Wayfarrow

Benson

Ghost town · Etowah County, Alabama

Howelton quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1959, 1:24,000)
Howelton quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1959, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Benson is a ghost town in Etowah County, Alabama. It is one of 31 former communities in Etowah County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 3rd among the 53 Alabama counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Benson as a historical populated place on the Howelton topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 34.0473° N, 86.1583° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleHowelton
Elevation593 ft
Nearest living townIvalee, AL
Distance to it0.9 miles
GNIS feature ID149021
Coordinates34.04732, -86.15831

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Benson is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Ivalee, AL (population 649), about 0.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 593 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Benson?

Benson is in Etowah County, Alabama, at 34.0473, -86.1583.

How many ghost towns are in Etowah County?

Etowah County, Alabama has 31 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.