The Legend of Doveland, Wisconsin, The Vanishing Town

Summer is right around the corner. It’s the perfect time for road trips and making lasting memories, while exploring America’s undiscovered location gems. If you’re up for a slight detour, or you just can’t decide on what new adventure waits on the horizon, might we suggest Wisconsin? Doveland, Wisconsin, that is; a small, quaint town located in the heart of dairyland U.S.A.

It’s the perfect place for picture taking. No, really, take as many pictures as you can. The reason why: it never existed. One look at the state’s map and you’ll find no place that bears such a name.

So, how did Doveland get its name in the first place? More perplexing, why are there people who undoubtedly know that it did exist? It’s one of Wisconsin’s most widely known legends that keeps seekers of the unexplained puzzled to this day.

Your summer trip doesn’t have to stop in Doveland — if you can find it, that is — book a ghost tour with US Ghost Adventures! Hear more about what ghouls, ghosts, and mysteries prowl the night in the cities of America.

Have other plans, but still seeking a spine-tingling experience? No problem! Check out our map and see if we offer a tour in your city. You can also read more night-sweat-inducing stories of America’s most haunted locations on our blog.

Did Doveland, Wisconsin, Exist?

The haunting mystery of Doveland has left a shadow of mystery in the heart of Wisconsin, where the town should be, but isn’t. It’s left in its wake a flurry of theories; attempts to understand how a town believed to have existed for decades could simply vanish. 

Rumored History of Doveland, Wisconsin

No one truly knows where Doveland, Wisconsin, once stood, if it stood at all, except that it was located in the heart of Wisconsin. There aren’t even any records that point to its possible existence. Few details exist as to what the town actually was or looked like. 

People to this day, however, insist that it existed, as they have shown memorabilia bearing the town’s name. Others present a more compelling argument: they have physically stood in Doveland, had friends or relatives who lived there, or both. The common consensus is that it was a small military town that was started in the 1960s. 

One individual mentions how his father lived there for over a year. Another mentions how her father mentioned the town’s name from time to time before he passed. But at some point during the 1990s, Doveland vanished in every aspect from the face of the earth, as if it swallowed it whole. 

What only adds to the conundrum is a supposed digital ghost trace some have found when using Google search. The autocorrect and recommended search options suggest the term, “Doveland, Wisconsin.” However, when they press on it, it doesn’t bring up any results. 

So what happened to Doveland and its residents? It’s a mystery that has attracted the curiosity of enigma enthusiasts all over, each coming up with their own various theories—some logical, some way out there in the realm of sci-fi. 

Read on to see what theories surround the enigmatic void of what once was Doveland. Maybe you can come up with your own answer as to its strange disappearance.  

What Happened to Doveland?

There will always be a yearning for the answer as to what really happened to the town of Doveland. However, as juicy of a mystery as this town has left, what’s equally as fascinating is the number of theories produced in an attempt to get to the bottom of this small town’s fate. 

Some theories point to a natural disaster; a massive earthquake caused a sinkhole underneath the town, ultimately swallowing it up. Another points out that it may have been destroyed by damming. 

These are very plausible points, especially with regard to the latter. After all, over 900 dams were built in Wisconsin, and over the years, many were removed or abandoned. 

Except in either case, it’s highly unlikely that either event wouldn’t have had other surrounding areas of Wisconsin on high alert that day. Although, maybe it’s not too far-fetched, given the town’s purported purpose. 

Another theory suggests that the residents of Doveland simply moved away due to a failing economy. Does it answer how an entire population of people could disappear? Yes, but literally an entire infrastructure that has existed since the 60s? 

It’s time to be realistic, and that’s what brings us to some of the more simple explanations, such as the town exists, but it’s invisible. There’s also the possibility that this tale is a stereotypical example of mass hallucination.  

Classified Information

There’s one more angle yet to be explored when it comes to Doveland’s disappearance, and it leads right down the spiraling staircase of conspiracy theories. A military experiment went horribly wrong, resulting in the town vanishing. 

Skeptics believe this theory plays too much on a horror movie playbook. Then again, how would anyone prove it’s wrong, especially when it comes to top-secret information? Not to mention, there have been other infamous military experiments connected to disappearing, specifically the infamous “Philadelphia Experiment.” 

The United States Navy teleported a Navy destroyer (the USS Eldridge) from Philadelphia to Norfolk, making it invisible to the naked eye. Whether it was a success – or if it happened at all – remains subjective. 

According to the tale, some of the men disappeared during the process. Others went mad or kept disappearing and reappearing. Then there were others who became fused with the ship in various ways – think the crew of the Flying Dutchman from Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Some point to Project Sanguine as the main culprit. It was proposed in the 1960s to create an underground communication system to contact deep-sea submarines anywhere in the world via ELF (extremely low frequency)  radio waves. If successfully implemented, 40% of Wisconsin would have a grid of cables running underground, terraforming its bedrock layer into a giant radio antenna. 

Just this fact alone evokes the imagination of what effect this massive construction had on Doveland. If it did, it would have been during development. Project Sanguine never came to fruition and was finally shut down in 2004.

The truth may lie somewhere in between. It’s not unheard of for military towns to just fold up, but still. If it’s that simple, why would there be no records to even suggest the existence of such a town? 

Haunted Summertime

America’s landscape is waiting to be explored this summer! Filled with breathtaking historic spots, natural wonders, and tucked-away towns that lie off the beaten path of the country’s backroads. Case in point: Doveland, Wisconsin – a possible small military town that has enraptured the fascination of those who seek it and those who find it. 

It’s a small taste of the crypt of chilling tales that echo through the still night air of every place across America; when ghosts, cryptids, and legends lurk, and fear tiptoes up your spine. The summer heat may be approaching, but the chills that await are just beginning. 

Make a ghost tour part of your family trip this summer and venture through the darkness with U.S Ghost Adventures!  Walk past some of your city’s most haunted and historic locations, hear the stories of what tales and lingering ghosts watch you from within. 

Curious about what other mysteries and legends linger in America’s off-the-beaten-path destinations? Read more on our blog. Be sure to also stay connected with us for nightmare-fueled updates. Stay connected with us via Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Sources:

• https://newworlds.substack.com/p/doveland-wisconsin
• https://obscurban-legend.fandom.com/wiki/Doveland,_Wisconsin
• https://www.historicmysteries.com/unexplained-mysteries/doveland/36068/
• https://www.historicmysteries.com/myths-legends/the-philadelphia-experiment/1000/
• https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/mhugl/2019/10/30/project-sanguine-gecooper/