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Cartesville

Ghost town · Lawrence County, South Dakota

Spearfish quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1900, 1:62,500)
Spearfish quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1900, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Cartesville is a ghost town in Lawrence County, South Dakota. It is one of 25 former communities in Lawrence County on the federal names register. No county in South Dakota has more among the 26 South Dakota counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Cartesville as a historical populated place on the Lead 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 44.3394° N, 103.7574° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleLead
Elevation5,080 ft
Nearest living townLead, SD
Distance to it1 miles
GNIS feature ID1264572
Coordinates44.33943, -103.75742

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What's there now

Cartesville is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Lead, SD (population 2,997), about 1 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 5,080 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Cartesville?

Cartesville is in Lawrence County, South Dakota, at 44.3394, -103.7574.

How many ghost towns are in Lawrence County?

Lawrence County, South Dakota has 25 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.