13 Abandoned Places Of America Will Change Your Perception Of The Country

Howland Island, in the Pacific Ocean, was also claimed by the USA in the 1800s guano rush, but it was all mined out by 1871. In 1935, though, the U.S. government wanted to re-claim this and two other small close islands in anticipation of the coming war. The US government conscripted young men from Honolulu to colonize these barren islands. They fished and studied birds and built shacks, fished, and studied birds. The famous US female aviator, Amelia Earhart was eagerly awaited by these young men in 1937, but she vanished on her journey to these islands. In 1941, Japan attacked Howland, killing two of the colonists, and the island was permanently evacuated two months later.