In the most rural pockets of Big Horn County, Montana, you can cruise for miles without seeing another car, let alone a town. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, you pass a broken-down tractor, an abandoned school house, or even an old townsite. All relics of a time when south central Montana was booming.

We know, of course, that the population surge in this area of Montana was due to the government's seductive offer of free land, and for a while, things looked promising, thanks to consistent rain, generous bank lenders, and bountiful wheat crops. Then, disaster hit. The rain stopped and wheat prices plummeted. Drought set in and the homestead boom turned into a bust, leaving struggling towns in its wake.

Another factor that contributed to the bust, especially in rural Montana, was the railroad, one of the very things that caused the population to surge. Dozens of railroad towns popped up all across the state. These railroad towns grew quickly, until the trains stopped coming, thanks, ironically, to industrialization.

Corinth, Montana was an agricultural community with a grain elevator and a train stop, which served as the hub of the community for decades. As more reliable transportation technologies arrived on the scene, communities like Corinth, were no longer needed. While the post office remained active until 1953, the town's population steadily decreased as businesses shuttered left and right. Today, the townsite of Corinth is somewhat of a ghost town. While a few historic buildings are still onsite, many, including the elevator, have been dismantled. You can explore the old store and post office building at the Big Horn County Museum in Hardin.