Aberdeen, Indiana, Level 4 Ghost Town

As mentioned, Aberdeen, Indiana is a Level 4 Ghost Town located about 8 miles southwest of Rising Sun, Indiana which is located in the smallest County in the state….Ohio County. Aberdeen has a population of less than 50 people and Cass Township where Aberdeen is located only has a population of about 700 people.

The Settlement of Aberdeen was established around 1819 when Dr. Robert Gillispie came here with his family who were originally from Aberdeen, Scotland. Apparently they decided to name this crossroads after their hometown in Scotland and the name stuck.

During the 1800s and into the early 1900s quite a few businesses sprang up in and around Aberdeen and Cass Township including at least 3 general stores, an appliance store, a post office, two gun smith shops, a blacksmith shop, a buggy shop, 8 one room school houses, a saw mill, a broom shop, a coopering shop and a barber shop. Most of those businesses were run right out of the homes of the owners but now all of the businesses are gone.

Information is kind of sketchy as most of the people who lived here in the 1950s and before are dead now but I’ll do my best to cover what still exists in Aberdeen & Cass Township. If I miss anything or get anything wrong, please let me know in the comments below.

The Lute Lotton General Store was located at the northeast corner of State Route 56 & Cass Union Road. It opened in 1907 and changed hands throughout the years with the last two owners being the Phillips family from 1932 to 1963 and the Kelley family from 1963 until it closed sometime in the late 1970s. The store included gas pumps out front and stocked everything from guns to clothing, shoes, paint, groceries, ice cream, kerosene and even had a Hukster wagon fashioned from an old school bus that would be used by Mrs. Kelly twice a week to deliver much needed groceries and staples to residents throughout Ohio & Switzerland Counties. A post office was located in the store from 1852-1880. It’s reported that the Aberdeen Pate Water Company operated an office in this building from 1965-1969. The store and the owners house connected on the backside. Unfortunately both were demolished around 2020.

The block building directly across Cass Union Road sold TVs, refrigerators and other appliances I’ve been told. The house next to it at the corner was built between 1886 and 1892 and was demolished in 2000.

Cattycorner from the Kelly Store sat Jenkins Store at the southwest corner of the intersection. At some point the store closed and became a pizza parlor. I heard there was a fire in the building but I don’t know if that was before or after the pizza parlor. Either way both buildings have been demolished leaving only the concrete steps at the corner and one back wall giving any evidence to the former store.

The Satchwell Shell Service Station sat at the corner of Allensville Road and State Route 56. The original building was still standing in 2015 but appears to have been demolished and replaced as of 2024

Palmer’s Store & feed mill was located about 3 miles north of Aberdeen and sat on the west side of the road. The owners home was to the far left, the general store was in the center with gas pumps out front and the feed mill was to the right. Although the gas pumps are gone, the buildings still stands in 2024.

McPherson’s had a general store in town beginning in 1911. However I’m not sure if this picture is looking north on Cass Union from Aberdeen or looking west on Aberdeen Road from Aberdeen. The building originally housed a blacksmith shop operated by Willard Tyler before it became a general store.

Jimmy Rand had a broom shop in Aberdeen in the 1800s. The broom making machine can now be found at the Ohio County Historical Museum in Rising Sun.

The Aberdeen United Methodist Church was organized in 1897. The Independent Order of Abstainers decided to deed this two story building to the church where they could hold services on the first floor. Unfortunately I haven’t found anyone who knows where that building was located. If you know anything about it, please leave a comment below. Later a church was built for the congregation at the corner of Allensville Road and State Route 56. In 1961 the New Hope Methodist Church closed with some of their members transferring to Mount Carmel Methodist and some to Aberdeen Methodist. In 1966 Mount Carmel & Aberdeen congregations voted to merge into the Aberdeen Church building. A new church building was needed to accommodate the larger congregation. The current church was completed in 1968 at a cost of $81,158.22. The New Hope, Mount Carmel and former Aberdeen churches have all since been demolished.

The first Mount Carmel Methodist Church was located about 2 miles east of Aberdeen on the north side of present day State Route 56. That church building stood until March 1948 when it took a direct hit from a tornado. A new church was built and dedicated just 9 months later on December 5, 1948 just 100 yards east and across the road from the former church site. After the merger with the Aberdeen Methodist Church in the 1960s, this church was eventually demolished. This is the spot at the corner of Route 56 and Brown Road where it once stood.

The New Hope Church was organized in 1839 with meetings first held in the New Hope Schoolhouse next to where the New Hope cemetery is now located on New Hope Road. At some point in the 1850s the school was crushed by a falling tree. In 1854 a new church was constructed about 200 yards east. Services were held here until October 15, 1961 when the church was officially closed. At that point members attended services at Mount Carmel or Aberdeen. All that is left of the church is portions of this pad.

The Mount Pleasant Baptist Church was constructed in 1891 and demolished sometime after 1984. It was located on the south side of State Route 262 about 1/4 mile east of Cass-Union Road.

There were a total of 8 one room school houses scattered throughout Cass Township but I haven’t been able to find the remains of any of them over the past year. They included: Clay Bank, New Hope Murray Branch, Fisher, Durbin, Hall’s Mill and Hebron. They were all closed in 1941 when the children were sent to the new Cass-Union consolidated school. This picture is of the Murray School which was located on the east side of Cass-Union Road where Murrays Branch Road intersects. At the end of Murray’s Branch Road is this beautiful 4 story barn where thousands of chickens and turkeys were raised each year along with about 30 cows.

The former Cass-Union School, a WPA project, is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of State Route 262 and Cass Union Road. The school was operating between 1941 and 1972. Now abandoned, the school has fallen into disrepair and looks like its days are numbered.

Located in the Mt. Carmel Cemetery just east of Aberdeen on Route 56 you’ll find this Meteorite that landed in the John Dorrell farm in August 1930. Who knew you could find a 100 pond meteorite in a cemetery???

GPS  Location:  GPS Location: 38º54’19.3″N 84º59’15.0″W