This massive tower stands tall over the trail, which runs directly underneath it. 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. Theabandoned Sideling Hill POW Camp in Fulton Countywas used to house German prisoners of war after the Nazis surrendered in May, 1945. Abraham Lincoln rode thru the tunnel en-route to the Gettysburg Address. Maybe few people. A large steel mill was constructed on the shore of Lake Erie and workers from Scranton were moved to continue their jobs. I remember some years ago visiting the cemetery there and seeing the foundation of a former band shell perched on a rock on the edge of a cliff. One of the least known places on this list are the jet bunkers in the Quehanna Wild Area. There is a turn out off the road in the valley from Arnot to Morris. The most popular spot at Centralia was Graffiti Highway, but this spot was sadly destroyed recently by the property owner. 100 years ago did not know you could get close to it!!! One man who is packing up to leave is Jim Stewart. My favorite is the giant elevator that once took miners deep underground. That changed in November people wanted change, and his message of hope came at a time when people were eager to hear that message. This shop was built in 1900 to repair boats along the nearby Monongahela River, but soon shifted its focus to railroad equipment and just about anything mechanical that needed fixing in town. Its amazing to tour the homes and think about what it would have been like to have lived in this community. Today, visitors can walk or bike this section of roadway, passing through the two mile-long tunnels and exploring this post-apocalyptic site that is one of my favorite abandoned places in Pennsylvania. TheFountain of Youthreally does exist, and you can find it in a public parkjust north of Pittsburgh! Visit it often. See Howard Tunnel in York County, Pa for the oldest operating railroad tunnel in the world. When the mine closed in the early 1930s, it was thought to be a temporary closure, so all the equipment was placed inside the mine before it was closed. Of all the abandoned train tunnels in PA, this might be the easiest to reach as its located directly adjacent to a large parking lot. Take, for example, theSteel Dynamics plant in Mississippis Golden Triangle. Truly a PA ghost town because of Limerick. From 1911-1931, this mine operated on the outskirts of Ashland, PA. Yes, many people still live there. ), the Windber Trolley Graveyard is a fascinating destination, should you be lucky enough to score a visit. Area municipalities acquired these eight properties for public use. You used to be able to access it via the Hawkins Hollow road, but that was closed to the public 15 years ago or so. Today, the Coburn Tunnel sits abandoned, but is still passable to foot traffic nearly150 yearsafter it was first dug. What was once known as the town of Alvira PA, is now known as State Game Lands number 252. Here are a few of my favorite ruins and abandoned places in Pennsylvania you can legally visit. 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. Even if everything goes Eries way during the next four years and beyond, restoring its former glory in full wont be easy. Concrete Citylies tucked away in an overgrown, city-owned plot of land on the outskirts of Nanticoke, inLuzerne County. Was a booming mine town but nothing much left. I stumbled across a very old headstone with 1700 dates on it. 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. When the furnaces were closed in 1982,large swaths of the site met the wrecking ball. Not sure what if anything is still there, but I know Laurel Run had to be evacuated in the (early?) (About half an hour north of Pittsburgh) Most of the men there worked in the limestone mine. I know the name but cant think of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turn_Hole_Tunnel, Very interesting .Does anyone have a picture of Turners Inn Restaurant on Route 40? Also, are there several small stone markers where the residence lived? Theabandoned Westinghouse Atom Smasheris an iconic relic from the very dawn of the atomic age in the United States. A map of Pennsylvania Railroads from 1923 showing essentially all of the state's rail lines in service, prior to massive abandonments that began in the post-World War II era. Many of the houses in Peale were moved to Grassflat. Located in McIntyre Township near Ralston, PA, I was raised In Ralston went to school there as a child gram lived by the cemetery trains went by our house. Anything left of Luna Park in Scranton. Oldest continuously operating railroad tunnel in the world is the Howard Tunnel in York County, Pa along the current Northern Central Railroad. 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. 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. In addition to the abandoned mining structures, this area is also unique for its micro-climate, which is said to be several degrees colder than the surrounding area and supports unique plant life. Today, the land that was once Scotia has been reclaimed by nature and is now part of State Game Lands 176 in Centre County. 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. Easy access from white Haven. Coal mining was a tough life. Rockland Furnace was powered by a dam and water wheel on Shull Run, where today youll find the beautiful Freedom Falls. I used to drive through Centralia on way to Shamokin,Pa where my husband used to live. Thanks for sharing. In later years it was a girl scout camp. While many of these ghost towns in PA have completely disappeared, a few still exist in the woods and along the roadways of the state. Would love to have good picture, so would many others. Do you have anything on (West) Winfield, PA? There were still plates on the table as though they got up from dinner and left everything behind. Built in 1907, the two blast furnaces here were in nearly continuous operation until 1978. In the old days, a mill like this would have needed 4,000 workers. The town is still there but there are no stores no bank and mail is delivered to the few that remain. 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. There are two old cemeteries at the end of road, some of the head stone date back to the 1700s. Overall, white men without college degrees backed Trump by a much larger spread than they had Mitt Romney four years prior. Orviston was a brick making company town too. Lets start with the biggest, and some would say best, abandoned place in PA the Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike! A remnant of the legendary U.S. Steel Homestead Steel Works, the Carrie Blast Furnaces are a vestige of Pittsburgh's 20th-century domination of the steel industry. Will the abandoned ski resort at Denton Hill State Park ever reopen, or will it remain a rusty tribute to days gone by? Make sure to obey any signage you might see, and obtain owner permission or pay the admission fees where required.). 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. Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphiais Americas most-historic (and some say most-haunted) prison! #Urbex #Abandoned #SteelMillFirst long video in a while! Above Beaverdale PA. Fortunately this time, no one was killed. The homes were lived in continuously until just a few years ago. The rumors persist in part due to the ghostly image which is apparent on a boarded-up back window of the chapel. 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. Said to be the first railroad tunnel built in USA. Now almost entirely derelict, Slawson says many remaining locals avoid driving this depressing route, peppered with the what President Trump referred to as Rusted-out factories, scattered like tombstones, in his bleak inauguration speech. The remains of this abandoned theme park in Monroe Township will be revived for a one-night Halloween event. I just decided not to include it since there really isnt anything from the town left there, minus the cemetery. Others were abandoned after natural disasters. I was thrilled to see Pithole on the list! 1867. "It was a symbol of pride for all these people," said Mark Goyke, manager of the special projects division at Scalo Solar Solutions. The town was vacated several years ago so the could build Curwensville Dam where boating and summertime activities are carried in now. Some of these sites were abandoned due to technological shifts that left them obsolete. I dont know if this is considered a ghost town, but there was once a village at Hickory Run State Park. All Rights Reserved. They promptly fenced it off and built a nuclear reactor and several bunkers. My Dad grew up in a town called Ralphton, near Somerset, PA. By the census of 1870, less than 250 people lived in Pithole. Based in Carlisle near Harrisburg, Jim frequently travels around Pennsylvania and has visited, written about, and photographed all 67 counties in the state. What about Buck Hill Falls Inn? Despite occasional reports of efforts being made to preserve Concrete City for its historic merits, youd be hard pressed to find any evidence of that when visiting today. The Gallagher family has lived in Erie, Pennsylvania, for generations and have seen the local economy decimated by the loss of manufacturing jobs. Austin Damin Potter County was billed asthe dam that could not breakat the time of its construction in 1909. 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. There were around 8 houses still standing and we went into a couple of them. Fall Brook in Tioga County some foundations left and a cemetery that is pretty cool lots of immigrants from Europe buried there whole families from a Scarlet fever epidemic ! I dont know where in PA. Steel Dynamics plant in Mississippis Golden Triangle. The abandoned Bethlehem Steel plant's gas blowing room, one of the more impressive industrial ruins I've had the opportunity to explore. Williams Grove closed in 2005 after more than 150 years in business. BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: STRIKING pictures have revealed the abandoned shell of a building that once housed a prominent steel mill. Theabandoned hunting lodge at Linn Run State Parkis a remarkable set of ruins from the early days of retreat camping in western Pennsylvania. PA 17603 717 . During WWII the land was seized by the army and used as an army ordnance. Austin Dam is located in rural Potter County, Pennsylvania. My great great grandparents lived there after arriving from England. Its off Rt 227 there is a sign there for it. Sadly, years of neglect left this cemetery, which was first opened in 1855 and was once the site of Betsy Ross grave, overgrown and nearly unvisitable. All I know about it is, it ran from down town to up over the hill behind the school in upper Jim Thorpe. Northeastern Pennsylvania has a rich anthracite coal mining history, and nowhere is that better seen than on a tour of the Lackawanna Coal Mine in Scranton. (Note: While to the best of our knowledge you can legally visit these abandoned places at the time of publication, access can always change. America's Industrial Past: Inside the Forgotten Steel Mill That has Been Abandoned for Decades. What about black diamond in schuylkill county. Rockland Furnace dates to 1832 and was in operation until 1854. We lived in the poconos, Im from Luzerne County. It was constructed in the early 20th century as company housing for the DL&W Railroad. Competition from automobiles and buses . Youll find this tunnel near the Rockport Access parking area (see map below) at GPS coordinates 40.96631, -75.75677. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s Concrete City was used for enclosed space fire training for the local fire companies. Ive never heard anything about this place since. Another ghost town is Fricks Lock in Chester County. While access is not permitted, its still possible to see the remnants of the bunkers from above ground and to peer into a few holes to catch a glimpse of these historic structures. Pitholes history was short-lived, however. Thats the story of a lot of Erie. While visitors arent allowed to go inside the iron furnaces, its fascinating to walk around the outside and to look down into them from above while imagining how they helped shape America. They also have at least one day a year, where they open it up for complete tours. Thanks for your help. My mom was born in 1925 in a booming town in Butler County called West Winfield. Rusty Glessner is a professional photographer, lifelong Pennsylvanian, and creator of the PA Bucket List travel blog. The town was flooded when they built a dam. In areas of America that have managed to win back manufacturing work, automation has meant that while the jobs that return are higher-paid, they are fewer in number. 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. Warnertown in NE Pa. In the 1960s, the shop closed for good, simply shutting their doors and walking away. 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