Visiting Virginia's 'Most Photographed' Ghost Town

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On a recent road trip to southern Virginia, we stopped by the Union Level ghost town, which touts itself as the state’s most photographed ghost town. 

The town of Union Level, like so many other jurisdictions in the South, went through periods of bust and boom. Situated in the heart of Virginia’s tobacco country, Union Level prospered alongside the vast plantations that surrounded it. 

The Civil War in the 1860s hit the town hard. In the early 1900s, the Southern Railroad ran a line through Union Level, and it began to thrive again. 

Then came the Great Depression in the 1930s, from which the town never recovered. Businesses shuttered and people departed. The final blow was dealt when the rail line left in the 1980s. 

Tobacco is still grown in the nearby farms. All that remains of the once-bustling town, however, is a row of derelict storefronts and a church. 

As I was photographing the ghost town, I was startled by something moving between the buildings. To my relief, it was only a cat. The feline stared at me for a beat before disappearing into the shadows.





Tobacco field near the ghost town.

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