Scotia Barrens & The Black Ghost

Remnants of The ghost town Scotia

In Centre County, North-west of State College, there is an area known to the locals as the Scotia Barrens. The barrens are now included in State Game Land 176. Many trails are open to hikers, biking, and hunters. A public shooting range is also located right in the middle of the game lands. The Scotia Barrens is unique to the rest of Central Pennsylvania. Due to its location and geographical constructions, The Barrens has it’s own “micro-climate” where it is generally cooler than its surrounding areas by as much as 10-30 degrees. 

At one time the Soctia Barrens was not so barren and just known as the town of Scotia. The town was named after Angrew Carnegie’s homeland of Scotland and he saw promise with the mineral rich area and set up mining. In the 1800s Scotia was a booming mining town and had all the infrastructure many towns today have including a school, store and even a baseball team. Unfortunately the iron in the area depleted fast and the town met a pretty quick demise. The old road that leads through the Scotia Barrens was once the Railroad. Only a few foundations remain and a few remnants of the Iron Industry.

Besides the Barrens unique climate, it is also home to an equally fascinating ghost story. When Scotia was still a mining town, an African-American by the name of Bert Delige was walking home drunk one October night. Bert had been upset about wages he was owed by his recently deceased boss John Baudis for some time and was seen drunk many nights and had found himself frequently having run-ins with the law. That October night however, he ran into the widow Hulda Baudis. Bert argued with the 51-year-old woman about the back wages and the situation escalated. Bert assaulted Mrs. Baudis and then murdered her by cutting her throat with a razor. Bert Delige would later confess to the murder and was the last man hanged in the Bellefonte Jail yard on April 25^th of 1918. The body of Bert was later laid to rest outside of the Negro cemetery near present-day Marysville in non-hallowed ground.

Multiple sightings of a “black” ghost have been seen in the Scotia Barrens and along the road at night. In the 1980’s a local hunter had spotted the apparition near nightfall on April 25^th. Unknowingly the hunter told some of the locals and was told the story of Bert and how he was hung on April 25^th. Since that times other hikers, hunters, and motorists have witness the dark black figure lurking in the Barrens. The resting place of Bert Delige is lost to only those who know where to look. The stone marking his grave has been gone for some time.

Centralia : A Ghost Town Burning for over 50 Years

   

Abandon part of Route 61

     Centralia is one of the best-known ghost towns of Pennsylvania. It was even inspiration for the Silent Hill motion picture. At its peak over 2500 residents once lived in the old coal-mining town; now less than 5 people occupy the town. Incorporated as a borough in 1866, it was inhabited primarily by coal miners. The borough grew to have a few hotels, over 20 salons and 14 general stores. Anthracite coal mining continued in the town form the late 1860's until 1962. Anthracite coal was highly valued in the steel industry since it would burn hotter and longer than other types of coal. Unfortunately the towns lively hood would be its downfall. Anthracite coal is also hard to ignite, and harder to extinguish.

Overgrown Intersection in Town

     In 1962, firefighters were burning local trash near a cemetery on the outside of town. They had been doing this for years, however, this time where they choose to burn the trash had a vein of coal near the surface and it caught fire. The ground fire was put out easily, but little did they know the fire had spread underground. For a few years attempts to research and put out the fire had made things worse, providing air to the fire. In the 1980's it was estimated to cost nearly 600 million dollars to

contain the fire that was burning in the 3000-acre coalfield. The US government could not justify the cost and eminent domain was evicted in the early 1990s. Some residents had left when the fire started and the town slowly started to fade away. It is estimated that the coal will burn for another 250 years and no plans have been made to extinguish it.

    Centralia has now become a frequented place for visitors and urban explorers. The town remains very unsafe with fractures in the earth, sinkholes, toxic gases, and temperatures reaching over 500 degrees only a foot underground. Even with all the dangers, on almost any day a handful of people can be seen walking through the grass covered roads. Three cemeteries and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Greek-Catholic church still remain but not much else. A stretch of

Route 61 has been made detoured due to the earth twisting the pavement. Now graffiti litters the black top that used to be a 4-lane highway.

     I chose to brave the dangers in the summer of 2009 with a few friends. We arrived in the ghost town which is just a short drive east from Ashland PA. No homes remained when we visited. A few sidewalks and remains of stairs remained along the unkempt roads. We visited the 3 cemeteries on the south side of town. From almost any point in the town the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church overlooks the ghost town from the hill above. Our last stop was the

abandon part of Rt. 61. Gases could be seen coming from the cracked pavement and the road was warped and twisted. We walked about a mile along the road and took time to read the graffiti and then made our way back home.

      Please use extreme caution if you chose to visit this location. Multiple warning signs are posted around the area.

Blocked portion of Route 61

Steam was rising from the cracked pavement

Ghost Town of Alvira

Some call Alvira a ghost town; however, the town itself has been gone for the past 70+ years and is now part of State Game Land(SGL) 252. Originally named Wisetown, the area had been populated since the early 1800’s, and by the early 1900’s it was a booming American small town with the entire infrastructure. All that would come to change after the start of World War II. The government fearing there would be a huge need for explosives seized over 8500 acres by Eminent Domain in Gregg, Union, Brady, and Clinton Counties. Unfortunately the town of Alvira was part of the over 200 farms and properties seized. At the time of the land seize, it was paid for at market value and even promised back to the owners once the need for the land was finished. Later after the war, the residents of the area would come to known the false hope the government gave them. Most of the property was never distributed back to the people. Some of the land went to build a prison, some sold to build a golf course, and the  3000 acres that  was left went to be known as SGL 252.

After the land of Alvira was seized, the Susquehana Ordnance Depot was built to manufacture and store explosives. A TNT factory and 100 some bunkers where built to hold the explosives. Only after 11 months of operation, the need for TNT was greatly over estimated and the Ordnance was closed. In the 1950’s the land was distributed and the factory torn down, but the TNT bunkers still remained and are now part of SGL 252. As for the town of Alviria, no buildings were left after the government came in, but two cemeteries still remain on the border of the SGL.

This past year, hunting season was quickly approaching and I wanted to explore what was left of Alvira. A friend of mine and I set out on an early autumn day and thankfully didn’t run into or upset any hunters. To get to SGL 252, we came from the west on Route 220 and took the exit at Jersey Shore to get onto route 44. After a few miles we took a left onto mill road then a right onto Alvira Road. Soon we were greeted with SGL signs and a parking area. The first thing we noticed when we parked the car was a sign that paid homage to the town of Alvira. Only a few feet away we found our first bunker. Unfortunately it was locked up but nonetheless it sparked our curiosity even more. Hopeful, we began to walk into the game lands.

 

It was not long until we found another bunker. I had downloaded a SGL map that had many of the bunkers marked, it was just a matter of finding one that was open to explore. After about 100 yards, we came across our next bunker. The bunker was in a dome shape and looked like a small hill. A large steel door was the only entrance and to our luck was open. The first thing we realized as we stepped into the bunker was its amazing acoustic ability, probably due in part to its shape. Besides some junk, nothing else was really found in the bunker. A small exhaust hole was at the top. We continued to walk the game lands and stumbled upon many other bunkers.

After we got our thrill of finding several bunkers, we made our way back to the car. I knew from research that there were 2 cemeteries supposed to be near by. We continued down Alvira road and soon came across one of the cemeteries to our right. There looked to be a horticulture class walking along the road and cemetery, observing the trees and plants, so we didn’t stop and continued on. At the end of Alvira road we found a dead end; however, it was also a parking area for the Washington Presbyterian Church and cemetery. One stone pillar and another foundation of one marked the entrance. To the right, a small grade could be noticed that was once the foundation to the church that sat adjacent to the cemetery. I was surprised to see the cemetery it such good condition. From the far end of the cemetery, the fence and tower of the nearby prison could be seen. We walked the cemetery and took a few pictures and then headed back to the car. All in all it was a well worth drive to witness this bit of history.

 

 

Ghost Town of Bennington

Bennington Cemetery

 

     Traveling from Altoona to Gallitzin, you can still see some remains of nearly 100 old coke furnaces that follow the road. The furnaces were part of a small operation that mined iron from the nearby valley. With the need for labor in the area the town of Bennington was founded in 1846. The town was at its peak during the construction of the Gallitzin tunnels and began as a shanty town to house the migrant workers. The Pennsylvania Railroad and the Blair Iron & Coal Company,later Cambria Iron Company, were the primary employers of the town and encouraged growth of the town. Life was especially hard during the winter and the town was only reachable by train during the winter months. The only road at that time, Sugar Run Road, was impassable in winter conditions. On February 18^th, 1947 one of the largest train disasters took place on the Bennington Curve; the wreck of the Red Arrow. Over 20 people lost their lives and even more were injured. It was later found during an autopsy, that the engine-man was blind in one eye and did not see a train on the same track that was running late.

View Looking Towards Altoona

      All that remains of the town now is a small cemetery, a few remnants of mining, and coke furnaces. The cemetery is reachable by car. Take Rt. 22 to the Gallitzen exit then take the first right. Then take the 2^nd left back an old forest road and then parallel to the train tracks. The cemetery is marked and it is a few yards up a hill from the parking area.

Frick's Lock

    Frick's Lock is a modern day ghost town located near Pottstown, PA. The land for Frick's Lock was acquired from a local farmer, John Frick, in the early 1800's. The village hosted 2 canal locks, #54 and #55, along the Schuylkill River. Like so many canal towns, it then adapted to host a railroad once the canals became obsolete. Frick's Lock would then meet its slow economic downfall after Conrail was formed in 1976.

     In the 1960's PECO, Philadelphia Electric Company, started to form a nuclear power plant across the Schuylkill river, and in 1986, before the station went online the residents of Frick's Lock had to move. Some say the residents were bought out and relocated, others say they were only given a 48 hour eviction notice. Either way, the homes were all boarded up and left standing stuck in time.

    Remains of about 10 buildings still stand in the ghost town. The oldest being a house from 1757, A barn from 1824, and the Lock tenders house built-in 1817. The property of Frick's Lock now belongs to PECO's successor the Exelon Corporation. Guided tours of the historic town occurred in 1997, 2000, 2002, and 2003. No other plans for tours have been arranged or made since.

    As of 2011, The East Conventry Twp. partnered with Exelon to preserve and protect the area. Plans to stabilized and rehabilitate the area are in progress. Due to his popularity as a ghost town, it has attracted many curious tourists and vandals. Vandalism hit its peak when arson was committed to one of the larger homes in Frick's Lock.The town can be reached by traveling about 4 miles south-east from Pottstown, PA on Rt. 724. The area is now patrolled by Exelon security staff and violators of trespassing can expect a hefty fine.

Ghost Town : Concrete City

     A little drive south-west from Wilkes-Barre PA is the town of Nanticoke. South from there is a novel display of the coal industries innovation and grandeur in the early 20^th centery. The Delaware, Lackwanna, and Western Railroad (DL&W) built a whole town out of concrete to house the coal

miners of the near by colliery. At that time nearly 34% of people lived in some sort of housing owned by the companies they were employed at. Company housing was usually very basic and almost primitive. However, the DL&W had a plan to build modest housing for the minors but keep the building expenses low. This plan

      In 1911, ground was broke to start construction of 20 double homes made of concrete. The homes were arranged in a rectangular way with a central park. Each residence accommodated 2 families with 7 rooms and 4 bedrooms on the 2^nd floor. An outhouse and coal bin were placed outside each home. Total cost for the building was approximately $2500 and cost the families $8.00 to rent each month. Once completed the housing development was called “The Garden City of the Anthracite Region”. Homes constantly though the years won garden shows and all was well for the first few years.

      Concrete City started its decline about 2 years after building. The homes had an ongoing issue with condensation inside and out. Inside the plastered walls would leak and need repaired every other year. Outside the paint would need scrapped and repainted every few years. A few more years later the central swimming pool in the park was filled in due to a boy drowning. The Concrete buildings continued to be rented for 11 years. In 1924 township laws required that the Concrete City install a sewer system at the cost of $200,000. The DL&W could not justify the cost and demolishing was scheduled. Over 100 sticks of dynamite were used to level the city. However, the Concrete was well reinforced and barely scratched the buildings.

      Over the years after the failed demolishing, the concrete city was used by the Luzerne Co. Fire company to do test fires and training exercises. The filled in swimming pool was used to burn off chemicals in a controlled fashion. In 1992, the historical area was bought and saved and registered as a historical landmark. The bombed out, burned, and vandalized buildings still remain a shell of the dreams of the coal industry era. No new plans have been made to restore its once award winning gardens. Mother nature continues to slowly take back its land. If you visit the city, use caution.

      The buildings still stand but are dangerous to enter. My trip a few years ago was well worth it. It was amazing to see the concrete giants still standing after all they had been through. When we arrived local paintball players were having a skirmish. We explored the buildings and found they had a basement, and 2 floors. Many of the buildings had holes from the dynamite, a few still had charred marks from the controlled fires. All the buildings were marked with graffiti. The central swimming pool was grown in with vegetation and junk.

      To get to the remains of Concrete City, take Middle Rd which runs south of Nanticoke. Make a left onto Epsy Street then another left onto Front Street. A few yards ahead will be a Historical Marker and a Path leading back to the abandon town. Here are the GPS coordinates 41°11'20.68"N , 75°58'34.34"W.