White Butte, South Dakota – A Mysterious Roadside Ruin

White Butte, South Dakota – A Mysterious Roadside Ruin

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Sitting on the side of the road, White Butte, South Dakota is easy to miss. Today, it’s in complete ruin and only a couple of buildings remain standing, but the town once was home to around 100 people and had its own post office. We nearly passed this town by and stumbled upon it by accident, but was a nice challenge to find a ruin that we knew nothing about, film it, and then piece together the clues and history later. We had nothing to work with – I didn’t initially even have a name. What little information could be found in research is contained in this video.

50 Comments

  1. Alex West on October 21, 2022 at 8:46 am

    Its very common for rental cars to be used to run drugs

  2. Trattkycklingen on October 21, 2022 at 8:46 am

    You should totally go to Animas Forks sometime! Not only has it got quite a story behind it, it’s also in great condition (for being a ghost-town) and it is relatively accessable (again, for being a ghost-town). It’d be great!

  3. Cathy J F on October 21, 2022 at 8:46 am

    Love the ghost town videos, it always makes you wonder about the people that lived there. Please tell me what music you played in the background, it is so pretty. Thank you!

  4. Spencer Miller on October 21, 2022 at 8:48 am

    I’ve always wondered when examining old homesteads like this if anyone who had ever called it home could still be alive. I imagine the child whose wallpaper could be seen may very well be.

  5. warrenw2u on October 21, 2022 at 8:49 am

    The hole in the floor that you referred to was a fuel oil furnace and has a grill over it that could be walked on. Very common and we had one up til the 70’s.

  6. Henry Lister on October 21, 2022 at 8:51 am

    That’s a good idea

  7. Haliaeetus leucocephalus on October 21, 2022 at 8:52 am

    On this trip, did you happen to check out Merricourt, ND? I was doing work in that area a few years ago and stumbled upon it. There was only one or two residents and most buildings were reduced to foundations. There were a few houses, the shell of a brick bank building (with vault), and a large Quonset-style community center that was still standing and explorable, but rapidly deteriorating. There was some pretty interesting history online too including a fascinating story about a prize fighter who got mixed up with the law and killed a sheriff.

  8. Michaelle Yoonmin4Life on October 21, 2022 at 8:54 am

    I love the way you narrate your videos, the blend of research & exploration, adding in historical photos & current footage.

    Makes me wish I’d filmed all the out of the way places I & my family have visited over the past 15+ years; some we planned & others we stumbled over. The original goal, to teach the kid what was missing in his school curriculum (basing the trips on clusters of NPS properties), grew to be more fun & impromptu when we added side stops at abandoned mines, Ghost towns, Guinness World Record attractions & locally suggested oddities.

    Hoping to get to Alaska, our 50th state to visit, next summer. Kid outgrew the Jr Ranger program, but those badges are the last few he’ll need to have them all. If I’m lucky I can find places that tie back into his schooling, but by then he’ll be a Jr in uni and might not appreciate it!

    Anyway, it’s short & interesting vids like this that make me a bit nostalgic, but more grateful that I’ve been lucky enough to travel as we have.

    Thank you, be safe & happy travels! 💜

  9. A R on October 21, 2022 at 8:56 am

    You should look into electric city in Nova Scotia

  10. Jeremiah Washington on October 21, 2022 at 8:57 am

    I need a key

  11. History nerd on October 21, 2022 at 8:58 am

    The hole in the floor was a floor furnace. If I’m not mistaken.

  12. Lara Fuller Earth and Art on October 21, 2022 at 9:01 am

    The old TV makes me laugh 😃

  13. Tom M on October 21, 2022 at 9:03 am

    With the cost of housing here I ought to get my white a$$ to White Butte.

  14. pyroarchy on October 21, 2022 at 9:04 am

    lets all go live there and re-populate it, we can even make our own cult 😀

  15. Kevin Striker on October 21, 2022 at 9:04 am

    4:45
    Not gonna lie, your lady spooked me after appearing out of the exposure here.

  16. mattcolver1 on October 21, 2022 at 9:05 am

    Wooden structures don’t last long without constant maintenance.

  17. Rob on October 21, 2022 at 9:05 am

    Why build a structure so recently only for it to disappear within the space of 20 years?

  18. Tales from an Old Man | Pat O'Neal on October 21, 2022 at 9:09 am

    Once again young man a great video…. and as always thank you for taking us on the adventure.

  19. IndiekidDrugPatrol on October 21, 2022 at 9:09 am

    As an Englishman what is considered a town in America?, because in England a 100 person settlement is a village and a town would have to have a few thousand people up to a few hundred thousand people whilst a city is a settlement with a cathedral, I often see American places with less than a few hundred people be called towns and towns without cathedrals be called cities, so how are they defined in America

  20. Lara Fuller Earth and Art on October 21, 2022 at 9:11 am

    Fair due Tom dedication to get a a speeding ticket glad all was OK in the end though. Love the video cheers 😀💗

  21. Jose Burns on October 21, 2022 at 9:14 am

    would love to hear the getting arrested story

  22. the dude on October 21, 2022 at 9:16 am

    Huh huh white Butt🤘

  23. C Porter on October 21, 2022 at 9:16 am

    Hey I just discovered the story of a maritime disaster in New York City; the S.S. Observation, which exploded and sank in September of 1932. It seems few people know about it, and I’m finding a lot of newspaper info out about it including many pictures too. This seems like it’d be worth your time to look into. Perhaps even a video.

  24. Erick Fiorentino on October 21, 2022 at 9:16 am

    Nice video Tom. I’ve always loved South Dakota and have even dreamed of living there. Love your channel!

  25. Jack C on October 21, 2022 at 9:16 am

    Love binge watching your documentaries

  26. Water Dreamer on October 21, 2022 at 9:16 am

    Beautiful filming guys.

  27. T Fleu725 on October 21, 2022 at 9:19 am

    Spent some time in Renner, SD last year. It was a great experience. Toured a family farm from the 1800s… very cool

  28. northstar5 on October 21, 2022 at 9:20 am

    The last Bennigans?! Lol!

  29. Jerry Kozlowski on October 21, 2022 at 9:20 am

    I have to tell you, i just discovered your channel and i love it! For some reason they way you do your video’s really relaxes me. Keep the video’s coming please!! One question, where is your accent from? Im from Baltimore and it sounds pretty close! OH and do some Maryland video’s when you get a chance!

  30. JamesAllmond on October 21, 2022 at 9:21 am

    I rode through there about 30 years ago, wasn’t quite dead yet, dang…

  31. Brad Klingensmith on October 21, 2022 at 9:26 am

    That is old gravity furnace. No ductwork, just a hole in the floor with a vent and usually just open vent holes to the upper levels.

  32. ᑭᕼᑌᑎKᗩᗪEᒪᒪIᑕ Şᑌᑎ ᗯIᘔᘔᗩᖇᗪ on October 21, 2022 at 9:26 am

    Check out the video, by Scotty Kilmer, about why Hertz rental customers have been getting arrested.

  33. Ram Skirata on October 21, 2022 at 9:29 am

    please tell the speeding ticket story!!!!!!!

  34. glen schumann on October 21, 2022 at 9:29 am

    There is a furnace in the basement below that hole in the floor of the two story house. Probably wood or coal fired. You are looking at the outside of the firebox.

  35. Brian Stabile on October 21, 2022 at 9:30 am

    To Tom
    I’m from Michigan and find the content by your type of YouTube channel lacking in the Great Lake shipwrecks area and would love if you made a even ten minute video in between huge projects about a relatively unknown shipwreck up here or a retelling of the Fitz Bradley or Morel. It could take down some nasty myths about these wrecks or open up discussion for parts we really don’t know much about.
    From a fan

  36. Robert Young on October 21, 2022 at 9:30 am

    Great wallpapers and paint color. They speak to a more vibrant culture than we have today.
    I’m thinking of our mean looking cars with black wheels. Our cars tend to be painted painted white, black or some military green or grey.

  37. Tyhanna on October 21, 2022 at 9:30 am

    The hole in the floor was a type of furnace to heat the house there would have been more to it tho and a grate over the top of it all.

  38. Winston Smith on October 21, 2022 at 9:32 am

    Must have been run by Democrats. 😂

  39. Chicken Pancake on October 21, 2022 at 9:33 am

    Make a video on the ss brother Johnathan. It was a ship used during the gold rush. Prospectors used it to get to California and other parts of the west. It also spread disease. It shipwrecked when it hit a rock. A general and a surveyor who knew Lincoln died in the wreck. Lots of gold was in the wreck. I think this would make a very good video and it fits in on this channel.

  40. Yang The Goddess on October 21, 2022 at 9:34 am

    You should go to Spokane Ghost Town in S.D. it’s in the Black Hills.

  41. Chase Childress on October 21, 2022 at 9:35 am

    Just curious but when is the giveaway cloased.

  42. Ethan Cooperrider on October 21, 2022 at 9:36 am

    I love the guitar!! Who’s the artist???

  43. sebastian thomsen on October 21, 2022 at 9:37 am

    👍👍

  44. Southern Rebel on October 21, 2022 at 9:38 am

    With a market for antique, naturally aged lumber, I am surprised some of those timbers are still left there.

  45. Douglas Palmer on October 21, 2022 at 9:39 am

    Coal furnace…maybe converted to oil. We had those in NY

  46. More GLT Fire Photography on October 21, 2022 at 9:40 am

    Thank you for spreading awareness to everyone for these small abandoned towns! I am trying to get a section of my Historical Society dedicated to the many many ghost towns of my county. There were A LOT and they are all either completely gone with no evidence that they were ever there or still a couple remaining residents devoid of any businesses and no longer part of the town name. Instead labeled "- –Township" Not even the residents know the name of the town they live in.

  47. banana junior 9000 on October 21, 2022 at 9:42 am

    Fun Fact: Weathered lead paint peels in square and rectangle shapes. Take caution, you two.

  48. Jacaso Asheland on October 21, 2022 at 9:42 am

    beautiful

  49. Livium129 on October 21, 2022 at 9:42 am

    Would love to know how you research these places, I’m fascinated by the history of ghost towns but I can’t seem to find anything about any of them.

  50. Bill Bailey on October 21, 2022 at 9:43 am

    That guitar is infuriating. Had to turn the sound down. I wouldn’t use that again if I was you

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