Lost Americana

A photo & video documentary on the abandoning of rural America. What began as an urbex/rurex project in 1995, turned into journalistic look at who & what has been left behind as rural agricultural towns continue to shrink. To learn more visit www.LostAmericana.com

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Few things get me as excited while traveling as old #watertowers in #smallTowns. Looking forward to some summer road trips soon. #LostAmericana #Iowa

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It's been a minute since this Texas gas pump was used. The guy in town said it was out of service when he was a boy, and he's in his 60s now. #LostAmericana #Texas #ghosttown #gasStation #abandoned #ruralamerica #rural #thisPlaceMatters #petroliana #gaspump (at Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CPMRJszNm99/?utm_medium=tumblr

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Who else loves photos of old rusted junkers? #LostAmericana #Nebraska #abandoned #abandoned_seekers #cars_abandoned #ruralphotography #backroad_visions #everything_transport #patina_transport_tour #renegade_rides #rustlord #bygone_rides #patinatruck (at Nebraska) https://www.instagram.com/p/CK2NtlHFEMH/?igshid=1vwi986v7vbhe

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Want to know where this is? Visit the Lost Americana website and check out the most recent blog post. Link in the bio. #LostAmericana #ghosttown #ruralamerica #abandoned #NorthDakota (at North Dakota) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKPbdBuFwcF/?igshid=4jdfs70feb7b

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Sims, North Dakota is one of those place I saw a photo of and just had to drive way out of the way to get to. Read about it and see more photos on the most recent blog post on Lostamericana.com Hopefully the next time I'm through North Dakota I'll be able to visit this ghost town again. #LostAmericana #NorthDakota #ruralamerica #abandoned #ghosttown #Sims #MortonCounty (at Sims, North Dakota) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKMxDYJFc28/?igshid=1k72lgrz3rrna

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Hidden history. . #LostAmericana #westvirginia #tractor (at Augusta, West Virginia) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ6yIFnlhz5/?igshid=tok4pj4cddve

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Pieces of the past are scattered all over the place. I posted another shot of this #GrainElevator about a month ago. Amazing to grow up so near and and never see it till last year. Maybe the best thing to come out of 2020 for me. #LostAmericana #grundyCounty #Illinois #abandoned #midwest_captures #abandonedcentral #rsa_rural #abandonedIG #abandoned_addiction (at Illinois) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ4TietlWqF/?igshid=1ha0ba10sesb3

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Follow @lostamericana Rural America is vanishing. Lost Americana is a time capsule of how many these places looked as the last flicker of light from their heyday went out. Changes in how we farm brought in more food, but needed less labor. From 1950 to 1990 farm sizes grew and labor sizes dropped to the levels they are at now. Rural residents not in agriculture saw less economic opportunities & rural flight exploded. In 2015 for the first time ever rural population growth was negative. . This is not to say all small towns will vanish, but by 2050 many of them will be no more than a place name on a map. Since 1995, Illinois based photojournalist Vincent D. Johnson has been side winding down backroads and through small towns photographing the vacant, abandoned, and ruins of America’s agricultural golden years that still dot the landscape. Talking with those who still love it there and call it home. You can follow along on just about all social media channels by adding LostAmericana after the backslash. Be sure to sign up for the email newsletter to hear about a forthcoming book (late 2021), and visit the website for more stories and photos. #LostAmericana #abandoned #Texas #petroliana #GasStation #ruins #northTexas #Americana #abandonedbuildings #abandonedplaces #abandoned_excellence #forgottenplaces #ig_abandoned #ruraldecay #weathered #deserve2preserve #backroad_visions #ig_ruralamerica #rurallife #ruralphotography #ruralexposures #ruralamerica #ig_rural #ig_ruralamerica #countryroads #backroadadventures #rustic_wonders #backroads #backroad_visions #explore_countryside #ruraldecay #Decay_of_the_lower48 #abandonedTexas (at America) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJmGu0NFkHW/?igshid=ttk8as77fw2n

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From theater, to church, to theater... maybe. The cross still stands ontop of the marquee of the former High Plains Theater in Hugoton, Kansas. A sign where a poster for coming attractions would be says "old becomes new soon!" One has to wonder in times when blockbuster movies are going straight to streaming services and big city theaters are on thre endangered list, is it in the budget or best interests of the revitalization of small town rural America to be saving old theaters? Are theaters a viable economic bet for a town, or is it a gamble on nostalgia? #LostAmericana #Kansas #movieTheater #abandoned #smalltowns #MainStreet #ruralamerica #ruralexplorer #ruralexposures #rural #rurex #kansasphotos #abandonedkansas (at Hugoton, Kansas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJW6jzvF6Q8/?igshid=3vpan10fecl5

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Hope Santa put everything you wanted under the tree this weekend. #LostAmericana #Nebraska #abandoned #abandonedcentral #abandonedjunkies #decay_of_the_lower48 #style_and_decay #backroad_visions #Nebraskagram #midwest_captures #everything_transport #cars_abandoned #renegade_rides (at Nebraska) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJUEvHJl7hw/?igshid=1316e1rdmykts

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Big Bend National Park, Texas.  Did you know there’s an abandoned mercury mine in the park? As well as a farm or two. This shot was from one of the administration buildings still standing. Minus a roof of course.

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#Belfast, #Maine After the popularity of yesterday's post, I thought I'd stick the theme. Apparently you guys like #ghostsigns and #cocacola. So from the archives I'll be serving up some lead paint, red brick, and fading glory of beverage that used to be stacked full of cocaine. #ghostsign #LostAmericana (at Belfast, Maine) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJB-EqRlZQC/?igshid=nl33vgmpsjfi

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Coca-cola Park, Stamford, Texas. When old buildings come down, sometimes they reveal a blast from the past. While it looks like this ghost sign may have gotten a touch up after the building that was adjacent to it was torn down ( there clearly are two C's) it possible that was pre-demolition too. Now the vacant spot is an area that uses reclained brick for pavement and some foundation stones for benches. Stamford is a great little North Texas town that's been seeing a similar fate of many rural towns. They're hoping to be the case study for turning things around, by attracting young people to move back there and they started with the mayor. Read more in the latest article on the Lost Americana website ( link in my profile). #LostAmericana #Texas #smalltowns #ruralamerica #stamford #cocacola #ghostsign (at Stamford, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CI_efIXF5FA/?igshid=jc9efxcn6j4i

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Truck Bed Ranch, Stamford, Texas. I'm gonna stick with posting photos from my December 2018 visit to Stamford and plugging the articles I wrote about the town and the region. . Sadly I can't tell you much about this #roadsideAttractions other than, I love it and all the #PrairieArt I see in rural America like it. This cirlce of pickup truck beds around a chrome wheel cross sits on the very edge of town along an exit off of US Route 277. . Maybe Stamford's mayor @jamesmdecker might know a little more about the creative person behind this. But even if he can't, he's a constant cheerleader for his town and rural America, so follow the link in my bio and read (or watch) what the guy has to say . #LostAmericana #Texas #ruralamerica #northTexas #stamford #prairieArt #ruralArt #publicArt https://www.instagram.com/p/CI6ZOZYF9sn/?igshid=1td5535srcs1x

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Two years ago I visited Stamford, Texas. It reminded me of a rural version of Gary, Indiana. It has some abandoned photography gold. I ended up interviewing mayor James Decker and now it's a town that I'm keeping an eye on. Not only was he not hiding the problems towns like his face, he's got some ideas about what makes them great too and you'd better believe his selling that to people. . He's focused on what makes most towns thrive and that's making a place attractive to young people and families. What's he know that other towns don't? Well he's in his 30s and he knows why he moved back and now he's selling that vision to people just like him. Link in my profile, and don't miss the video on the Lost Americana YouTube channel. Link also via my bio. #LostAmericana #Texas #northTexas #stamford (at Stamford, Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CI4OyX6lZC_/?igshid=1673697fy02jk

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Two years ago I spent a few days in this North Texas town. Documented some abandonment, found more vintage gas stations there than I do on most trips, and had the pleasure of interviewing the mayor. I wrote a couple of stories for a magazine, sadly the interview story never got published, tomorrow on the Lost Americana blog I remedy that. Check out the blog on the website tomorrow Dec 16th, or in my IG. Also it will be up on the Lost Americana Twitter and Facebook pages. #LostAmericana #Texas (at Texas) https://www.instagram.com/p/CI1idfilo8t/?igshid=dbaho1exwtjx

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"Nostalgia" is derived from the ancient Greek words meaning "return home" & "pain." Put together they figuratively describe homesickness. Most of us have a pain for places we can never return to. It's called the past. (at North Dakota) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIly-75FwyU/?igshid=1aectaaa7f0i4