. Well done!!!

[@w8stral]

The historical context... yes 100% and why I watch. Often VERY interesting. If only he knew what asphalt is while whining about spraying oil on a road... >

[@ed9492]

The one time eminent domain was a good idea, even if done for the wrong reasons. I hope the development never happens.

[@photosbyjf]

I can remember driving down 44 and seeing the exit for times beach. Years later the sign that indicated "times beach" the letters were gone but you could just see the faded outlines

[@charleykeenan6171]

I remember this so well.. We were dealing with the issues in Centralia, PA and this was sadly just one more failure.. It was also discovered during the late 1990's that Penn State University had been spraying contaminated "heavy water" from the nuclear lab for years.. Really sad..

[@jeffking4176]

I definitely remember Times Beach. It was all over the news, for a couple + years. 📻🙂

[@empressvogt]

In the satellite photos of Allenton there's a very few houses that were never torn down. That's cool. :) Makes me wanna visit. Also more ghost towns please.

[@williamgates4399]

OMG! We used to swim in Times Beach when I was a kid in the 1960s. I grew up in the small town of Maplewood, MO. One of the first cities in St Louis County.

[@jasonwomack4064]

In fairness, Russell Bliss didnt know the oil was toxic. Some of the dead horses were his, after he sprayed to keep dust down at his own stables.

[@nuclearcasserole]

i met the guy out there on the road once when i was a kid, the yellow stuff he was spraying smelled like a combination weed killer and insecticide, the truck he was driving had the look of a derelict piece of junk, it was a dirt and gravel road, he said he was spraying to keep the dust down. times beach used to be a great swimming area.

[@nuclearcasserole]

@@Dudeguymansir he was just a dumb country boy who figured he could make money doing a community service, with chemicals he did not know anything about. The people he bought the chemicals from had that toxic stuff and played him for the fool.

[@mikekeeler6362]

​@@nuclearcasserolethings to play out their time speech when the mosquito guy with fog the area pretty neat

[@mikekeeler6362]

I think that the one-room schoolhouse is on the historic register site

[@mikekeeler6362]

They had a really good restaurant there used to go there a lot now it's a museum Steiny's in

[@rosabart7921]

Times beach is seriously such a messed up story and it gets most of the publicity but if you were to go north just outside a little town called Moscow mills (my home for most my childhood) there was a horse stable that was coated with the nasty that times beach was too. My mom lived in moscow all her young life, i think she was 32 when our house burnt and we ended up moving, but when she was in grade school (what is now the city hall) she could see the people in hazmat suits working on that area. It sits fenced off to this day, the dioxin never leaves the soil despite their attempts to clean it and there is a creek that runs right by there called crooked creek and on the other side of the highway from the stables is an older junkyard, i personally know one person that died from three types of cancer working there five years, and my mom knows two more, my dad knows 5. its like the last resort, can't find squat job. a lot of people believe its tainted with the dioxin still among god knows what from the junkyard. Times beach on the other hand was turned into a conservation area and to my horror, people fish there and swim... the state should have let people know that its not safe, they are being exposed to such a toxic mess but no.. no warnings. the dioxin mix that was used in the times beach/shenandoah stables, is not one to go away, even taking up layers of dirt couldn't clear it and it leeches into ground water but in case of times beach, it was directly in the water for quite some time because the river would flood the area often. Its seriously scary to know that they know how dangerous it still is and made it a state park. crazy stuff. wouldn't be caught dead hunting or fishing or swimming there period. EDIT: I am pretty sure bliss wasn't aware of the nasty he was spewing out onto the streets. he got all the blame but big corps like that involved, he was a scapegoat. sadly. it ruined this mans life.

[@pointlessvideos2321]

He was aware of what the “oils” actually were, but nobody was really aware of the side effects. He sprayed a lady’s stables in Moscow mills with the stuff, and a lot of horses died at her place, even visiting horses got sick and had to be euthanized, or died directly from exposure. He did knowingly mix the chemicals, that he was subcontracted to dispose of, with the motor oil and other contaminants. Times beach also got most of the attention because it was the place that experienced the most contamination. Over 50% of the contamination from the chemical in the whole state was in that one town, that’s also why they built the incinerator there

[@JoeJennieJourney]

I remember both these town's as I'm from St. Louis

[@ganggreen9012]

My sisters and I road tripped from Ohio to California about 15 years ago. We were in the St. Louis area around noon and decided to stop for lunch at the Rt. 66 State Park, not knowing that it was the Times Beach location. As we were leaving, we stopped in at the visitor center. Interesting to see two very different historical events in the same museum. When we were there the Rt. 66 bridge was open to traffic.

[@CJColvin]

I've would've imagine what Times Beach Missouri would've looked like today, had they not spray deadly oil on the dirt roads but instead paid money for wayyyyyyy better paved roads?

[@kenj0418]

I expect it would still be gone today, but due to flooding instead of dioxin. I grew up in a similarly flood-prone area a bit down river from Times Beach. After 1993 it was bought out by the county and is deserted now too.

[@302Mustang13]

The fact that they were dumb enough to spray a dirt road to control dust is dumb enough before considering it being badly toxic. Sounds like the flood would have finished it off anyways.

[@CJColvin]

@@302Mustang13 Exactly mate

[@joannunemaker6332]

Such a pretty area. It's so sad how humans can destroy so easily.😢

[@ChrisHarden]

Agreed

[@CJColvin]

I know brother

[@BeingMe23]

The humans are the most dangerous animal species on earth.

[@MooseBme]

!(: I lIke how well and how quick nature takes it back though ;)!

[@johnhatchel9681]

We build so easily, too.

[@dansimon1100]

This is a pretty cool awesome video I love Route 66 history. I think I'm seeing that bridge before on another Route 66 video.

[@johnsmallberries3476]

Excellent video! 👊💥

[@davestrang8585]

I saw times beach before it was a park. Ominous signs everywhere warning of Dioxin. A pretty area. Enjoyed the video🎉🎉

[@kerrylawley]

I completely disagree with your assessment of the "why" Allenton was closed down and razed. The government declared it blighted so they could use imminent domain and also by declaring it blighted the government got additional powers over land owners in the town. It's a great example of government overreach. Allenton was never blighted and the government used the towns lower cost of living (compared to other areas) to claim it was blighted. I can show you many areas of St Louis much more blighted but those areas can't be "sold" by the government.

[@ChrisHarden]

I didn't say anything subjective. I'm confused as to what assessment of mine you're disagreeing with.

[@AssholeFace]

It was government overreach. As soon as they fix that bridge that has been budgeted for, it will look far from blighted 5 years later. Check out north St. Louis City and North County, if you want to see blighted. If only the Eureka board and Mayor Flower would push for the approved bridge... suspiciously no word from the mayor in almost a year. That bridge is very dangerous.

[@edwardr7577]

I do hope they are able to restore that Bridge.

[@AssholeFace]

All of the plans have been approved by the railroad and MoDot. It is very suspicious that the project hasn't yet begun because the bridge is very dangerous with a very, very low inspection score. It's been almost a year since all approvals were obtained. Eureka just needed to decide on a contractor. Something isn't quite right with the mayor completely silent about it.

[@pjesf]

Damn, I missed those when I did the drive in 2019. Thanks for posting👍🏻

[@lorealdrayton6164]

Amazinng footage! thank you!

[@ChrisHarden]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@Tocimah]

Thanks for the information. I can remember oil put down in central pa but maybe that was machine oil? It would have been nice to see some of the people of the towns. I would think the local historical museum would have that info.

[@johng5710]

There are indeed plans in the works to restore the Meramec River Bridge into a bicycle/pedestrian bridge, at least that is what I heard.

[@AssholeFace]

All necessary approvals (railroad and MoDOT) were obtained greenlighting the construction almost a year ago, yet crickets from the mayor.

[@danwebb5118]

Thanks, Chris! I lived in Arnold, while working on some Jefferson Barracks VHA projects.

[@ruthannelackey8624]

Ham’s Fork in Wyoming has the corner blocks left from the buildings and my grandad was born there

[@jesscarey7666]

Nice work 👍

[@jeffking4176]

Excellent video ❗️ 📻🙂

[@attrell]

Great videos! I can't help but keep watching more and more. How do you get all the geo information from your GoPro to show up in the footer of your videos?

[@Toastybees]

That school in Allenton had a satellite dish on top and is obviously well maintained, most likely it's now a private residence.

[@RebeccaBaker-og9yd]

Much better than a visitor guide.! But both useful. Thanks! 😮😅😊

[@gatewayexplorer9973]

Great video! There’s an abandoned resort across from Times Beach called Beck Park that you should check out.

[@dirkwyse1609]

Your research is excellent! Also the drone shots are awesome.

[@Spooty_Water]

I love to see urban areas that are now defunct, give me hope the planet with heal itself

[@CaptainSouthbird]

I personally never had a doubt about that... humanity will possibly end up destroying itself, and the planet will eventually just... rebuild.

[@colinsuhre1558]

Cool duck

[@brianberthold3118]

Times beach was a Super Fund site .. thats why its not there anymore

[@rob1788]

I grew up near here. This was on the news every night. To a child this was very scary and hunting when we drove by it. I drove by it in the 90s when the incinerator was there. I got to visit the park in 2014. It was pretty amazing. Thank for the memories.

[@rastus666]

Low-water crossings are used across the country because they are so much cheaper than bridges, and often dry. When the water is flowing fast and deep, the rule is: turn around, don’t drown.

[@HankPanky]

The last time I drove by Times Beach you could still see the street grid. Very eerie.

[@Greyteam4291]

It's a state park now😊

[@jetsons101]

Chris, just got home from work. Funny thing ---- some of the abandoned streets in Allenton can be viewed on google earth street view. Is the old schoolhouse a private home now? To be honest it takes a while to watch your videos as I'm always pausing and following along on google earth and looking around on street and bird views. That would be nice if the old Route 66 bridge could be made in a walking and biking bridge. Hmmmm Spraying "waste oil" on dirt roads, what could go wrong????? Even spraying use engine oil is still bad, it picks up lead from the "babbitt bearings," and lead and other nasty stuff from the gas used back then. I guess Times Beach puts the "Super" in Superfund Site. Well if the government says "Times Beach is Safe" than that all I need, LOL LOL LOL. Chris, sorry for the long comment but you did say to comment....................... Great watch.

[@ChrisHarden]

I think the old school might be residential. Whether it’s a single or multi-unit idk.

[@Nova.1]

It is a single family home now.

[@jetsons101]

@@Nova.1 Looks like a nice house but living on that road could be a little creepy on a rainy night. lol

[@LynetteFromme-fi8um]

Let me know if you’re coming to southern Arizona (if so, wait until after summer) and need any info. I know you can look online but sometimes it helps to get a local’s perspective. I like your videos.

[@michaelchappell902]

I remember both of these towns. What happened in Times Beach was after the four years that my wife and I lived in St. Louis County.

[@johnlevin4567]

I like in St Louis. I will definitely be visiting this place, thanks!

[@hellokittyfrosting]

Do you ever plan on exploring the old lead district in SE Missouri?

[@ChrisHarden]

Yup! One day

[@MiracleFound]

Doe Run. I know a guy who received a huge settlement as a result.

[@mikejones1328]

Great mini documentary

[@sully0001]

If you keep driving southerly from Allenton, you will see numerous homes and houses that were built well after Six Flags was built. The Visitors center was a Bar when I was a kid. The town wasn't some place where you wanted to go, naturally neither was the bar. I was a teen when the Dioxin scandal happened, and remember the flood that annihilated the town.

[@johnbuckner2200]

A great place to leave bodies. A couple of good bridges would make the area viable again.

[@amypotter1000]

Fantastic video!!

[@jameschristiansson3137]

One of your best vids. Enjoyed,.

[@KeithCindyPanama]

In Maryland they used to spray DDT to control mosquito’s in 1970s

[@davestrang8585]

The oil itself didn't contain dioxin it was the weed control chemical silvex or 2 4 5 T that degraded and dioxin formed. Silvex was used in many agricultural areas before it was banned.

[@elliebellie7816]

The end of local train stops and the coming of the Interstate Highway System was the ruination of many many small towns, my own hometown was one of them.

[@bretthousman8317]

there were winners and losers to the highway system certainly

[@twobrokeguyz1214]

As of this exact moment, your video about abandoned ghost towns along route 66 has 666 up votes. The time is 11:06. Just thought I'd write that.

[@ChrisHarden]

Haha nice

[@betornween]

Mother Nature always wins.

[@MiracleFound]

My husband and I looked at a house in Times Beach about 3 years before they closed it all down.

[@sammehlberg6664]

My mother in law and her family grew up in times beach. It definitely effected them

[@toomuchyoutube]

When the government bought the town and removed all the hazardous soil, etc, where did they take the hazardous soil, etc?

[@googleandyoutubeareevil]

They incirnerated it to make it safe.

[@Nova.1]

It was incinerated right in times beach. But they also bought in more toxic waste to be incinerated as well.

[@mariakettlehut7399]

Give it time some developer will build up the floor plain and start building.

[@AssholeFace]

It won't happen until the new bridge is built. There is nothing stopping the City from moving forward.

[@Nova.1]

I cant believe it hasnt already been built up. Land it that area is highly sought after and there are some million dollar houses around there. No doubt they will eventually build a levee and deem it safe and build a bunch of expensive houses which will in turn cause worse flooding down river. It's BS these places are allowed to do that. Besides mother nature can't be controlled and levees can be breached in heavy flooding and the damage is not pretty.

[@marthamcquaid5440]

Is the old school in Eureka a residence ? I noticed that it has a mailbox and the it was in mazing condition?

[@Nova.1]

Yes it is.

[@mikekeeler6362]

Imagine someday Pacific will start building houses there

[@kenberrie7843]

i was just thinking of missouri and how close it is to the new-madrid fault line, arn't they due for a major shaker soon??? whooosh!!

[@Nova.1]

I live in st louis county and yes I've heard for a while a big one should happen soon. There was a small quake here about 15 years ago that damaged my house a bit. I cant even imagine what kind of damage a big one will cause. Sadly I think most people around here are oblivious that were are on a fault line.

[@302Mustang13]

East St Louis should completely go back to nature as well.

[@forrestunderwood3174]

Hey video creator, FYI, if you really want older aerial imagery, always check a county's GIS site. St. Louis County has imagery starting with the USDA flights in 1937, and continuing with county flights roughly about every 10 years.

[@forrestunderwood3174]

Also, I've seen oil sprayed on a gravel road, In NE Iowa I think, for approximately a 100 yard stretch in front of somebody's rural lot. What's that about modern people being more educated?

[@elainedewild2023]

Wonder why the building where the route 66 museum is didn't get bulldozed wasn't it also contaminated?

[@RADIUMGLASS]

Since this area was destroyed was it ever proposed to be a landfill?

[@xfloodcasual8124]

God bless America

[@bas1010]

Excellent music cboice!!!

[@JasonMartin915]

Do the street lights still work, I mean is there still power flowing to them?

[@davidfelber5188]

My grandparents was fred and eulah Deuschle my uncle Charles my mother Ina Deuschle ,, i hope someone might remember them

[@mikekeeler6362]

I used to play in Allentown now the only thing there is the deers

[@human8307]

So they burned the soil and put the dioxin into the air? Or does that not happen with that chemical. What happened to the guy that was doing the spraying for those years?

[@Nova.1]

In was put in an incinerator but I'm not exactly sure how those work. Russell bliss is who did the spraying. He was basically lied to from the companies he collected it from. Bliss never did any jail time nor do I believe he lost any of the lawsuits. He'd also sprayed his own horse farm with it and it kicked several horses. But his reputation was pretty much trashed after that.

[@dionneredman5014]

Check out Kinloch while you're in the STL area.

[@ChrisHarden]

Did >>>> kzbin.info/www/bejne/l6rWdJWhpqd-hposi=hEVSsi3ZxGCdEwR5 Such a disaster.

[@majorsellllllllll]

You should have someone proofread and edit your script. Still a nice video

[@landseer22]

I currently reside on Allenton Rd

[@CAROLDDISCOVER-FINDER2525]

So Allentown was wiped out by politics. Time to beach was wiped out by crazy greedy and I could use a few other adjectives people. They could not afford to do anything with the gravel roads back then but now you have some nice paved roads to drive around on and it's vacant. Just as far north as this is south of i-70 who used to visit some friends of my parents. We would ride with them on the church bus. Now just a little kid. But I remember the bus driver pulling over and they had to navigate around this guy who was spraying. He told us put up all the windows before we got on the gravel road keep the dust out. Anyway his truck look like a piece of crap. The same guy also wiped out a horse stable nearby. As I've mentioned before I travel to the area occasionally. Maybe it's his chance passing of this guy oil in the road that perk my are interested later or maybe it was a news report but I followed times Beach ⛱️ over the years. By the way where that church used to be that I spoke of Way north of i-70. That county has paid over 90% it's gravel roads. I wonder if there's a connection? I don't know.

[@StefannieRose-f2h]

I lived in both towns.

[@mikekeeler6362]

I lived in times beach for a while

[@alancoker1459]

Grass sure is short for an abandoned town🤔🤔🤔

[@petegregory517]

An acquaintance took the 66 route some 20 years ago. Got about 3-4 days in and came home. Total waste of time according to he and his wife. Too each……… .

[@ChrisHarden]

Road trips aren’t for everyone

[@adolfsizzler4669]

The schoolhouse on allenton looked like it had a tv satellite dish on the top right corner. 🧐🧐🧐

[@jakekees847]

Its a private residence now

[@ChrisHarden]

I suspected that it was turned into a residential space.

[@MrBerndvonfunk]

I enjoy your videos, always something interesting. Allenton would be a good location for a homeless camp. Portable housing and run buy the Military.

[@Nova.1]

Yeah try to convince all the homeowners that in that area. The only that will ever be built there is exclusive homes.

[@RemusKingOfRome]

They should run wild deer on the park, just to see if the soil is ok. If the deer don't die then ..

[@darreldelmain8041]

I grew up in Allentown

[@mikekeeler6362]

That was never supposed to be a town times Beach was just supposed to be a vacation place

[@ChicoTheMan69]

Did you catch a ghost 👻 or did you get slimed? 😅 Chasing shadows.

[@alejandroalvarado0180]

Victim of conspiracy from those in power. Yeah. Soo typical. Here in the US.

[@shirleylavernerosej.120]

Yes go reclaim use farmers lawsuit by it not having sewers & the reason the voted to blight the town to show it was a farming town farmer’s community.

[@jetsons101]

First??????????? Just went on break.

[@ChrisHarden]

Haha yup!

[@jetsons101]

@@ChrisHarden Sorry about my second comment being SSSsoooooo long. lol

[@randomvintagefilm273]

Gambling is still considered sinful....and stupid

[@ChrisHarden]

Not viewed to be as sinful as it was 50 years ago.

[@HankPanky]

Nobody really owns their property.

[@Nova.1]

True, the government can declare eminent domain for pretty much any reason they want now. In kirkwood missouri they declared a small area of low income, mostly black folks with eminent domain. All so they could build another walmart and a huge retail area. Eminent domain was supposed to be used for streets and such for the better of the public. Not for the better of Sam Waltons greedy kids. A few of thise city officials ended up getting shot and killed for that mess.

[@mikekeeler6362]

Times Beach ain't haunted

[@shirleylavernerosej.120]

Facebook marketing

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

thumbs DOWN! Horribly annoying background music!!

[@junaidunar9148]

I love the United States and the American people, my brain contains 70% of information related to the US, I wish to visit US one day, I will probably cry that day. Love from other side of the world.

[@ChrisHarden]

Out of curiosity, what country are you from?