However, the mine never again reopened as an active coal mine. The Stone Church is located in the center of the White Deer Valley, and was a focal point for the communities at that time. Area municipalities acquired these eight properties for public use. Cassadaga [Village]; Clymer Hill [Village]; Cassadaga Business Directory. The rumors persist in part due to the ghostly image which is apparent on a boarded-up back window of the chapel. The highlights of this abandoned superhighway are two tunnels, both roughly a mile long. Today, the Coburn Tunnel sits abandoned, but is still passable to foot traffic nearly150 yearsafter it was first dug. Homes are still standing. 1867. Today it can be accessed via bike or walking the Indian Creek Valley Trail. While its not quite as well preserved or as well documented as Camp Michaux, its still a fascinating spot to visit, especially since its just around the corner from the aforementioned Abandoned PA Turnpike and South Penn Railroad Aqueduct. Theabandoned Blair Lime Kilnsare remnants of a thriving limestone-processing facility that once operated around the clock in a now-tranquil corner ofBlair County. The town was flooded when they built a dam. Take, for example, theSteel Dynamics plant in Mississippis Golden Triangle. I think there is an old cemetery there. Lets start with the biggest, and some would say best, abandoned place in PA the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike! Visitors can walk out onto the remains of the bridge or walk to the valley floor for a close up look at the bridges remains, which still lay where they fell. Driving along Scotia Range Road throughState Game Lands 176near State College now, youd never guess that you are passing right by the location of a once-thrivingiron mining boomtown. Harry, is there a boy scout camp on the other side of the stream? Above Beaverdale PA. Today, you can find the neglected remnants of the Fountain of Youth along Kummer Road near Wexford. Clickon any of the icons below toget connectedto PA Bucket List on social media. Some are easily seen from the SGL roads that you can walk or bike along. Passed front of house.Could see smoke stacks. Make sure to obey any signage you might see, and obtain owner permission or pay the admission fees where required.). In the late 1800s, the area around Oil Creek was home to tens of thousands of prospectors hoping to strike it rich. Turn Hole Tunnel is an abandoned railroad tunnel built in 1866 and in use until 1956. Beautiful place and grounds. Do you have a favorite Pennsylvania ghost town that we didnt include on this list? Despite this, driving on the public roads through town, however, is still fascinating. I dont recall the reason for them but we played in them back in the late 1950s. It is nearly 500 feet long, and visitors can walk through the tunnel, keeping an eye out for abandoned tracks along the way. In later years it was a girl scout camp. In Erie this winter, Scott Slawson drove CBSN anchor Jamie Yuccas through what used to be the beating, productive heart of the town, an industrial area where rows of red-brick factories once proudly turned out American-made goods and employed tens of thousands of local workers. The main road leading to the west side of the gamelands is named Elvia Road. Fricks Locks Historic District or more simply Fricks Lock is an abandoned village, along the also abandoned Schuylkill Canal, in the northeast portion of East Coventry Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. The town was vacated several years ago so the could build Curwensville Dam where boating and summertime activities are carried in now. Ill have to add it to my list of places to check out. Over dinner, she says of her father: He always tries his best, hes come through a lot of tough things. At the time of its construction Concrete City was considered to be a community of the future, but it was abandoned a mere 11 years after the first residents moved in. This is a fantastic spot for both history buffs and photographers to tour. The largest still-remaining area consists of several concrete buildings that once served the mining operations, as well as the old railroad grade. The Scranton Iron Furnaces were built in the 1850s and in operation until the early 1900s. Thats the story of a lot of Erie. The area just went through a major clean up because unexploded ordinance was found there. For over 100 years, trains used this viaduct to cross the valley more than 300 feet below. But this isnt merely a story of economics, this is a story of the human impact, the emotional toll that hits a community which has lost the means to provide for its people. for $60 million, and dumped $40 million into repairing . I think the County owned it then but I dont about now. Centralia is possibly the most famous abandoned town in PA. Abandoned downtown and hospital on the hill with nurses quarters. Fortunately, thanks to a group of dedicated volunteers, Mount Moriah Cemetery is returning to its former glory. The Westinghouse Atom Smasher can be found laying on its side in a residential neighborhood east of downtown Pittsburgh. Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphiais Americas most-historic (and some say most-haunted) prison! I use to go to ghost town on a picnic and on rides. After being closed in 1995, the Steel Stacks were abandoned for many years. regularly. 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Today, the bunkers are overgrown and hidden away in the woods of State Game Lands 252. 2023 Rusty Glessner Photography, LLC / PA Bucket List. My mom was born in 1925 in a booming town in Butler County called West Winfield. 2 mile walk to get to it but trail is flat and wide. The most popular spot at Centralia was Graffiti Highway, but this spot was sadly destroyed recently by the property owner. It was always so interesting. Sadly, the homes were left abandoned for over a decade and are now in a state of disrepair. . It has quite a history, dance hall, rides, trolley stops and had bands. Its amazing to tour the homes and think about what it would have been like to have lived in this community. When visiting, make sure to be respectful as this is a historic site and attempts are being made to preserve it. Occasionally open for tours operated by photographers specializing in abandoned places (and no I am NOT one of them! "The wiring and anything else that can be scrapped has been taken out," said Emig, who told AOL News she's often chased away uninvited visitors. Located on state game lands a short distance south of Williamsport are the Alvira Bunkers. The round bunkers alone are something to see as some of them are opened and you can walk inside. The Environmental Protection Agency defines brownfields as: "abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination." Apply to Metallurgical Engineer, Millwright, Tool Maker and more! [2] Fricks Locks is considered a modern ghost town and, although private property, attracts visitors. When you emerge on the eastern side you have a clear view down to the Rockport Access parking area, the Lehigh Gorge rail trail, and the Lehigh River. So are traces of the streets. However, few have been left alone in the middle of nature like Rockland Furnace. A large steel mill was constructed on the shore of Lake Erie and workers from Scranton were moved to continue their jobs. You missed Pithole PA near Oil Creek State Park. I think Fallbrook was. You missed the Rockland tunnel right by the Rockland Furnace. It was probably one of the most amazing places I visited time and time again! It was used as part of nuclear power experiments until the late 1950s. The land is part of state game lands, Worked many times around Barclay reclaiming the mine lands The cemetery is creepy, graves that were swallowed by the mine cave-ins Many old foundations throughout the woods. Is this in Somerset County near Central City? The Abandoned PA Turnpike is one of the largest abandoned places in PA. Thirteen miles of abandoned superhighway, last open to normal vehicle traffic in 1968. Concrete Citylies tucked away in an overgrown, city-owned plot of land on the outskirts of Nanticoke, inLuzerne County. I was thrilled to see Pithole on the list! My friends Italian immigrant family lived up there and ran a boarding house. Not sure if one can go up the road anymore as the road is fading away. As with many similar operations, once the local limestone was exhausted, the kilns were abandoned, and their remnants are now part of Canoe Creek State Park. Along Pleasant stream. (About half an hour north of Pittsburgh) Most of the men there worked in the limestone mine. This 1930s-era roadside attraction now sits abandoned in North Park in Allegheny County, but was once a public source of water (and dreams of eternal youth) until that water was deemed unfit for human consumption in 1955. We would walk an hour or so to a school at the end of a road. Concrete City is an abandoned town in PA's Luzerne County. Exploring Hidden Ruins at Raystown Lakeis your guide to discovering theabandoned ruins of roads, bridges, and homesof historical significance, hidden around and beneath the surface ofRaystown Lake. Check out Eastern State Penitentiary in Philly, Carrie Furnace in Pittsburgh, and the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike in Central PA. Jim Cheney is the creator of UncoveringPA.com. Even as the mines closed, the community continued until it finally became abandoned in the early 2000s. Do you have any other info on Onnalinda? We lived in the poconos, Im from Luzerne County. 46.1K subscribers Abandoned GetGo Millcreek Township, Pa. The mine coal seam declined and the power company closed the plant in about 1952. Pennsylvania, more generally, told the story of how many of these voters made a late break toward Donald Trump in the closing days and weeks of the campaign, hoping he could turn their economic fortunes around. There are two access points for the turnpike: one near Breezewood and one in Fulton County. Robinson/Robindale was an old factory town near Seward west of Johnstown that was abandoned after the Flood of 1977. This 18th-century village outlasted the canal, being abandoned in the late 20th century with the construction of the adjacent Limerick Nuclear Power Plant. Help spread the word. The highlights of this abandoned superhighway are two tunnels, both roughly a mile long. I landed a job in New Mexico where Ill be relocating. There are no buildings there. Follows the old railroad bed. They are currently doing mine reclimation in the area. Another town in the same game lands is Yellow Springs, a small mining town near the mountain top. What about Eldora Park in Washington County, in Carroll Township between Donora and Monongahela. After the war, it became a church camp until the early 1970s. The cemetery around the stone chapel contains more than 500 graves (many unmarked as was Quaker tradition), and rumours exist to this day (most likely urban legends) that the Quaker meeting house was the site of a secret witch trial, execution, and subsequent haunting! Houses all gone except 3 and the three houses have families living in them whom are relatives.This town is in Cambria County. Following a path that goes downhill by the creek you can pass flat stone foundations for the buildings from a farm including the well and by going further you reach the old cemetery. There are many haunted houses in the area. Please do not trespass. While he knows he may have to leave, he wants to see his hometown recover, which keeps him bound to home. Erie. Located just a few miles from Centralia, Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine is a once-abandoned mine in the heart of Pennsylvanias coal region. Ive been trying to find out where they might have been buried. Interactive atlas of historical coal mine maps in Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Active and Abandoned Mine Operations has collaborated with Pennsylvania State University to produce the Pennsylvania Mine Map Atlas. Carrie Furnace in Pittsburgh is nearly all that remains of the once massive Homestead Steel Works on the banks of the Monongahela River. There are some old foundations and a cemetery. I havent been there in awhile. My Dad grew up in a town called Ralphton, near Somerset, PA. All of these abandoned places in PA were legal to explore at the time I visited them but that may not always be the case in the future, so please heed any no trespassing signs or the like should they pop up in the future. If you walk through the forested trails of the Scotia Barrens, you might even find more hidden ruins of this ghost town. While you cant go into the furnaces, an elevated walkway allows visitors to get a close up look at these blast furnaces and peer inside their rusty confines. Pithole became known as a rough and tumble town reminiscent of the communities of the Wild West. Known for its grand architecture and strict discipline, Eastern State Penitentiary wasthe most famous and expensive prison in the worldwhen it opened in 1829. It opened in 1911 with 20 duplex homes. Two villages in Centre County is Poe Patty a lumbering community, on Penns Creek in Seven Mountains, which is now a state park. Is there any places in the Allegheny area or near Bradford? Its not always accessible, but its a neat place to visit when it is. A photographer illuminated by a spotlight inside the Sideling Hill Tunnel. lately but i have to go thar soon thar are old graves stones tharr crumb is near central city pa i use to go there often but i haven/t been thare lately i know thare old grave stones thaire that you cant read the names, Lived within walking distance of Crumbstill old logging railroad right-Of-Ways and a few foundations, McIntyre was an old mining town in the late 1800s. A part of downtown Monessen The layoffs at the mill began July 5, and a company spokesperson said that they would be spread out over a two-week period. I find them intriguing as I went to a few out west. 33 Abandoned Places in PA You Can Legally Explore, a secret camp near what is now Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Haunted Quaker Church in Fayette County, the abandoned South Penn Railroad Aqueduct, abandoned hunting lodge at Linn Run State Park, abandoned ski resort at Denton Hill State Park, the abandoned ski resort at Denton Hill State Park, tours, workshops, exhibitions, and festivals, Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, abandoned Lake Leigh Dam at Ricketts Glen State Park, Exploring the Best National Park Sites in Pennsylvania, Exploring the Battlefield at the Gettysburg National Military Park, Exploring Lyman Run State Park in Potter County, Hiking to the Throne Room Along the Standing Stone Trail. While hiking the trails here, dont miss the nearby historic dam and covered bridge along Valley Creek. The town is still there but there are no stores no bank and mail is delivered to the few that remain. This ingeniously constructed camp has survived in part because two of the four walls are actually massive boulders that were incorporated into the camp structure itself. Opened from 1855 until 1972, this was the longest active anthracite coal mine in the world and had tunnels as deep as 800 feet below the ground. Reaching the lodge is quite easy along the Flat Rock Trail, which offers a lot of beauty in addition to this abandoned site. The Abandoned Cresson State Prison in Cambria County began as atuberculosis sanatoriumwhen it opened in1913and morphed over the years into a state hospital and finally a state prison. And Trump won a 2-to-1 margin statewide among voters who believed that trade was taking away American jobs. Today the ruins of Austin Dam are part of a memorial park dedicated to the 78 people who lost their lives in the flood of 1911. The Coplay Cement Company built the kilns in the early 1890s, and they were in use until 1904. In the case ofAlvira(originally founded as Wisetown in 1825), the federal government used the courts and eminent domain to force residents to accept buyouts of their homes, so that their entire town could be leveled and turned intoa TNT manufacturing plant and storage facilityknown as thePennsylvania Ordnance Works. Mengine said Wednesday that the authority has agreed to pay $100,000 for the former Quin-T property, which produced gaskets for many years. Said to be the first railroad tunnel built in USA. From actual surveys especially for this atlas. Located in Lebanon County near the Appalachian Trail, Rausch Gap was formed in 1828. My great grandparents lived there. Peale near winburne, pa is a cool spot I used to hunt in. After being closed in 1995, the Steel Stacks were abandoned for many years. The buildings were built in the 1920s and 1930s for workers at the nearby limestone mine. By 1960 the project was scrapped, and all that remains today are the nuclear jet engine testing bunkers themselves large boxes of concrete and steel with tiny slit windows once covered by thick layers of blast-resistant glass, where engineers and technicians would have monitored the engines undergoing testing. Overall, white men without college degrees backed Trump by a much larger spread than they had Mitt Romney four years prior. There are also still some foundations there. All torn down when the newer Lawrence Park High School, football field and parking lot were built in the 1960s. Is it still around? Abandoned in 1971, saved from the wrecking ball, and now owned by a non-profit organization, Eastern State Penitentiary operates asa year-round museum and historic site. Others were abandoned after natural disasters. President Donald Trump visited Erie during his campaign, and promised Erie residents that he would bring back the jobs that had evaporated over the course of decades. 100 years ago did not know you could get close to it!!! Cant find where I lived. You can still find the original maps online and many foundations survived. The community even hosted President Ulysses S. Grant in 1871. However, many of the buildings are continuing to fall into decay as the years pass. The Turn Hole Tunnel is located just outside of Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania in Lehigh Gorge State Park (next to the trailhead for the now-closed Glen Onoko). I went to help clean with Titusville Pa American Legion when I was little. The tunnel is roughly260 feet long, and other than the eastern portal, is completely unlined. While most of the buildings have been torn down, its still fascinating to drive around the old streets and see the curbs, gutters, and stone steps that are surrounded by fields of forested land. Today you can schedule a legal visit to the former SCI-Cresson through Hydroponic Life the company than now occupies the grounds. Williams Grove closed in 2005 after more than 150 years in business. Had the project been successful, itwould have fundamentally changed the characterof an area that becameone on Pennsylvanias most spectacular state parks. It was a logging town as well as an ice farming town that supplied ice to hospals along the east coast. Springwater still runs through this building, creating one of the most unique abandoned places in PA. but the question remain. Constructed in 1915, this series of five blast furnaces was part of the large steel mill here in Bethlehem. There were still plates on the table as though they got up from dinner and left everything behind. I now live in Nevada, but I worked at Pithole as a tour guide when I was in high school many years ago. All Rights Reserved. Desperate times call for desperate measures, he says, and people will take a desperate position even if its not in our best interest sometimes.. Wish I could find it. Sadly, the community has been almost completely lost with only the old bank steps still visible from the road. Hi Ginnie, I used to live in that area (1977-1992). It leaves you with a Feeling of peace yet sadness at the same time! The Haunted Quaker Church in Fayette County is actually a stone chapel built in 1895 on the site of an even older, abandoned Quaker meeting house that dated back to 1793. Donald Trump won the county by a few thousand votes, but like many other counties in the region, that marked a notable swing from 2012, when President Obama had won the county by double digits. Current management has plans to restore much of the East Broad Top track, and the tunnels are being considered for rebuilding and trains once again riding thru the tunnels. Coal strip mining area. While the property is typically closed to the public, the owner often lets visitors roam around with prior permission. Back in the 1960s, my church group visited Cooks Forest in Northwestern, Pa. A group of us took one of the trails and got lost in a ghost town. If you opt to go in, use extreme caution as theres no telling what else might be inside. We have one of it in flames. Abandoned as a railroad bridge in the mid-Seventies, the Salisbury Viaduct has in more recent times been reborn as part of the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail in western PA. Explorers can hike or bike across this 101 foot-high, 1,908 foot-long former railroad bridge and experience exceptional views of the surrounding countryside. There were a total of 20 duplexes in the community, so 40 carefully selected workers were chosen to move into the homes with their families. But before they are gone, Ill share with you a few of the more interesting abandoned places in PA I have explored in recent years. Correction: Landrus is between Arnot and Morris, PA. Morris Run is over beyond Blossburg, so it is on the eastern side of US Rt 15. There are buildings and some families. A developer built new homes on three properties. Today, the bridge is the central point of Kinzua Bridge State Park. Copyright 2013-2023 Uncovering Media, LLC - All Rights Reserved, Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike in Central PA, 21 Pictures that Prove that Eastern State Penitentiary is the Creepiest Place in Philadelphia, Visiting Centralia: Pennsylvanias Toxic Ghost Town (Updated for 2023), The Birthplace of America: Visiting Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Ive never heard anything about this place since. my mother was born there There are actually two tunnels in that same area just a few miles apart. Rockland Furnace dates to 1832 and was in operation until 1854. Do you have a favorite ruin or abandoned place in Pennsylvania that you can legally explore and wasnt on this list? When the previously mentioned nuclear jet engine testing bunkers were built in Cameron County, local hunting camp owners were forced to abandoned their properties, and the abandoned Kunes Camp is one such property. Austin Damin Potter County was billed asthe dam that could not breakat the time of its construction in 1909. The Avondale Mine diaster site in Nanticoke, Pa! The former steel mill holds 2 MW of solar panels. Five years later, the steel giant closed 6 plants, including its Cuyahoga Works in Cuyahoga Heights, after the United Steelworkers of America rejected concessions demanded by the company. Here are a few of my favorite Pennsylvania ghost towns and a bit of the history behind them. #Urbex #Abandoned #SteelMillFirst long video in a while! In the late 50s and 60s it was a girl scout camp. At Rausch Gap there are cellar holes near the rail trail on the uphill side you can find by following the old road bed that goes past the stream mitigation project upstream from the rail trail bridge and you can find the foundations of a railroad engine repair shed. Today, it sits abandoned in the woods just waiting for people to come and explore it. I grew up in Armstong County we use call Yellowdog , mutesville. Located a short distance south of Pittsburgh in Rices Landing, PA, youll find the W.A. Rust Belt Pennsylvania - Abandoned Rust Belt Pennsylvania The industrial heart of the Rust Belt is western Pennsylvania as once-mighty steel mills, coke plans, and machine shops, scattered alongside railroads, rivers, and highways, have downsized and closed. If so, be sure tolike and followPA Bucket List on Facebook, Instagram, and/or Pinterest tolearn more aboutthe best things to see and do in Pennsylvania! There is probably no ghost town in PA thats more famous than Centralia. Even through the decline, Erie remained a lock for Democratic candidates, consistently voting blue. They can be accessed from several points along the spectacular Lehigh Gorge. But that requires people to commit themselves to the turnaround, and stay in the towns that many feel compelled to leave in order to enjoy the prosperity they desire. Cant say that its my favorite only because its the only abandoned place Ive ever been to and that would be Centralia Pennsylvania. Truly a PA ghost town because of Limerick. The Carrie Blast Furnaces were in operation from 1884 until 1982,turning iron ore into purified, molten ironwhich was then used as an ingredient in the steel-making process. Construction on the Bayless Paper Mill in Potter County began in 1900, and the dam which provided the large volumes of water the mill required (and which ultimately failed and caused the flood) was built not long after that. Thirteen miles of abandoned superhighway, last open to normal vehicle traffic in 1968. Another vote for Fricks Locks. While there are plenty of abandoned places in PA, these ghost towns take it to another level with many interesting spots to explore. Today, its laying on its side around piles of bricks waiting for hopeful restoration. This massive tower stands tall over the trail, which runs directly underneath it. Also Orvistan which I believe was once a lumbering community as well. Today, the abandoned ruins of the former Pine Grove Furnace POW Camp are located in the Michaux State Forest. This mine opened in 1860 and was actively mined until 1966. Pitholes history was short-lived, however. The depot was built on land that was once the town of Alvira before it was seized by the government for the depot. What was once known as the town of Alvira PA, is now known as State Game Lands number 252. Today the Lake Leigh Dam isslowly being reclaimed by Nature, but the abandoned ruins are still easily visible more that 100 years after they were first constructed. In the old days, a mill like this would have needed 4,000 workers. The remains of the Kinzua Viaduct have been resurrected as the Kinzua Skywalk and are part of Kinzua Bridge State Park. The National Iron and Steel Museum in Coatesville isnt abandoned in and of itself. Theabandoned Westinghouse Atom Smasheris an iconic relic from the very dawn of the atomic age in the United States. Thanks for your help. It would have been torn down then, but the concrete used to build the homes ended up being too difficult for even dynamite to destroy. Then theres one on top of a mountain near Ralston, PA. You're awesome for doing it! finally they all went. Fortunately, however, the current owner is trying to refurbish the homes and turn them into a period homestay. This former mining community has been abandoned for many decades and while much of it has been lost to the woodland, pieces remain, including several concrete structures and an old rail line. Jim Cheney is the creator of UncoveringPA.com. Gilson Ridge Cemetery in Hydetown Pa. Without a doubt, this site is easily one of the largest abandoned places in Pennsylvania and one of the most varied. At its peak, Pithole featured more than 50 hotels, three churches, the worlds first oil pipeline, a newspaper, a theater, and a railroad. OnJuly 21, 2003, a tornado struck the bridge, destroying 11 of the 20 support structures.