 |
| Western Portal |
In a scenic area of Centre County, I happened to stumble
across an old tunnel on my way to Poe Paddy State Park. The tunnel is just
outside the town of Coburn and aptly named the Coburn tunnel. As I approached
the western entrance, people were fishing and informed me it was an old
railroad tunnel and used to be called the Beaver Dam Tunnel.
Once I was home, I researched the tunnel and found out that
a few other tunnels are in the area and will need to be investigated at a later
date. The Beaver Dam Tunnel I accidentally found was constructed in 1877 and
approximately 260 feet long. The tunnel was first used by the Lewisburg,
Centre, and Spruce Creek RR (LC&SC). Later the ownership switched to the
Lewisburg/Tyrone RR in 1879 and then again to the PA RR in 1915. In the 1960s
the tunnel was abandoned but locals still use the area round the tunnel to
fish, hike and party judging by the broken class and cans in the area. There
has been talk to connect a few of the tunnels and old railroad beds in the area
to make a Rails-to-Trails for hiking and biking, but nothing has been settled
yet with property owners and financiers.
You can’t have an old abandon tunnel without some sort
of folklore surrounding it. There is a story of a man being hung at the
entrance of the tunnel sometime before it was closed down in the 1960s. The
story does say if someone else hanged the man or if it was a suicide. Since
then, at night if you drive an ATV or motorcycle through the tunnel it will
shut off halfway.
While out and about in Centre County, I came across a small
cemetery outside the town of Moshannon. Askey cemetery is a small unassuming
cemetery; however, it has a haunting reputation. Many years ago a car accident
took place near the cemetery and a young man died. It is said that the young
man that lost his life haunts the perimeter of the cemetery. Another tale tells
of a coal miner who was hung in the cemetery for spying on the mine bosses. The
cemetery also holds stories of weird things happening like strange lights,
sounds and shadows. An old man in a gardener’s outfit and a young girl who died
in a fire has also been seen in the cemetery. One of the weirdest accounts is
of a demonic deer that chases off intruders late at night.
