Ghost Town Trail Guidebook - 2nd Edition

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INDIANA COUNTY PARKS & TRAILS ED PATTERSON SECOND EDITION MARCH 2018

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TABLE OF CONTENTS FORWARD TO THE SECOND EDITION DEDICATION PREFACE INTRODUCTION PLANNING YOUR TRIP HISTORY OF THE TRAIL’S DEVELOPMENT EARLY HISTORY OF THE BLACKLICK VALLEY IRON FURNACES OF THE GHOST TOWN TRAIL GRIST MILLS LUMBER ERA RAILROADS OF THE BLACKLICK VALLEY COAL MINING THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1977 GHOST TOWNS & OTHER COMMUNITIES THE REXIS BRANCH THE TRAIL SEGMENTS AT TRAIL’S END

4 5 6 7 10 19 21 25 38 39 41 44 47 49 75 80 101

SEVEN DAY TRIPS NEAR THE GHOST TOWN TRAIL SUPPORTING THE GHOST TOWN TRAIL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CONTRIBUTORS REFERENCES

102 110 111 112

TRAIL MAPS & M ILEAGE CHARTS

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ABOUT INDIANA COUNTY PARKS & TRAILS

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FORWARD TO THE SECOND EDITION Rachel Carson, at the publication of Silent Spring, wrote: “Now it has a life of its own”.

Writing the Ghost Town Trail Guidebook and other books since has been an interesting life experience. When a book is printed the author never knows for sure when or where it will be read, or who will read it. I often think about where the guidebooks go and what happens to them. When I visit our local library, I stop at the bookshelf to see if they are there, somewhat like checking up on your children to find out how they are doing.

When I completed the first edition of the Ghost Town Trail Guidebook I had no idea if people would read the book, let alone buy one. I was so unsure of the success of the guidebook that I only had 200 books printed in the first print run The second edition of the Ghost Town Trail Guidebook contains updated information and revised maps. I have tried to avoid including information that would quickly lose relevance. For information about current trail conditions the reader is referred to the various contacts noted in the guidebook.

My goal for this edition remains the same as the first edition. I hope the guidebook will enhance your understanding and appreciation of the Ghost Town Trail and allow you to fully enjoy your time in the Blacklick Valley.

Each year new people learn about the trail and come from more distant places. Regular users continue to return, again and again, to a trail that has become ‘their trail’. No matter where you come from or how often you visit, I hope this guidebook will enrich your experience and help make your time on the trail a memorable one.

Ed Patterson March 5, 2018 TDFFH

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DEDICATION Developing a rail-trail project to completion is not an easy task. In the same way, once a project is completed, the maintenance and operation of a trail is often overlooked and sometimes unappreciated. The Ghost Town Trail has one of the region’s best trail maintenance crews.

This guidebook is dedicated to the crew that maintains and operates the trail for the enjoyment of others.

Without the continuing assistance of many supporters and trail visitors there would be no reason for the Ghost Town Trail, or this guidebook. It is gratifying to see families, children, senior citizens and people of all backgrounds out enjoying the trail. May their enjoyment be never-ending.

The waters of Blacklick Creek that follow the Ghost Town Trail continue to flow and offer a snapshot at the time we see them. There is a saying that “we never cross the same creek twice” – time and Blacklick Creek flow on in eternity. The Ghost Town Trail is something we can return to again and again to bring life to the surroundings of a former time and place that remain, if only in our memory.

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PREFACE “Few people who have not been in the Blacklick Valley recently would be able to recognize the wilderness that it was a few years ago. Prior to 1893, when the Pennsylvania Railroad Company extended the Ebensburg & Cresson Branch to Vintondale, the country which the road traverses was wild mountain land. No effort had been made to till the soil along the Blacklick and miles and miles could be traveled without seeing a single habitation.

The extension of the railroad, as if by magic, transformed the valley into live, hustling communities and busy hives of industry. Sawmills were created to turn the giant trees of the forest into lumber. Many coal mines were opened, so that the Blacklick region might yield up its vast mineral wealth to the busy mills and factories of the East. New towns and villages sprung up, as if by the magician’s wand, to house and care for the many workmen and artisans who found employment among its inhospitable hills.

To-day thousands of tons of coal are being shipped from this prosperous valley, the people are happy and contented, and no more promising coal region exists in Pennsylvania. And it is only in its infancy.”

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Charles Hasson, The Weekly Tribune January 29, 1904

few years ago my colleague, Jack Bartock from the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority, sent me a newspaper article transcribed from the January 29, 1904 edition of The Weekly Tribune of Johnstown, PA. Jack is a retired coal miner, former trail manager, with an avid interest in the history of coal mining, coal towns and railroads.

Charles Hasson’s newspaper article was likely written at the request of railroad and coal interests, seeking to attract attention to the growing industrial development taking place in the Blacklick Valley at the time. Written in lofty prose, the article provides today’s reader with a glimpse of how great the hopes for the future of the Blacklick Valley were in the early 1900s.

Through my involvement with the development of the Ghost Town Trail, I was interested in learning more about the heritage of the valley. Denise Dusza Weber, with the 1991 publication of Delano’s Domain, heightened my and many other people’s interest, in the wide-ranging history of the Blacklick Valley.

I was also drawn to the history of the Blacklick Valley because I come from a family with a long history in coal mining, first in Scotland, and later in the coal fields of Armstrong and Indiana Counties. My family did not work in the Blacklick Valley coal mines, but 6|P age

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Appalachian coal families share a common thread of history – dangerous work under harsh conditions; the community bonds of life in a coal town; and the hope that their children and grandchildren will someday have a better future.

In this guidebook you will read about the Ghost Town Trail and learn of those who toiled at the iron furnaces, lumber camps, mines and the railroads to forge a new future for the Blacklick Valley. Today, the Ghost Town Trail, built on a former railroad grade, is host to thousands of visitors each year. A 2009 trail visitor study conducted by the Rails to Trails Conservancy noted that the trail receives an estimated 75,000 visits per year, with an economic impact of $1.8 million within the regional economy.

When first proposed, some people doubted much would come of the trail. The Blacklick Valley had often been overlooked and ignored since the mines had played out - it seemed that after nearly one hundred years of exploiting its mineral and human resources there was not much left to offer to the outside world. Would people visit and use a trail in a valley with degraded streams, and in some places, a bleak and scarred landscape?

Thanks to a small group of supporters, the trail took shape; stream and landscape restoration projects began and with each passing year more people came to believe that the Blacklick Valley did have something to offer to the outside world. Trail supporters always believed that the Ghost Town Trail was more than just a path in the woods. It’s about community, about reconnecting the towns and villages and their people to their shared past and collective future.

View of the Blacklick Valley looking east from Scott Glen Photo: Earl Carney, Jr.

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INTRODUCTION “My country is tangible, small, and immediate: a Pennsylvania valley, or rather a high table land cut by ravines, lying between Chestnut Ridge on the west, and Laurel Hill in the east and south.”

Malcolm Cowley

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his guidebook was created to assist visitors to the Ghost Town Trail, a 44-mile long rail-trail located in west-central Pennsylvania. The trail was selected as a National Recreation Trail by the U.S. Department of the Interior in June 2003.

The purpose of the guidebook is to provide useful information in a format that will help you plan your trip, enrich your experience while visiting here, and assist you in gaining a greater appreciation for the heritage of this area.

The Ghost Town Trail provides an accessible pathway for people of all ages and abilities to experience the outdoors, and to learn about the heritage of this region. The trail passes quiet woodlands, rushing streams, iron furnaces, ghost towns and small communities. It passes through history.

On July 19th and 20th, 1977 a destructive flood occurred in the Blacklick Valley. The communities of Nanty Glo, Vintondale and Dilltown experienced severe flooding and property loss. One person lost her life in Dilltown. The railroads in the valley were severely damaged. Three major railroad bridges were destroyed and a fourth was seriously damaged. The Great Flood of 1977 was a major factor in the railroad’s decision to discontinue operating in the valley, and the abandonment of the railroad ultimately lead to the creation of the Ghost Town Trail.

Salvaging the railroad tracks and ties from a railroad and converting it into a trail seems like an easy task—sometimes it can be anything but easy. Rail-trails can be some of the most difficult public projects to implement. Establishment of a rail-trail requires patience, persistence, diplomacy, finesse, a little bit of luck and, at times, what seems like divine intervention.

Trails are the ‘footprints of history’. On the Ghost Town Trail, you will follow a path that has been traveled by Native Americans, loggers, iron furnace workers, coal miners, 8|P age

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railroad workers and many others – in some cases ordinary people who did extraordinary things.

Much like a stream that is made up of many currents, the Ghost Town Trail represents the combined efforts of many individuals, volunteer groups, businesses and public agencies. Installation of two large bridges in 2009 completed the trail’s final missing link and represents the culmination of eighteen years of effort by many trail supporters.

In 2017 an additional eight miles were added to the trail on a segment known as the C&I Extension. This extension begins at the end of the Rexis Branch. Information about this new addition can be found at the end of the book.

A trail so steeped in history would take many years to completely write about – thanks to previous authors and researchers there is an abundant historical record readily available about the Blacklick Valley. One of the most difficult tasks in compiling the guidebook was deciding what to include – the human and natural history of the Blacklick Valley is compelling.

Whether you are visiting the trail for health and fitness; to enjoy the natural scenery; or to learn more about the Blacklick Valley and its people, my hope is that this guidebook will make your visit more meaningful and more enjoyable.

Most importantly, take time to experience all the Ghost Town Trail and the region have to offer.

Ed Patterson, Director Indiana County Parks & Trails

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Planning Your Trip

“The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see.”

- G.K. Chesterton The Ghost Town Trail is constructed of finely packed limestone dust placed on a former railroad grade. The trail is generally flat with a few sections having grades of up to 3%. Trail sections with the steepest grades include portions of the Black Lick to Heshbon; Vintondale to Twin Rocks; Nanty Glo to Ebensburg, and Route 271 to Snake Road.

This guidebook was written in a format that follows from west to east (Black Lick to Ebensburg), but you can pick and choose the sections of the trail you’d like to visit.

Mile markers and directional signs located along the trail will assist you in knowing where you are, and how far it is to the next access area or attraction. Interpretive signs and historical markers are located throughout the trail to help educate and inform you about the history of the area.

Portions of the trail are in remote areas - while we recommend taking a cell phone along, cell phone service is not always available or reliable. Scattered along the trail are picnic shelters, which provide rest stops and a place to seek protection from inclement weather. Trail conditions can change due to storms, flooding and construction. Call or write the trail managers or visit our website for current information on trail conditions. The trail is about evenly divided between Indiana and Cambria Counties. To reach the appropriate trail agency in each county contact:

Indiana County Parks & Trails 1128 Blue Spruce Road Indiana, PA 15701 (724) 463-8636 www.indianacountyparks.org Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority 401 Candlelight Drive, Suite 234 Ebensburg, PA 15901 (814) 472-2110 www.cambriaconservationrecreation.com

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The Ghost Town Trail is in the heart of west-central Pennsylvania. The trail roughly parallels Route 22 in an east-west direction. From the west, the nearest trail access is at Saylor Park in Blacklick, PA – from the east the nearest trail access is Ebensburg, PA. The trail is located 10 miles north of Johnstown and 15 miles southeast of Indiana, PA.

The Ghost Town Trail is situated in two of the state’s travel regions: The Alleghenies and Her Valleys and Pittsburgh and Its Countryside.

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21 TRAIL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 1. WHO OPERATES THE TRAIL? In Indiana County the trail is operated by Indiana County Parks & Trails. In Cambria County the trail is operated by the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority. Both county agencies work cooperatively to maintain a consistent approach to the management of the trail.

2. HOW LONG IS IT? Overall the trail is 44 miles long. The main stem of the trail is 32 miles long, the Rexis Branch is 4 miles and the C&I Extension is 8 miles. You can ride sections at a time or choose to do the entire trail all at once. Be realistic about your trail mileage and refer to the trail mileage chart and maps in this guidebook to assist your planning.

3. HOW STEEP IS IT? Most of the trail is relatively flat and easily accessible to people of all ages and abilities.

Motorized wheel chairs are permitted. The steepest trail segments (up to 3%) are portions of Black Lick to Heshbon; Vintondale to Twin Rocks, Nanty Glo to Ebensburg and portions of the C&I Extension.

4. WHAT USES ARE PERMITTED? The trail is open to hikers, bicyclists, runners, walkers and cross-country skiers. Power mobility devices for physically challenged individuals are permitted if they do not exceed 36� in width and are electric powered with a rating not exceeding 1/3 h.p. or 250 watts.

Gasoline or similarly powered combustible fuel vehicles and devices are not permitted.

5. WHAT’S THE TRAIL SURFACE LIKE? The trail is constructed of finely packed limestone dust. The trail is hard when dry, but can be soft during periods of rain, especially in the early spring or late fall.

6. CAN WE CAMP ALONG THE TRAIL? Camping is not permitted along the trail. Overnight accommodations are available at the Dillweed Bed & Breakfast in Dilltown, Other hotels and bed and breakfasts are located a short drive from the trail, especially at the Blairsville and Ebensburg ends of the trail.

Indiana, PA is a university town located 15 miles north of the trail. Johnstown is ten miles 12 | P a g e

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south of Dilltown. Both towns have many hotels and bed and breakfasts. Yellow Creek State Park, eight miles from the trail, offers camping cottages and yurts for rent. Contact Yellow Creek State Park at (724) 357-7913 for more information.

7. WHERE CAN I RENT A BICYCLE? Unfortunately, no bike rental shops are located directly along the trail or in the immediate nearby area.

8. HOW SAFE IS THE TRAIL? The trail is in a rural area dotted with small communities and villages. The trail is safe - we have not had serious safety issues since the trail was established. You are responsible for your safety and should plan accordingly.

Let someone know where you are going and how long you expect to be gone. There are no trail rangers, but you may see trail maintenance workers out on the trail. Let them know if you have a safety concern or need help, they will be happy to assist you.

9. WHAT KIND OF BIKE SHOULD I RIDE? Most trail riders use mountain bikes or ten-speeds. Recumbent bicycles are becoming more popular and are great if you have back problems or don’t want to ride for long periods in an upright position. Wearing a helmet is recommended.

10. WHAT ARE THE TRAIL HOURS? The trail is open from sunrise to sunset, year-round.

11. WHAT TYPES OF WILDLIFE WILL I SEE? The trail passes large areas of State Game Lands and other woodland. Deer, turkey, black bear, beaver, bobcat, fisher, red fox, small game and a variety of birds may be seen. You may encounter a snake sunning itself on the trail.

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12. I’M PLANNING ON SPENDING SEVERAL DAYS IN THE AREA – WHAT ELSE CAN I DO? The area has many other sites and attractions that you can visit.

A partial listing of attractions includes: Johnstown Flood Museum and Johnstown National Flood Memorial; Johnstown Inclined Plane; Allegheny Portage Railroad; Laurel Ridge State Park; Charles Lewis Natural Area; Jimmy Stewart Museum; Indiana University of PA; Indiana County Historical Society Museum; Cambria County Historical Society; Dane Castle; Yellow Creek State Park; State Game Lands and numerous county parks among many sites.

The Buttermilk Falls Natural Area and the Blacklick Valley Natural Area are located a short drive from the trail. Both sites are operated by Indiana County Parks & Trails. Several day trips near the Ghost Town Trail are highlighted at the end of the guidebook.

Special events and festivals; featuring music, ethnic food and activities, are held in various communities along the trail. A few festivals of note are the Dillweed Herb Fair held in early June, the Vintondale Homecoming on Labor Day weekend, and the Ebensburg Potato Festival held near the end of September. The Indiana Roadrunner’s Club hosts a 7 km fundraising ‘Race for the Trail’ in early August.

13. WHAT’S THE BEST TIME TO VISIT? The trail is most frequently visited from mid-April through mid-October. In the spring the trail is bursting with green and spring wildflowers. In summer the trail offers a shady respite. By the fall the valley is a blaze of color. Winter is a time of deep snows and interesting ice formations in the trail ravines. Anytime is a good time to be on the trail.

Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days, but once on the trail and away from the access areas, it is not crowded.

Fall outing on the trail

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14. I WANT TO RIDE THE ENTIRE TRAIL, SHOULD I GO EAST TO WEST OR WEST TO EAST? The trail is gradually uphill from west to east, but the grade is not severe and does not limit most people. Most sections are reasonably flat. If you want to ride one-way and want the least amount of grade, ride from east to west (Ebensburg to Saylor Park). If you want to ride out and have a downhill coming back, ride from west to east and back. Be realistic about your mileage and allow yourself enough time to complete your journey.

15. ARE PETS PERMITTED? Yes, pets are permitted, but must be always leashed and cleaned up after.

16. ARE THERE RESTAURANTS ALONG THE TRAIL? Light snacks and refreshments are available at the Dillweed in Dilltown. Ebensburg has many restaurants and fast food establishments, but they are not located directly adjacent to the trail. Several restaurants are also available in Blairsville, located about three miles from the western terminus of the trail.

17. SHOULD WE BRING OUR CHILDREN? Absolutely! The trail is suited for people of all ages – including children. Just make sure to keep the ride fun and not over do it. Children who have just learned to ride a bicycle should be properly supervised, some areas along the trail contain steep hillsides and not every part of the trail is fenced.

The trail is also suited for older adults. Riding the trail is one thing that an entire family of all ages can do together.

18. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GHOST TOWNS? With the closure of mines throughout the 1900s the houses were sold, torn down, and the lumber was used for other buildings in nearby communities. While some house foundations and mine remnants still exist, almost all of the ghost towns are located on private property and are not open to the public without landowner permission.

19. HOW MANY MILES CAN I DO ON A TRIP? How far and fast you will go depends on your physical condition. Generally, walkers and hikers average about 2-3 miles per hour. Bicyclists average 6-10 miles per hour. If the trail is wet or soft you may go at a slower pace.

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20. IS HUNTING PERMITTED? Hunting is a popular activity in this rural area. The trail passes through State Game Lands and private properties open to hunting. Hunters are permitted to use the trail to gain access to hunting areas. If you are visiting the trail during the hunting season, especially rifle deer and bear season in late November through December, we strongly recommend that you wear blaze orange.

21. WHAT OTHER TRAILS ARE IN THE AREA? Besides the Ghost Town Trail, the Hoodlebug Trail and West Penn Trail are in the same area. The Hoodlebug Trail and Ghost Town Trail link together in Black Lick at Saylor Park.

The West Penn Trail is located west of Blairsville, PA. It continues 17 miles west to Avonmore. At Saltsburg the West Penn Trail connects to the Westmoreland Heritage Trail.

Information on the West Penn Trail, operated by the Conemaugh Valley Conservancy, can be found at: www.conemaughvalleyconservancy.org.

Information on the 10-mile long Hoodlebug Trail, also operated by Indiana County Parks & Trails, is at www.indianacountyparks.org. Altogether, the Ghost Town, Hoodlebug and West Penn Trail comprise about 65 miles of trail. Each trail has its own unique character and attributes.

Other trails in western Pennsylvania include the Lower Trail in Blair County; the Great Allegheny Passage, from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD; among many others.

Western Pennsylvania is a region of rail-trails - you could easily spend an extended vacation in the area enjoying our trails.

Mileposter Tandem Bicycle Club Photo: Mark Shields

The Trans Allegheny Trails is a consortium of eight regional trails that have joined together to promote trails in our area. Read more about the Trans Allegheny Trails at the end of this guidebook.

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THE TRAIL SETTING TRAIL LOCATION

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he Ghost Town Trail is located in Indiana and Cambria County in west-central Pennsylvania. From the community of Black Lick, Indiana County to Vintondale, Cambria County the trail follows Blacklick Creek.

At Vintondale the creek divides - the main trail stem follows the South Branch of Blacklick Creek to Ebensburg, while the Rexis Branch parallels the North Branch of Blacklick Creek for four miles, ending at Route 422. Overall, the trail Trail Bridge at Vintondale is 44 miles in length.

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BLACK LICK OR BLACKLICK? Throughout this guidebook two different spellings are used for the town and the creek.

The name of the town is spelled as two words Black Lick, while the creek name is spelled as one word, Blacklick. Just to add to the confusion, both Indiana and Cambria Counties have Blacklick Townships. The township name is spelled as one word.

The word Blacklick is derived from the presence of coal outcrops throughout the valley. A ‘lick’ is a small spring or seep where deer and other animals congregate for water.

BLACKLICK CREEK Blacklick Creek, approximately 30 miles long, is a tributary of the Conemaugh River. The Blacklick Creek watershed encompasses 420 square miles, and includes Yellow Creek, Two Lick Creek, Elk Creek and many small feeder streams.

The creek rises in two forks in western Cambria County, on the western side of the Allegheny Mountains. The North Branch, approximately 12 miles long, begins north of Colver and flows west, then southwest.

The South Branch begins near Revloc and flows west. The two branches meet at Rexis, near the boundary of Cambria and Indiana counties.

The main branch flows west, joining Two Lick Creek near Josephine. Blacklick Creek merges with the Conemaugh River, approximately 3 miles northwest of Blairsville.

Previous mining activity has left Blacklick Creek severely polluted. The orange tint of the creek is characteristic of a waterway that is degraded Leaning Tree at Blacklick Creek by abandoned mine drainage (AMD). Chemical Photo: Earl Carney, Jr. reactions take place when water meets pyrite in coal and the rock surrounding it, turning the water orange-red, yellow, or sometimes white. When this water is discharged from a mine, it reacts with oxygen in the air or in a waterway and deposits iron, manganese, and aluminum in the stream bed. Through this process, the water also gains acidity. Significant efforts are underway to improve the water quality of Blacklick Creek.

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HISTORY OF THE TRAIL’S DEVELOPMENT “All projects, big or small, begin in the mind’s eye. They begin with imagination and with the belief that what is merely an image, can one day be made real.”

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-Daniel McClean and Ruth Russell

n 1987 the National Park Service, in cooperation with the America’s Industrial Heritage Project (AIHP), conducted an inventory of industrial heritage sites in a nine-county region of southwestern PA, including Indiana and Cambria Counties. The development of AIHP heritage attractions in the region later fell under the oversight of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission.

AIHP Logo

The re-use of several abandoned railroads as recreation corridors was one of the most significant, cost-effective, and popular outcomes of the AIHP project. Along with the Ghost Town Trail, other trails such as the Lower Trail in Blair County and the Allegheny Highlands Trail in Somerset County (now part of the Great Allegheny Passage) were established within the nine-county region at the same time.

In 1991 Denise Dusza Weber, a former resident of Vintondale, published Delano’s Domain: A History of Warren Delano’s Mining Towns of Vintondale, Wehrum and Claghorn. Weber’s book is a rich source of historic information, photographs and other documentation of the area. Weber’s book was published at a most opportune time and helped stimulate interest in the heritage of the valley.

On September 5, 1991 the Indiana County Commissioners, along with representatives of the Northern Cambria Community Development Corporation (NORCAM) conducted a press conference at the Eliza Furnace to announce that the Kovalchick Salvage Company of Indiana, PA would donate 16 miles of the former Ebensburg & Blacklick Railroad to establish a recreational trail. The donation included all railroad property between Dilltown and Nanty Glo. The Cambria & Indiana Trail Council, under the direction of Laurie Lafontaine, played a key role in advocating for the development and completion of the trail.

As trail planning proceeded, it was decided that the trail would be named the ‘Ghost Town Trail’ after several former towns that once existed along the railroad corridor. These former towns included: 19 | P a g e

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Wehrum, Claghorn, Dias, Buffington, Scott Glen, Amerford and Lackawanna #3 in Indiana County and Bracken and Beula in Cambria County. Beula was an early Welsh settlement that existed before the coal mining era.

In 1993 the Cambria & Indiana Railroad donated an additional 4 miles of trail from Rexis to White Mill, known as the Rexis Branch. On October 1, 1994 a dedication was held to celebrate the opening of the first 16 miles of the trail. This included 12 miles from Dilltown to Nanty Glo and the 4-mile Rexis Branch.

The Red Mill Bridge on the Rexis Branch was installed in 1998, connecting two segments of the four-mile Rexis Branch. In 2005 the trail was extended thirteen miles west to the community of Black Lick, and eight miles east from Nanty Glo to Ebensburg. In the fall of 2009, two large bridges, located just west of Dilltown, were installed to complete the trail’s final missing link.

In 2017 the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation completed the construction of an eight-mile trail segment, known as the C&I Extension, that connects to the Rexis Branch and ends at Expedite Road.

The trail name has garnered attention from others outside the region. In the early 1990’s Sports Illustrated published an article on the opening of the first 500 railtrails in the United States. A writer for the magazine noted that the Ghost Town Trail was a name that caught her attention - it pays to be creative when naming a trail.Unlike some ghost towns still found in the American West, nearly all remnants of the former towns in the Blacklick Valley have disappeared. Some house foundations, former streets and mine company remains are still visible in the woods, but almost all of the former ghost towns have disappeared or are slowly fading into the forest.

While the ghost towns have disappeared, the legacy of their existence is still strongly felt throughout the valley, along the trail, and among its people.

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EARLY HISTORY OF THE BLACKLICK VALLEY “The history of my country, like that of many American districts, and perhaps like that of the nation as a whole, had been a slow exhausting of resources. The men in coonskin caps, the fierce Scotch-Irish of the frontier, had driven away the larger game. Their sons, who cleared the frontier, had cut the virgin forest, and the next two generations had worn out the arable soil. My country was fed with minerals, but the coal in time would be exhausted, and then?...

I had no fear of what would come. The hills had shown a power of recuperation; the trees were creeping back into the desolate choppings where fire had raged; the fields were resting for other tasks under a blanket of white-top and goldenrod. The people, too, felt a common aim; they, would find other resources inevitably.”

Malcolm Cowley, from My Countryside, Then and Now Harper’s Weekly, January 1929

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he Ghost Town Trail is located in a valley steeped in human history and cultural significance. From Native Americans to early settlers; from loggers to iron workers; from railroad workers to coal miners; the valley has experienced several influxes of settlers and entrepreneurs seeking to extract wealth from its abundant natural resources.

NATIVE AMERICANS Early Native Americans, who had a presence in the valley, included members of the Shawnee and the Delaware tribes. Native American tribes used the Blacklick Valley for fishing, hunting, and trading. Several Native American paths once existed in Indiana County, including the Catawba Path, which crossed Blacklick Creek near Josephine. The Catawba Path, one of the most important Indian paths, ran from Olean, NY on the Allegheny to North Carolina.

The paths were later used by traders with pack horses who came to the region to trade with the Indians and early settlers. Significant archeological remains have been found in various locations throughout the valley. A village, Naeskahoni Town, was located near the confluence of Two Lick Creek and Blacklick Creek.

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The above map depicts Native American paths, early trading villages, and other historic sites located within Indiana County when it was part of Upper Westmoreland. The map was digitized and reformatted by Patrick McKinney from a map originally prepared by the late Clarence Stephenson.

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EARLY SETTLERS The first recorded settlements in the valley, after the Native Americans, occurred in the late 1700’s. At that time much of the valley was situated in Westmoreland County - Indiana County was not created until 1803 when the county was formed from portions of Lycoming and Westmoreland Counties.

Cambria County was created in 1804 from parts of Bedford, Huntingdon, and Somerset Counties and was named for the nation of Wales. Immigrants arrived from many nations to populate the Blacklick Valley. At one time 32 different languages and dialects were spoken in Vintondale.

Prior to 1776 western Pennsylvania was under the influence of the Indians, the French, and finally the British. Under British rule, both the colonies of Pennsylvania and Virginia claimed ownership of the region - there were numerous boundary disputes and territorial claims. In 1776 a petition was circulated to have the region established as the 14th state under the name and province of ‘Westsylvania’. The petition called attention to the fact that the seats of government for both Pennsylvania and Virginia, were four or five hundred miles distant and separated by a vast and almost impassable tract of mountains.

Settlers of the region also felt that Pennsylvania was not doing a good enough job of protecting them from Indian raids and were apathetic to their concerns. Congress was in no mood to address the establishment of a new state, at the time, due to the Revolutionary War. The threat of forming a new state was so serious that in 1782 Pennsylvania enacted legislation declaring that any attempt to form a new state out of Pennsylvania was considered ‘high treason’ and subject to the death penalty.

Map of Westsylvania, Patrick McKinney.

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A portion of the wording from the petition seeking to establish Westsylvania reads… …the Said Country be constituted declared & acknowledged a separate, distinct, and independent Province & Government by the Title and under the name of — ‘the Province & Government of Westsylvania’, be empowered and enabled to form such Laws & Regulations & such a System of Polity & Government as is best adapted & most agreeable to the peculiar Necessities, local Circumstances & Situation thereof & its inhabitants invested with every other power, Right, Privilege & Immunity, vested, or to be vested in the other American Colonies, be considered as a Sister Colony & the fourteenth Province of the American Confederacy...

The dream of ‘Westsylvania’ eventually died, but some residents, even today, feel geographically isolated from the rest of the state and cut off from a state government in Harrisburg that, at times, still seems indifferent to the needs of the region.

While maps of western Pennsylvania of the early 1700s show Blacklick Creek, Two Lick Creek and the Conemaugh River – the Blacklick Valley was wild mountain land, not easily traveled, that posed a difficult obstacle for early settlers.

The southern portion of Indiana County was open to settlement after 1768. A number of log cabins were built in the region before the Revolutionary War and settlers built blockhouses for protection from Indian raids. After the Revolution immigrants entered Indiana County from more densely settled portions of western Pennsylvania, as well as from the east. Much of Cambria County was without permanent settlement until 1790, although there were families in Johnstown as early as 1777.

Eventually, human activity brought many changes to the Blacklick Valley. The agricultural life of early settlers gave way to an extraction-based industrial economy. Today the valley is undergoing a transition to a post-industrial economy, although extractive industries such as coal mining, natural gas drilling and logging still play a role in the valley’s economy.

The reclamation and reuse of former coal mining sites is an important industry that has developed over the past several years. Tourism to the Ghost Town Trail and other regional attractions has also become a more important part of the local economy in recent years.

A 2009 economic study of the trail by the Rails to Trails Conservancy estimated that the trail has $1.8 million-dollar impact within the regional economy.

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IRON FURNACES OF THE GHOST TOWN TRAIL BEFORE THE FURNACES

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efore the first settlers arrived in the Blacklick Valley, the area was a large expanse of forest comprised of hardwoods and hemlock trees. While early settlers cleared some nearby land for farming much of the Blacklick Valley was too steep and rocky to be suitable for farming and remained forested until iron furnace operations began in the 1840s.

THE FURNACE ERA

Because of the difficulties in transporting iron products across the Allegheny Mountains, iron furnaces sprang up throughout western Pennsylvania in the 1800s. Iron making in the Blacklick Valley began in the mid-1840s and lasted until 1859 when the Blacklick Furnace went ‘out of blast’. Three furnaces operated in the valley: Eliza Furnace, Buena Vista Furnace and the Blacklick or Wheatfield Furnace. There are no remains of the Blacklick Furnace, but the furnace “stack” remains at both the Eliza and Buena Vista Furnaces. The iron furnaces pre-date the mining and railroad era and were the first major industries in the Blacklick Valley.

Pig iron produced at the valley’s furnaces was hauled by wagon to the Pennsylvania Canal at Ninevah (near present day Seward) for shipment to Pittsburgh. At the Pittsburgh forges the pig iron was re-melted to make cast iron, or reworked and converted into wrought iron, which could be processed into other products.

Committee.

Information on each specific furnace included in this guidebook originally appeared in A Master Plan for the Eliza Furnace, prepared in 1995 by Indiana County Parks, in cooperation with Indiana University of Pennsylvania Archeological Services, Thomas Harley Architects and the Eliza Furnace Planning

IRON MAKING Before iron making could be started, land had to be prospected for ore, limestone and timber, all readily available in the Blacklick Valley. A stream was needed nearby for power.

Once these elements were located the “iron master” went about constructing the furnace and putting it into operation.

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Schematic of the Eliza Furnace, 1995

by Karen Welsh, Thomas Harley & Associates

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Iron furnaces were located near hillsides so that the ore, charcoal and limestone could be dumped into the top of the furnace by workers known as “fillers”. A bellows provided the air blast needed to raise the temperature at which smelting occurred.

When enough iron had melted, the furnace was tapped, and iron ran into channels cut into the sand floor of the casting house in front of the furnace. The main stream of molten iron was called the “sow”, the side channels were called “pigs” - the product produced was called pig iron.

THE IRON WORKERS Those who lived and worked at the iron furnaces lived hard lives which varied by their skills, responsibilities and social status. Everything the workers needed from their clothes to food to housing was provided by the furnace owner.

Workers were paid “in-kind” rather than in cash. Workers at the furnace included fillers, guttermen, moulders, colliers, miners, laborers, teamsters and woodcutters.

Their work was supervised by the iron master.

THE IRON MASTER A good iron master was a capitalist, technician, market analyst, personnel director, bill collector, purchasing agent and transportation expert. Being a successful ironmaster required a combination of qualities: wealth, respect and pride in producing a good quality product.

Interpretive program at the Eliza Furnace

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THE ELIZA FURNACE “Into the Blacklick Valley in 1846 a structure made of stone was born Who knew she would change lives, her purpose was to heat the wood and produce an ore to be carried overland for use in steel and more…”

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-Lyrics from the song ‘Eliza’ written by Greg and Barbara Zabrowski, 1994 he Eliza Furnace, also known as Ritter’s Furnace, was the first of three furnaces constructed in the Blacklick Valley. The furnace was built by David Ritter and Lot Irvin in 1846 and operated until 1849.

During the late 1830’s and early 1840’s David Ritter and his business partner George Rodgers of Ebensburg, purchased several thousand acres of land in the Blacklick Valley.

They chose to build the iron furnace near the fork of the North and South Branches of the Blacklick Creek. The photo below shows the Eliza Furnace, c. 1905. The house in the background was likely the iron master’s home. At the time the photo was taken the house was reportedly serving as a school house.

The furnace was constructed by Thomas Deveraux, a stone mason from nearby Cambria Township.

Two Irish immigrants from nearby Vinco, John and William Gillin, also claimed to have completed the stonework. Before the completion of the furnace, George Rodgers sold his share of the furnace to Lot Irvin (Irwin), a farmer from Centre County.

Eliza Furnace was the first furnace in the region to use the ‘hot blast’ method. In a hot blast furnace such as Eliza, the furnace was fired and after being stoked for several days, the furnace was ready to be charged. During the charging process, iron ore, charcoal and limestone were hauled across a wooden charging bridge and loaded into the top of the furnace by workers, known as “fillers”. Eliza’s charging bridge no longer exists but was located on the east elevation of the furnace, next to a hill.

The raw materials were layered on top of each other until the furnace was filled, and then the charcoal was ignited. Water powered bellows pushed a blast of air up to the heat 28 | P a g e

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exchanger coils at the top of the furnace, where it was heated by the exhaust gases of the burning charcoal. The hot air was then re-circulated back down to the bottom of the furnace through the down comer pipe where it was piped through the tuyere, into the hearth.

The heat exchanger process increased the temperature of the furnace and accelerated the smelting process. The hot blast increased the temperature by ten to fifteen degrees.

The hot blast method worked better with anthracite coal than charcoal, because the coal burned at a higher temperature and less coal was needed to fuel the process.

It required a tremendous amount of raw materials to produce one ton of pig iron. A furnace like Eliza would need approximately two to three tons of ore, one to one and one-half tons of charcoal, and twenty-five to onehundred pounds of limestone for each charging. Once the furnace was charged, it remained “in blast” twenty-four hours a day, for months at a time.

During the smelting process, the molten ore gathered at the bottom of the furnace hearth and flowed into a dam. After the smelting process was complete, slag floating on top of the molten ore was removed and dumped - pieces of slag can still be found around the furnace site today. Then the hearth dam was removed, and the furnace was tapped, allowing the molten ore to run into channels of sand on the casting floor. After the molten ore cooled, it was ready to be shipped to market.

Eliza Furnace was an average-sized western Pennsylvania operation. At its peak the furnace employed 90 men and boys with 45 mules to produce 1,080 tons of pig iron a year. Besides the furnace stack the property included a bridge house, casting shed, wheel and bellows sheds, two 2-story houses, 21 log cabins, stove house, office, blacksmith shop, log stable and a charcoal storage house. Iron furnaces operated much like a plantation or company town — almost everything the workers needed was provided on site.

Although the furnace was an impressive operation, it was not a financial success and ceased operations by 1849. The financial failure of the furnace was due to several reasons including: the costs of shipping the pig iron overland to Ninevah and Johnstown; the poor quality of the local iron ore; the failure of the Pennsylvania Railroad to go through the Blacklick Valley – it went through the Conemaugh River Valley instead; lowered federal tariffs on imported iron; the use of outdated technology; and 29 | P a g e

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the discovery of the Mesabi Iron Ore Range in Minnesota.

In July 1848 the furnace property was seized by the Cambria County Sheriff when Ritter and Irvin could not pay off their debts. At the Sheriff’s Sale, Soloman Alter and John Replier, both of Philadelphia bought the furnace property.

Eliza Furnace, c. 1905 Photo: Denise Dusza Weber

The acquisition of the property by Alter and Replier sparked the beginning of a period when several individuals purchased the property. But the Eliza Furnace and its surrounding real estate were not further developed until the 1890’s. Subsequent owners of the property included the Blacklick Land and Improvement Company, the Vinton Lumber Company, the Vinton Colliery Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad. The furnace was conveyed from Manor Realty (Pennsylvania Railroad) to the Cambria County Historical Society in 1965.

The Eliza Furnace is significant because it is one of only a few iron furnaces in the United States which still retains its original heat exchanger. The furnace is leased to Indiana County Parks & Trails by the Cambria County Historical Society. An extensive interpretive exhibit is located at the site, where visitors may learn about the Eliza Furnace, charcoal making and the workers employed there.

Eliza Furnace, village of Rexis in background, c. 1940s.

Photo: Denise Dusza Weber

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FOLKLORE OF THE ELIZA FURNACE Many folk tales surround the Eliza Furnace. Even the name Eliza is somewhat of a mystery. The furnace was likely named after David Ritter’s wife, Eliza, but it is also reported that it may have been named after one of Peter Shoenberger’s daughters.

Most of the folk stories center on the financial difficulties of David Ritter and Lot Irvin and their deaths. Ritter supposedly received money from Shoenberger to pay his employees; instead he used the money for other purposes. Lot Irvin was rumored to have hung himself at the furnace because he could not pay his workers.

Another tale maintains that while David Ritter was away, his wife ran off with his former partner George Rodgers. After discovering his wife’s unfaithfulness, Ritter hanged himself at the furnace. In another variation Ritter’s son fell into the furnace and was killed. Ritter was so distraught that he hanged himself – but Ritter did not kill himself at Eliza Furnace.

He died at Catawissa, Pennsylvania.

Lot Irvin did hang himself, but it was at the Greenville Furnace in Mercer County - not at the Eliza Furnace. A despondent Hungarian miner, George Shalop, hanged himself on a tree near the furnace. Charles Dodson committed suicide in the schoolhouse above the furnace.

Eliza Furnace, in background is the iron master’s house, later used as a schoolhouse.

Having your picture taken in front of the furnace has long been a popular tradition.

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BUENA VISTA FURNACE

his furnace is in Brush Valley Township, Indiana County, one-half mile downstream of the Route 56 Bridge. From the Ghost Town Trail Heshbon Access Area (on PA Route 259) travel 3 miles east to the furnace. The furnace was built in 1847 by Henry McClelland, Elias McClelland and Stephen Alexander Johnston.

The furnace was named after the Mexican War Battle of Buena Vista. On February 22-23, 1847 Santa Ana’s 14,000 Mexican troops met Zachary Taylor’s 5,000man army near the small hacienda of Buena Vista, Mexico. Although Taylor’s troops were mostly inexperienced and badly outnumbered, the two armies fought to a draw. Taylor’s efforts at Buena Vista won him fame and later contributed to his presidential victory in the 1848 election.

Furnace operations began in 1848. About 61 men and boys and 30 mules labored at the furnace. The site also contained a store, three houses, seven log cabins called furnace houses, blacksmith shop, two log barns and a saw mill.

The 30-foot tall cold blast furnace used local iron ore, limestone and charcoal to produce 400 tons of pig iron in 1848, but the furnace went out of blast in 1849. In 1850 the Indiana County Sheriff seized the 822-acre property and sold it. Stephen Johnston purchased the property and may have continued to operate it for several years. In 1854, it was reported that Buena Vista produced 560 tons of iron out of shell and bog ore, but the furnace was closed for good in 1856.

The furnace property was purchased by the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company in 1901. The Indiana County Historical and Genealogical Society purchased the furnace from the Delano Coal Company in 1957.

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BIG PLANS FOR BUENA VISTA INFORMATION ON THE BUENA VISTA PARK ASSOCIATION IS FROM A REPORT PREPARED BY THE LATE CLARENCE STEPHENSON IN JULY 1968. MR. STEPHENSON IS THE AUTHOR OF INDIANA COUNTY: 175TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORY. THROUGH MR. STEPHENSON’S TIRELESS EFFORTS MUCH OF THE HISTORY OF INDIANA COUNTY WAS BEEN PRESERVED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

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n the 1930s it was rumored that Henry Ford had an interest in purchasing the Buena Vista Furnace and planned to transport it by rail car to Greenfield Village in Michigan. The proximity of the furnace to the railroad would have facilitated dismantling and loading it on rail cars.

Perhaps it was Henry Ford's interest in the furnace which sparked the movement to acquire the furnace and keep it in the local area.

The Buena Vista Park Association was organized in 1930 to Buena Vista Furnace prevent the furnace from being moved, with the hope that Photo: Indiana Gazette the state would acquire the property and turn it into a state historical landmark and public park.

Various meetings in 1930 resulted in the election of Assemblyman Charles R. Griffith of Marion Center as President of the Association; A. A. Creswell, of Johnstown, Vice President; Mrs. G.M. Dias of Johnstown, Secretary; and Royden Taylor of Indiana, Treasurer. Fourteen other residents of the region served on the Association Board.

Two additional trustees were to be selected each from Clearfield, Jefferson, Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties. Five additional vice presidents were also to be chosen.

Mr. Griffith was authorized to enter into negotiations for a lease on the land, but when application for incorporation was made before Judge J. N. Langham on January 5, 1931 the stated object of the “Buena Vista Furnace Park Association Corporation” was the purchasing, holding and rehabilitating of the old Buena Vista Furnace and maintaining the same for historical, educational and park purposes; and to this end to purchase and hold necessary lands and erect suitable buildings and improvements thereon.”

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The estimated cost of the project was $3,000 - it was planned to appeal to the public for funds. An effort was also to be made through State Assemblymen Charles Griffith and Elder Peelor to obtain financial aid from the state.

Mr. Earl Hewitt reported that the Association was unable to acquire Buena Vista Furnace despite very commendable efforts, because of litigation involving the Delano Coal Company, which at that time precluded obtaining a clear title. By this time the Great Depression had gripped the entire nation and economic conditions made the job of raising funds impossible.

The Indiana County Historical & Genealogical Society purchased the furnace in 1957 from the Delano Coal Company, the successor to the Lackawanna Iron & Steel Company.

Through the efforts of Mr. Clarence Stephenson, work on making improvements to the Buena Vista site began in the mid-1960s. Beginning in the summer of 1965 and continuing into 1966-67, a work-training project, directed by the Indiana County Public Assistance Office, completed many site improvements.

Improvements included the clearing of a heavy growth of brush and the selective cutting of excess trees; the dozing of an access road under the Route 56 bridge; the construction of pit toilet facilities, using materials purchased with funds donated by the Optimist Club of Indiana, PA; construction of picnic tables with funds provided by individual donors whose names were on each table; and the construction of an all-weather closed picnic shelter with fireplace at one end.

Because the site was difficult to access, and an active railroad still existed beside it until 1992, the use of Buena Vista as a public park never materialized. It was not until the Ghost Town Trail was constructed in this section of the valley in 2005 that public access could be re-established.

along the north wall.

The northwestern side and western tuyere arch of the furnace has collapsed, but the three other sides are still standing. The furnace is a pyramidal structure constructed of fine cut sandstone. The casting arch is on the south faรงade facing Blacklick Creek, the tuyere arches are on the east and west facades, and the charging bridge, used to empty contents into the top of the furnace, was located

The furnace continues to slowly deteriorate and will need stabilization to halt further decline. The furnace and the surrounding five acres of land are leased to Indiana County Parks & Trails by the Indiana County Historical & Genealogical Society.

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BLACKLICK OR WHEATFIELD FURNACE

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he Blacklick or Wheatfield furnace was located in Buffington Township, along the present day Ghost Town Trail about 2.5 miles east of Dilltown. There are no visible remains of the furnace.

The furnace was built in 1846 by David Stewart, who had previously been involved with the Cambria Furnace. The Blacklick Furnace was the second hot blast furnace built in the valley; the Eliza Furnace was the first.

The furnace was water powered and possessed a rated capacity of 1,400 tons. In 1849, the furnace produced 756 tons of pig iron. The furnace employed an estimated 80 men and boys and used 46 horses and mules.

In 1850, the furnace was sold at a Sheriff Sale. David Stewart went into a partnership with Peter Shoenberger of Pittsburgh and bought the furnace back. In 1852, Stewart sold his share in the furnace to George S. King. Shoenberger and King were both early investors in the Cambria Iron Company.

In 1855, the furnace was leased to Wood, Morrell & Company who suspended operations four years later. The Cambria Iron Company sold the property’s coal and timber rights to the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company in 1899.

Photo left: the word ‘Blacklick’ is stamped near the fill hole at the top of the Eliza Furnace, possibly indicating that this iron plate was made at the nearby Blacklick Furnace and installed at the Eliza Furnace at some point.

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CHARCOAL MAKING

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harcoal making was one of the earliest industries in Pennsylvania. At hundreds of furnaces throughout the state, iron ore was reduced to iron by smelting ore using charcoal as the fuel. Charcoal was used instead of raw wood because it burns hotter and has fewer impurities.

Producing charcoal required woodchoppers who cleared the surrounding forests. Using axes the woodchoppers cut trees into four foot lengths, which were stacked on end in a large circular area called a hearth or flat. To operate a furnace required converting one acre of forest per day into charcoal.

In the spring the charcoal burners called “colliers�, from the German Kuhler meaning coaler, set off for the woods to prepare the charcoal pits. Tending a charcoal pit required constant attention. It took three to ten days to char an entire pit. The colliers spent long days and nights tending the pits. They lived in simple huts constructed of wood, earth, and rocks. Since a clean collier was said to be an inexperienced collier, the men rarely bathed, and their huts became filthy with charcoal dust, insects, and vermin. At the end of the season the huts were burned to the ground. For good charcoal, a collier was paid 2 cents per bushel. The charcoal was hauled to the furnace in wagons and stored in a large charcoal shed until ready for use.

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Although 150 years have passed since charcoal was last produced in the Blacklick Valley, the charcoal hearths remain relatively free of vegetation and can often be clearly distinguished from the surrounding woods. Look for large circular areas in the woods, often covered in ferns, where very few, if any, trees grow. You may find pieces of leftover charcoal still lying on the ground. During the charcoal process the heat scorched the soil so severely that trees will often not grow in the charcoal pit areas.

Above: Cross-section of a typical charcoal hearth.

Eliza Furnace interpretive exhibit

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GRIST MILLS

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rist mills were some of the earliest industries in the Blacklick Valley. Water to power the mills was abundant in the numerous streams and creeks found throughout the valley. William Bracken established the first grist mill in Indiana County at Dilltown in 1773. In the 1800s technological improvements in the grist mills in this region followed those of other parts of the country. Waterwheels used to turn the grist mill stones were gradually replaced with more efficient turbines. By the 1870s, some grist mills were converted to steam power.

Some of the grist mills that operated in the Blacklick Valley included Bell’s Mills near Josephine; Hoskinson’s Mill at Heshbon; Bracken’s Mill at Dilltown; and Red Mill and White Mill on the Rexis Branch. Early grist mills ground wheat into flour, but later switched to processing livestock feed. On the Ghost Town Trail, traces of these former mills still exist in some places.

Bells’ Mill was operated by Walter Bell, who owned large tracts of land in Burrell Township. In the early 1830s Bell established a sawmill and built a grist mill in 1839. In 1848, David Ralston laid out lots and established the small village of Bell’s Mills. In 1905, Corrigan, McKinney & Company purchased the village property for $40,000 and razed the buildings. Corrigan, McKinney & Company began operation of the Josephine Furnaces and built a company town consisting of 165 houses. Along the trail, just after leaving Saylor Park, at the site of the old grist mill, are the remains of a later dam built to provide water for the Josephine furnaces.

By 1871 the Heshbon Grist Mill was in place. This mill burned in the early 1900s. Robert McCormick, who operated a mill on Brush Creek, rebuilt the mill. R.V. Clawson owned the mill until the 1940s, by which time it had ceased to operate. Traces of the mill race and foundation stones of the mill can be seen from the trail along Blacklick Creek just downstream of Route 259.

Left: Marshall Feed & Mercantile in Nanty Glo, formerly known as Phillips Feed & Supply.

Right: Fabian Seibert at the feed and supply store, 1993.

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LUMBER ERA

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arly settlers were drawn to the Blacklick Valley for its abundant natural resources, including extensive stands of hardwoods and hemlock. During the operation of the iron furnaces, large tracts of land were purchased to provide wood for charcoal making. Visitors to the Blacklick Valley in the 1840s would have witnessed large tracts of land surrounding the furnaces almost completely devoid of trees.

In the forty years after the furnaces ceased operation the forests re-grew and lumber companies were drawn to the valley for its timber resources. The lumber companies were seeking hardwoods, hemlock, white pine and tanning bark. A large supply of lumber was needed to service the coal mines and railroads.

A lumber boom occurred in the Vintondale and Twin Rocks area in the 1890s. Several companies established sawmills including the Vinton Lumber Company, Johnson & Company, and the Vintondale Planing Mill operated by Blair Shaffer. Mr. Shaffer purchased land from the Cambria Iron Company. Some of this land was sold as lots and became part of the village of Rexis. Other companies such as the Clearfield Lumber Company and Cradle & Son of Crawford County also had a presence in the valley.

The most extensive lumber operation in the Vintondale area was the Vinton Lumber Company. The company organized in 1899 by Clearfield Lumber Company owners, purchased timber rights, mainly along the North Branch of Blacklick Creek.

A large sawmill was located across the creek from the Eliza Furnace in Indiana County, near the present-day location of the Rexis Access Area. This sawmill was a large operation capable of sawing 100,000 to 200,000 board feet of lumber per day.

Vinton Lumber Co., c. 1906 A major fire occurred in July 1899, but Photo: Denise Dusza Weber the mill was quickly rebuilt. The Vinton Lumber Company eventually erected a boarding house and nineteen single houses, two double houses and an office in addition to the mill.

A log storage dam was constructed across the creek where logs were stored until needed.

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fish were often found in the dam. A 1901 account of a 2 ½ pound trout caught in the dam appeared in the Indiana Progress newspaper. Today, trout have returned to the upper reaches of the North Branch upstream of Red Mill.

Getting the logs to the mill and shipping the finished lumber to market posed problems for the Vinton Lumber Company. The Blacklick & Yellow Creek Railroad (shown right) was located along the North Branch of Blacklick Creek to transport logs to the mill. Construction of the railroad was more permanent than a typical lumber tramway – this allowed the rail line to eventually access coal deposits. In 1910, the Blacklick & Yellow Creek Railroad was conveyed BL&YC Railroad, c. 1906 to J. Heil Weaver and B. Dawson Coleman who Photo: Denise Dusza Weber developed large mines in Colver, Revloc and Nanty Glo. This branch later became part of the Cambria & Indiana Railroad.

The Vinton Lumber Company completed its operations by 1907 - some of its employees went to Kentucky to establish operations there. By 1914, the Vinton Lumber Company liquidated all of its assets, ending this era of lumbering in the Vintondale area.

Timber harvesting has continued in the valley over the years. Several large sections of State Game Lands 79 in Cambria County and State Game Lands 276 in Indiana County have been harvested in recent years - in areas previously timbered in the early 1900’s.

Along the North Branch of Blacklick Creek stands of hemlock trees have regenerated, but not in the size or volume found in the 1890s. A single hemlock tree, harvested near Red Mill in 1898 produced 6,835 board feet of lumber – providing an example of the immense size of the trees that once existed in the valley.

‘Solstice Silence’ Ghost Town Trail sketch by Julia Herbst

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RAILROADS OF THE BLACKLICK VALLEY

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he Ghost Town Trail owes its existence to railroads. Railroads were established in this region of Pennsylvania beginning in the 1854 when the Pennsylvania Railroad completed passage over the Allegheny Front.

But, it was almost 40 years later before railroads penetrated the Blacklick Valley.

The railroad arrived in Ebensburg in 1892. It was not until the Ebensburg & Blacklick Railroad reached Vintondale in 1893 that the BL&YC Railroad, c. 1907 Blacklick Valley had its own railroad. By 1900 the Photo: Denise Dusza Weber line was extended to Dilltown, and in 1904 the E&BL reached the lower portion of the valley at Blacklick Station. The Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad joined the E&BL Railroad at Blacklick Station and extended northward to Buffalo, NY. The BR&P obtained trackage rights from Blacklick to Vintondale. Coke, made in Vintondale, was shipped north to the Lackawanna steel mills near Buffalo, via the BR&P. The Blacklick & Yellow Creek Railroad, operating along the North Branch of Blacklick Creek, began as a logging railroad to haul logs to the Vinton Lumber Company mill at Rexis in 1904. With the closing of logging operations by 1907 the line was eventually sold, rather than being abandoned. J. Heil Weaver and B. Dawson Coleman acquired the railroad from the Vinton Lumber Company trustees in 1910 for $100,000 to serve their coal interests in Cambria and Indiana Counties.

At the time of purchase, the BL&YC was only ten miles long but the railroad was extensively extended soon after its acquisition to better serve its new purpose.

Construction began in February 1911 and the name of the company was officially changed to Cambria & Indiana Railroad on April 20, 1911 to reflect the name of the two counties that it served.

By 1919, the C&I was also serving 23 other mines in the area. Scheduled passenger service started in 1914 and ran until December 1, 1931. A single coach passenger service between Rexis and Colver was called the “Stump Dodger� by locals.

BL&YC Railroad, c. 1905 Photo: Denise Dusza Weber

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After 1924, a battery-operated passenger car, called the “Hootlebug”, took over for the Stump Dodger.

Passenger service was also provided to Nanty Glo. Hootlebugs were also known as “Hoodlebugs’ and ‘Doodlebugs’ in other areas. Indiana County’s Hoodlebug Trail is named for a similar battery powered passenger car that operated between Indiana and Blairsville.

C&I Railroad Hootlebug, c. 1925 Photo: Denise Dusza Weber

The C&I Railroad also serviced the Ebensburg Sand, Clay & Stone Company, located on the Rexis Branch near Red Mill, until World War II. A train robbery occurred on the C&I Railroad on October 11, 1924 at Chrysler’s Crossing, near White Mill. A safe containing the payroll for the Colver mine was stolen and one employee, James Garman, riding the train was shot and killed. Two suspects, Michelo Bassi and Anthony Pezzi, were captured in Terre Haute, Indiana two weeks after the robbery with $3,000 in cash and two revolvers. They were returned to Pennsylvania for trial at the Cambria County Courthouse. Both men were eventually convicted and sentenced to death. The men maintained their innocence and went on a 29-day hunger strike prior to their execution. The executions were carried out on February 23, 1925. The safe containing the payroll and the rest of the money were never found.

The first locomotive on the C&I was a Baldwin Steam Locomotive #3, later sold in January 1930. The C&I was regarded as the “richest railroad in the country” because it generated the most revenue per mile of track, during the 1930s and 1940s. But this was to change as a result of the declining use of coal C&I Railroad Locomotive for heating homes in favor of Photo: Harold Vollrath Collection electricity and fuel oil.

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Mine 33 near Ebensburg in 1963, and Barnes & Tucker opened a large mine at Stiles in 1965, sustaining the C&I for another thirty years. In the summer of 1994, Bethlehem closed Mine 33, ending the C&I operations. A year later, C&I sold almost all its track as scrap and donated most of its railroad property to the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority. C&I locomotives were dispatched to other Bethlehem subsidiary railroads. Throughout its history the C&I Railroad was regarded as one of the best shortline railroads in the industry. The line was known for being a well-maintained and efficient short-line railroad.

history of Rexis and the C&I Railroad.

An original C&I Railroad coal hopper car (Car #162) is on display at the Rexis Access Area. The car was donated to Indiana County Parks & Trails in 2009

by Mr. Randy Anderson, a railroad enthusiast from Hagerstown, MD. The hopper car was trucked to the site after serving for several years as a ballast car on the Knox & Kane Railroad. The car was repainted by a summer youth work crew. An historical marker, near the hopper car, recalls the

Some railroad mileage markers still exist along the main stem of the Ghost Town Trail.

These markers indicate the distance to Cresson, on the original Pennsylvania Railroad line.

The train providing passenger service between Blairsville, Ebensburg and Cresson was known as the “Mountain Goat�. The Mountain Goat operated daily in the valley, delivering passengers, mail, newspapers and other supplies. The rise of automobile travel, led to the elimination of passenger rail service. The final passenger service to Vintondale occurred in 1931.

The end of railroad service in the valley followed the closing of mines in the area. By 1968, coal shipments ceased, except in the lower portion of the valley, where rail service to the Oneida Coal Cleaning Plant at Dias continued off and on until 1992.

The final blow to rail service in most of the Blacklick Valley was the July 1977 flood, which damaged the railroad so severely that rail service between Nanty Glo and Dias was abandoned.

The last railroad to own property in the Blacklick Valley was the Norfolk Southern Railroad. In 2005, Norfolk Southern sold its remaining 13 miles of railroad property, from Blacklick to Dias, ending the railroad era in the valley.

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COAL M INING “I wanted social justice, and a more efficient economy free of the ups and downs of the business cycle. I wanted union labor participation in the basic decisions of industry.

Above all, I was bitter against conditions in the coal industry, with its frightful waste of men and resources, killing two thousand and injuring tens of thousands of men every year.”

John Brophy, A Miner's Life, 1964 University of Wisconsin Press

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f all the industries to operate in the valley, none has had a greater impact on the people’s lives and the environment than coal mining. Evidence of mining still exists along the trail in the form of mine spoil piles, known locally as ‘rock dumps’ or ‘boney piles’; at abandoned surface mines left before environmental laws were enacted; and in streams tainted orange from abandoned mine drainage.

All along the valley, from Black Lick to Ebensburg, major mines operated from the early 1890s through the 1990s. Both underground and surface mining occurred here.

The earliest known mention of coal in Pennsylvania appears on a map by John Pattin in 1752, which shows a coal site along the Kiskiminetas River a few miles below Saltsburg in Indiana County. The earliest record of actual mining in Pennsylvania took place at Fort Pitt in present day Pittsburgh in 1761.

By 1918, Pennsylvania had its greatest year of coal production when miners produced 277 million tons of coal. Many of the mines in the Blacklick Valley were in full production at this time and greatly contributed to this total.

Industrial Coke Production Coke is produced by burning coal in specially designed airless beehive ovens, which bake off the impurities, resulting in almost pure carbon nuggets. Coke is used in making steel.

Vintondale was the site of a major coking operation beginning in 1906 - the operation was described as a “coal belt phenomenon”.

A huge wash plant was built to clean the coal before coking.

Plans were also in place to establish coke ovens at Wehrum, but those plans never materialized. The coke produced in Vintondale was shipped by railroad for use at the steel mills in Buffalo, NY.

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and flowed after World War I, peaking again in 1944 during World War II. Coal production declined steadily until 1961 and then stabilized from 1961 until 1981 with the advent of improved technology to mine coal with fewer workers. Coal is still mined in Indiana and Cambria County, but not anywhere near the extent of previous generations. What mines exist today are smaller, non-union mines, employing fewer workers with more mechanization. Three large coal-fired generating stations are found in the nearby area.

Electricity generated at these stations is transmitted to homes and businesses along the eastern seaboard.

Coke ovens at Vintondale Photo: Denise Dusza Weber

The economic benefits derived from the mining of coal and the production of coke has not come without a cost to the environment. Abandoned mine drainage caused extensive stream pollution and loss of fish and other wildlife. Stricter mining regulations and remedial work to correct past damage has reduced the environmental impacts of mining. While evidence of this damage exists, the remediation of previous mining activity is evident in the valley.

Many mine refuse piles in the valley have been re-mined and utilized as a source of fuel at specially designed power generating plants located in nearby Seward, Ebensburg, and Colver. The refuse piles contain coal that could not be used previously, but with new technologies the remaining coal is reprocessed and used as a source of fuel to generate electricity.

Since 1994, there have been several major reclamation projects to remove mine refuse piles and construct artificial wetlands to treat abandoned mine drainage. The Blacklick Creek Watershed Association, formed shortly after the trail was initiated, has played a major role in implementing and advocating for remediation of mine pollution.

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Blacklick Creek Watershed consists of Two Lick Creek, Yellow Creek, Blacklick Creek and numerous smaller tributaries.

The human toll of mining was significant.

Many miners lost their lives, were severely injured, or suffered long-term health problems like black lung, caused from breathing coal dust without the aid of respirators or proper mine ventilation.

The Wehrum Mine explosion of 1909 was one of the most serious mine disasters to occur in the valley. On June 23, 1909 at 7:30 a.m. a rumble shook the town of Wehrum. Rescue Boys picking coal at rock dump, 1937 operations began at once, but by late Photo: Ben Shahn, Library of Congress afternoon 21 miners had lost their lives, many of them recent immigrants from Italy, Slovakia and Lithuania. The official explanation was a dust explosion caused by dynamite; many miners believed the explosion was caused by a build-up of methane which ignited the coal dust.

An excellent source on the history of mining in Vintondale, Wehrum and Claghorn is the book: Delano’s Domain: A History of Warren Delano’s Mining Towns of Vintondale, Wehrum and Claghorn by Denise Dusza Weber.

The geologist David White wrote, “Coal is like character - the deeper you go into it, the more interesting it becomes”. Coal and the mining of coal have shaped the character of the valley and its Vintondale Mine #6 people. A visit to the Ghost Town Trail is a trip back Photo: Denise Dusza Weber in time - where there are forested hillsides and a landscaped being renewed, there once stood desolation from the scars of industry.

In 1916, the author and literary critic Malcolm Cowley wrote of the Blacklick Valley…

“It was as if my country had been occupied by an invading army which had wasted the resources of the hills, ravaged the forests with fire and steel, fouled the waters, and now was slowly retiring, without booty.”

Cowley passed away in 1989 and did not live long enough to witness the most recent transformation of the valley. In 1994, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission erected an historical marker at Route 422 near the former White Mill Hotel to recognize Cowley’s achievements as a poet, author, and literary critic.

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W

THE GREAT FLOOD OF 1977

ith its narrow valleys and numerous streams and creeks, western Pennsylvania is one of the most flood-prone regions of the country. Previous major floods occurred in 1889 and 1936 - many people mistakenly thought a great flood could not happen again.

On July 19-20, 1977 the Blacklick Valley experienced extreme flooding that would affect the lives of the valley’s residents for many years Over a 10-hour period, the National Weather Service reported a phenomenal amount of rainfall – 11.82 inches – fell in the Johnstown area. The rainfall was classified as a once in a 5,000-year occurrence.

Twisted railroad tracks, Dilltown, 1977 Photo: Indiana Gazette The flood cost the lives of eighty-five people and an estimated $325 million in property damage. Outside of Johnstown six dams failed, causing an estimated 128 million gallons of water to pour into the city. Downtown Johnstown was submerged under ten feet of water. The communities of Nanty Glo, Vintondale and Dilltown in the Blacklick Valley were also severely impacted from the flooding.

In Dilltown, Julia Kameliski, age 76, lost her life in the flood.

Mrs. Kameliski came to America from Hungary at the age of 13. After her arrival in this country she came to Pennsylvania and settled in Dilltown, where she eventually opened a store and raised a family. Mrs. Kameliski’s body was not found until one month and a day after she first disappeared during the flood. Her body was discovered near Josephine, 13 miles downstream, by a man riding his four-wheeler.

Flood waters in Vintondale, 1977 It took many months for residents to recover Photo: Denise Dusza Weber and put their lives back together. One outcome of the flood was a decision by the railroads to terminate service in the upper portion of the valley. Three major railroad bridges were swept away during the flood, severing the railroad for good. The closure of coal mines in the valley and the resulting lack of shipping customers also contributed to the railroad’s decision to discontinue service.

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In 1982 the Kovalchick Salvage Company acquired the former Ebensburg and Blacklick Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad and began salvaging the tracks, ties and damaged bridges. By 1991 the property was donated by KSC to Indiana County and NORCAM to establish the first 16-miles of the Ghost Town Trail. Out of the tragedy of the Great Flood of 1977, the valley was reborn.

The Red Mill Bridge, located on the Rexis Branch, was replaced in 1998. The Amerford and Scott Glen Bridges, just west of Dilltown, were finally replaced in 2009. With the installation of the bridges lost during the Great Flood of 1977, the valley was once again reconnected – this time not with a railroad, but a trail.

In January 1996 more flooding occurred in the valley resulting in damages to two miles of low-lying area along the Ghost Town Trail, in the Vintondale and Wehrum areas. The trail was repaired by employees of Indiana County Parks and a flood repair crew employed with federal disaster relief funds.

Since the Great Flood of 1977, flood control levees have been constructed along the banks of the creek at the communities of Nanty Glo and Vintondale – but the threat of another major flood in the valley is always a possibility.

Armerford Bridge location, after the 1977 flood Photo: Earl Carney, Jr.

Setting the ‘New’ Armerford Bridge, October 2009

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GHOST TOWNS & OTHER COMMUNITIES “Every community has its own unique romance of human sweat, toil, tears, blood, failures, hopes, and triumphs. These combine to weave together the story of every home, school, church, industry and indeed, every community.”

-Uel Blank

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he Ghost Town Trail is named for eight former mining towns and the early Welsh settlement of Beula. In their heydays these towns provided housing and other services for miners and their families. Many miners were recent immigrants from Europe, who came to work in the region’s coal fields. These ghost towns include: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Claghorn Dias Scott Glen Amerford Buffington Wehrum (Lackawanna #4) Lackawanna #3 Bracken (Weber) Beula

While the ghost towns have disappeared, other communities have survived. Although their populations have fallen significantly since the 1950s, these communities offer trail visitors a glimpse of life in northern Appalachia. The towns are still populated by residents who trace their family histories to the ghost towns. Communities and villages located along the trail include: ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Black Lick Heshbon Dilltown Rexis Vintondale Twin Rocks Nanty Glo Ebensburg

House and shed outside Nanty Glo, 1937 Information on the ghost towns and the Photo: Ben Shahn, Library of Congress active communities along the trail is presented in the order they are encountered if traveling from west to east. Until the 1930s passenger rail service existed in the valley. Riding the railroad to nearby towns and distant 49 | P a g e

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cities was the primary means of travel for many people. The Ghost Town Trail has reconnected the communities along this corridor for the first time since passenger rail service was discontinued in 1931.

BLACK LICK & SAYLOR PARK Located in Burrell Township, Indiana County the community of Black Lick is the western terminus of the trail. It was once known as Black Lick Station, due to its importance to the railroads.

The community had 200 residents in 1904 and great things were predicted because of its railroad location. Black Lick is situated at the meeting point of three former railroads, the Pennsylvania Railroad Ebensburg & Blacklick Branch; the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Indiana Branch; and the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad. Blacklick Creek and Two Lick Creek join near the town.

The nearby village of Josephine was the site of the Josephine Furnace & Coke Company (shown at left) from 1905 until 1924. The company built 165 houses for its workers. In 1911, the furnaces were producing 500 tons of pig iron every 24 hours. Two hundred workers were employed by the company with a monthly payroll of $25,000.

A trail access area, at the western terminus of the trail, is located at Saylor Park in Black Lick. Saylor Park is named for the late John P. Saylor, a U.S. Congressman, known as the ‘Conservationist in Congress’ for his efforts in passing important conservation legislation.

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act; the Wilderness Act; and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, all enacted in the 1960s, were important federal legislation that Congressman Saylor helped establish. Congressman Saylor died in 1973, while serving in office.

John P. Saylor, ‘Conservationist in Congress’ and namesake of Saylor Park.

Photo: Courtesy of the Special Collections and University Archives, IUP

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The late Congressman John P. Murtha was elected in a special election to fill the vacancy.

Through the efforts of Congressman Murtha, the America’s Industrial Heritage Project was created.

HESHBON Heshbon is a small village located at the trail crossing on Route 259. The village is located on both sides of Blacklick Creek in Brush Valley and West Wheatfield Townships. The most prominent feature of the village is the large truss bridge spanning the creek. The mines in Heshbon were operated by the Pennsylvania Coal & Coke Company. At its peak sixty-five miners worked here. When the mine closed in 1965, twenty-seven miners were laid off.

After 1981, the coal tipple, conveyor and other mine structures were removed.

Heshbon has a small access area for the Ghost Town Trail. It’s also at Heshbon where Blacklick Creek changes to a fast-moving stream with numerous rapids as it carves its way through the Chestnut Ridge.

CLAGHORN Named for Clarence Claghorn, superintendent of the Lackawanna Coal and Coke Company at Wehrum, the town was started and abandoned in 1903-04 due to an economic downturn. In 1916, the Vinton Colliery Company purchased Claghorn, opened 6 mine drifts, and constructed 84 houses, a three story 22-room hotel, a combination school-theater-church, and company store. All of the town’s streets were lined with wooden sidewalks.

Freight and passenger service were available on the Ebensburg & Blacklick Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. At its peak the town population numbered 400, 150 of whom were miners. Due to shallow 30-inch coal, frequent rock channels, and labor problems, the mines closed in 1924. Houses were rented until after World War II, when the Vinton Coal and Coke Company sold demolition rights to the Kovalchick Salvage Company.

Photo left: Claghorn trestle, looking south. The trestle crossed the creek to connect the Vinton Colliery Company Mine #16 with its Mine #17 and the railroad tracks on the north side of the creek.

The trestle was located upstream from the village of Claghorn. Mine #16 opened in 1918.

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An existing three-arch reinforced concrete bridge (shown right), is located at the confluence of Blacklick Creek and Brush Creek.

The bridge was built by Indiana County in 1917, at a cost of $19,000 and connected the town and the mines on both sides of the creek.

The highway bridge, abandoned but still standing, has survived several major flood events, including the 1936 and 1977 floods.

Claghorn Bridge, 2010

Above: portion of the ca.1922 USGS map: New Florence, PA quadrangle.

The map shows the location of the coal patch towns of Heshbon, Claghorn and Dias on Blacklick Creek in West Wheatfield and Brush Valley Townships, Indiana County, PA. The railroad shown on the map is now the Ghost Town Trail.

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DIAS Dias was a small coal patch town located north of Blacklick Creek, east of the Buena Vista Furnace in Brush Valley Township. The mine first opened as the Virginian #15 and operated from 1919 to 1932. The mine owner was the Standard Bituminous Coal Company. Other mines operating near Dias included Caldwell #1 and #2 and the Hutzel Mine.

SCOTT GLEN

Scott Glen mine ruins, 2005.

Photo: Earl Carney, Jr.

Scottglen Station was a small village located approximately one-half mile northwest of Dilltown off the Dilltown Heights Road in Buffington Township. The Scott Glen mine was known as a progressive facility for its time. Homes had running water and a large building existed for community functions as well as a playground for children. The Scott Glen Company Store was well-stocked, including furniture and everything from ‘soup to nuts’. The store attracted many shoppers from nearby towns.

The Thermal No. 15 Mine, located just northeast of Scottglen Station was opened in c. 1915, and operated successively by Dilltown Smokeless Coal Company, Toash Coal Company, Lennox Coal Company and Cosgrove & Meehan Coal Company.

Mining was discontinued in c. 1938 - the total reported coal output was approximately 3 million tons. The coal bed was 29 to 41 inches thick.

1922 USGS Map: New Florence, PA

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This aerial photo of Claghorn, from 1939, shows the layout of the town, the Claghorn Bridge and a former road that ran on the south side of Blacklick Creek leading to Heshbon. Houses in Claghorn were rented until after WWII.

Wehrum was the largest of the ghost towns. In this aerial photo from 1939 the grid pattern of the town streets and the location of the Wehrum School can still be seen. The school remained open until the 1960s and was used as an elementary school for the United School District. The highway bridge shown in this photo was eventually reconstructed up-stream of where it appears in the photo. The former Wehrum baseball field is shown in the lower left corner of the photo.

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ARMERFORD According to J.T. Stewart’s Indiana County History, Amorford & Company began mining coal in 1912. The mine reportedly closed in 1929 – a victim of the Great Depression. The mine was located about one-half mile west of Dilltown.

A partial list of the miners, mine employees and company store employees who worked the Armerford Mine provides an insight into the nationalities of the miners and the dangers they faced. Electrocution was a common cause of death. Nationalities listed for the various miners are from "Report of the Department of Mines of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA". Those listed as American, could be either native born or naturalized citizens.

The miner’s names were researched and compiled from various sources by Mr. Raymond A. Washlaski, Historian. The list is compiled from newspaper obituaries, articles, Pennsylvania Bureau of Mines Reports, township histories, and names of coal miners submitted by various people to Mr. Washlaski’s website.

Beam, Clark (American Miner, Pumpman ca.1918, Armerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA, Age 35, married, 3 children.); (Killed. Electrocuted by coming into contact with electric wire on airway, in the Armerford Mine, February 15, 1918.)

Costa, Celesta (Italian Miner, Pick Miner ca.1917, Armerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA, Age 30, single.); (Killed. Instantly killed by a fall of coal at the face of a room. He had fired a shot in the coal the evening before and the next morning began to undermine a portion of the coal that the blast had not brought down when the coal fell, in the Armerford Mine, June 14, 1917.)

Kostura, Peter (Austrian Miner, Machine Runner ca.1918, Armerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA, Age 29, married.); (Killed. Electrocuted by coming into contact with 440-volt electric wire on an entry, in the Armerford Mine, April 23, 1918.)

Lentey, John (Austrian Miner, Scraper ca.1917, Armerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA, Age 25, single.); (Killed. Electrocuted by coming into contact with an electric wire while attaching cable to the wire on an entry, in the Armerford Mine, Sept. 27, 1917.)

Marandola, Tony (Italian Miner, ca.1921, Armerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA, Age 56, born in Italy.); (Killed. Fatally injured in a mine explosion, in the Armerford Mine. Died Dec. 19, 1921, in Memorial Hospital at Johnstown, PA.) 55 | P a g e

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Piasente, Angelo (Italian Miner, ca.1917, Amerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA, Age 29, single.); (b. Jan. 4, 1888 in Italy - d. ? ); (Lived in Dilltown, PA. [from: World War I Draft Registration Card.

Registration Location: Indiana County, Pennsylvania; Roll 1893241; Draft Board: 2.]

Stiles, George (Miner, ca.1913, Armerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA.); (Prosecuted for Violation of Mining Laws: Charge: Failure to remove lamp from his cap while handling powder. He pleaded guilty and was fined $25 and costs, September 2, 1913.)

Thompson, D. E. (General Superintendent, ca.1916, ca.1917, Armerford Coal Mining Company, Armerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA.); (Superintendent, ca.1917, of the Armerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA, for Armerford Coal Mining Company.

Walker, Angus (Miner, Superintendent ca.1913, Armerford Mine, Indiana Co., PA.); (Prosecuted for Violation of the Mining Laws: Charge: Having in his employ in the mine a boy under the age of sixteen years. He pleaded guilty and paid fine of $10 and costs, September 2, 1913.)

Source: www.patheoldminer.rootsweb.ancestry.com/indarmerford1.html DILLTOWN Streams and abundant springs drew early settlers to this area. Colonel Mathew Dill came from York County in 1770 and William Bracken established the first grist mill in Indiana County here in 1773, when this area was part of Upper Westmoreland County. In 1850, the original community of ‘Franklin’ was renamed Dilltown.

The town plan was laid out by James C. Dill, a civil engineer, and William Stephens.

Dillweed Bed & Breakfast The 1871 F.W. Beers Atlas shows a salt and oil well in the town, near the location of the Dillweed, and a Union Camp Meeting Grounds dating from the Civil War period. Limestone, coal and iron deposits are also shown in the area surrounding Dilltown at this time.

The making of “shooks” was an important industry in the town. A “shook” is a set of wooden parts for assembling into a barrel or packing box, broken down for shipment.

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and mine props, were important businesses that kept local residents employed through the winter months.

David Tomb later operated a saw mill near Mardis Run – a covered bridge over Blacklick Creek was named after him. The covered bridge existed here until 1922, when a truck from the Penn Public Service Company crashed through the bridge floor. The northern part of the town is located in Buffington Township, while the portion south of Blacklick Creek is situated in East Wheatfield Township.

A large single lane concrete arched bridge spans the creek on Route 403, once known as the Armagh & Strongstown Road. The concrete bridge was completed in 1925 by the Farris Engineering Company of Pittsburgh at a cost of $29,787. PennDOT replaced the single lane concrete bridge in 2011 with a two-lane concrete bridge at a cost of slightly more than two million dollars. The single lane bridge was the scene of many automobile accidents over the years.

Coal mining drew more settlers to Dilltown in the early part of the 1900s. Several mines operated near Dilltown, including Scott Glen, Amerford and the Thermal #15 Mine.

in the trail project.

Today, Dilltown is a popular access point on the Ghost Town Trail and the home of the Dillweed Bed & Breakfast and Trailside Shop. Four rooms and a large apartment on the upper floor serve the inn’s guests. The Dillweed was once a store, and later a local tavern, before David and Penny Russell and their partner Cindy Gilmore purchased the property and painstakingly restored it. The Dillweed was open for business before the trail was completed – demonstrating the owner’s commitment and faith

Leaving Dilltown the trail crosses Mardis Run, normally a small, placid stream. During the Great Flood of 1977, Mardis Run overflowed and contributed to the extensive flooding in the town. For several days after the flood, the town was patrolled by the National Guard and was isolated from the outside world. The current trail access area, once a community baseball field, was under several feet of water during the flood.

BUFFINGTON Buffington was located near the site of the former Blacklick Furnace. It was established by the Lackawanna Coal and Coke Company as a small collection of houses, a church and a store. The post office was located in the store. Later the post office moved across to the 57 | P a g e

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east side of Blacklick Creek, near the foot of the Rager’s Hollow-Pleasant Valley Road, and its name was changed to the Wheatfield Post Office.

The Blacklick Furnace was located here before the town was established. This was a place of great activity when the furnace was in full operation. Ore banks, where ore was dug for use in the furnace, were located in the nearby area and can still be seen in portions of the Blacklick Valley Natural Area.

A covered bridge once crossed Blacklick Creek in this location downstream of the site of the current iron bridge. The 90-foot covered bridge was built in 1882. The construction of the covered bridge was advertised by the Indiana County Commissioners to be erected “at or near the Blacklick Furnace”. The covered bridge was constructed by Morten Fleming at a cost of $1,360. It stood in place for 20 years until high waters damaged the bridge and rendered it unsafe. The covered bridge was replaced in 1902 with an iron bridge located further upstream.

WEHRUM (LACKAWANNA #4) Wehrum, the largest of the ghost towns along the trail, once included 230 houses, a hotel, company store, jail, bank, post office, school, and two churches.

Wehrum was founded in 1901 by Warren Delano III, uncle of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The Lackawanna Iron & Coal Company opened several mines in the area, but the mines closed unexpectedly in 1929 and the town was abandoned. Only one house, formerly occupied by the town’s night watchman, remains from the mining era.

An interesting remainder of Wehrum is a Russian Orthodox Church cemetery that sits in the woods along Mack Road - the last burials took place in 1927. The cemetery is about one mile off the trail on Mack Road.

The former town jail, a small red brick building, is also still in existence, on private property in the former mining town. Visitors to Wehrum stayed at the Blacklick Inn after arriving by train. The inn was located on Broadway Street, now known as the Wehrum Road.

Photo of the Blacklick Inn at Wehrum, c. 1925 Denise Dusza Weber, courtesy of Gloria Risko 58 | P a g e

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‘WEHRUM - THE JEWEL OF THE VALLEY’

BY CHARLES HASSON THE WEEKLY TRIBUNE, JOHNSTOWN, PA - JANUARY 29, 1904 From “No.3,” passing down the valley another mile and a half, Wehrum, the jewel of the Blacklick Valley, is laid before the visitor in all its splendor. This model town is the pet and ideal of the Lackawanna Coal Company. And before continuing with our description of the town, it may be well to remind the visitor that every foot of ground in and about Wehrum is the property of the Lackawanna Coal Company, and the Superintendent Mr. Claghorn is, like Robinson Crusoe of old, “monarch of all he surveys.” There is not a man in the neighborhood who does not, directly or indirectly, owe fealty to Mr. Claghorn for the position he holds to-day. The only hotel, the only bank, the only store, the only meat market, and the only blacksmith shop in the town are owned by the company and managed by Mr. Claghorn.

No other enterprises can locate here without the consent of Mr. Claghorn for the company owns all the ground. No dictator of ancient Rome, no Czar of all the Russia was clothed with more authority than Mr. Claghorn in his own little principality. His authority is Henry Wehrum, General absolute - there is no appeal. But, although an autocrat Manager of Lackawanna Iron in his way, it is but just to say of him that he exercises and Steel his authority for the good of the community and its people, and it is largely through his benefactions that Photo: Denise Dusza Weber the valley is a Mecca for thousands of contented workmen and their families.

WHO WAS HENRY WEHRUM? Henry Wehrum was born in eastern France in 1843. While working in the Alsace iron works he became familiar with the Bessemer steel process. After migrating to the United States in 1871 he accepted a position with the Lackawanna Coal and Iron Company, advancing to the position of Chief Engineer. He played a role in acquiring the coal holdings in western Pennsylvania, including the Blacklick Valley mines. Ironically, in 1903 Wehrum was dismissed by the company after a change in makeup of the Board of Directors. Wehrum died in 1906 in Buffalo, never fully realizing the dream of making the town of Wehrum into a major coke producing center. The town name lived on in his honor.

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CLARENCE R. CLAGHORN – INNOVATOR AND EARLY DEVELOPER Clarence Raymond Claghorn played an important role in determining the early fate of Vintondale and Wehrum. He served as the first superintendant of the Vinton Colliery Company and the Lackawanna Coal and Coke Company.

Claghorn supervised the construction of both towns, including everything from clearing of the land to the construction of the company houses and mine buildings.

Clarence R. Claghorn Photo: Denise Dusza Weber

Prior to arriving in Vintondale Claghorn attended the University of Pennsylvania. He assisted with the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania in 1884-1885, served as the superintendent of the State Line and Sullivan County Railroad and was employed as general manager of the Coal City Coal Company in Birmingham, Alabama. He also studied in Berlin, Germany in 1892-93.

Claghorn was an accomplished individual and an innovator for his time – he introduced longwall mining methods to Vintondale and presented papers at meetings of mining engineers. The town of Claghorn is named in his honor and one of the homes that he lived in at Vintondale still survives.

Photo above: Clarence R. Claghorn, shown in U.S. Naval Reserve uniform. After leaving the area, Claghorn moved to Tacoma, Washington and served in the Naval Reserves from 1909-1928. Claghorn did return to the area briefly in 1917 after the Claghorn mines reopened. He later lived in Chicago and Baltimore.

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Country’s Biggest Coal Crushers The great coal crusher and washer at Wehrum is the center of attraction. It stands like a mighty tower a short distance above the Pennsylvania Tracks. In height the washer is 113 1/2 feet and when running in its full capacity 3,000 tons of coal pass through its maws each day. This crusher and washer, together with two others of the same type, located at “No.3” and at Claghorn, are the largest in the United States.

The mine at Wehrum is a slope and is operated jointly by a shaft and a slope. At what is known as “No.4” a large shaft with two large buckets attached to a cable, is operated in bringing coal to the surface. When a loaded bucket comes up the shaft an empty bucket passes down.

Another point of interest to the visitor is the fine brick plant operated a short distance above the washer. This plant makes what is known as “ wire-cut” brick, turning out many thousands each day, all of which are consumed by the Lackawanna Company in its building operations at different points along the creek. An immense battery of boilers, encased in brick, also attracts the sightseer and is aweinspiring in its effect. All boilers used by the company are of the very latest upright type, and each boiler is a great machine in itself. All are of large horsepower, and many of them reared up together is not an uncommon spectacle. A big engine house is another attraction worth looking at. In it are to operate the plant. Shooting in housed the engines used and out, and winding all around the mammoth works laden with cars of supplies are a number of dinkey engines.

From: The Weekly Tribune, Johnstown, PA Friday January, 29, 1904

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‘WEHRUM A SUBSTANTIAL TOWN’

BY CHARLES HASSON The Weekly Tribune, Johnstown, PA - January 29, 1904 Wehrum now has some very pretty residences, one beautiful hotel structure, and a substantial brick bank. The principal street in the town is Broadway, and along it the finest buildings are erected. Supt. Claghorn lives in a ‘palatial residence’ on the cap of the mountain on the opposite side of the creek from Wehrum, which to reach one passes over a footbridge swung across the creek near the works and by a series of steps and paths winds around the mountain until the top is reached. Mr. Claghorn travels about Wehrum either in his automobile or a carriage drawn by a handsome team of coach horses.

Foundation of Superintendent Clarence Claghorn’s ‘palatial residence’, located on the hill above Wehrum. Photo: Earl Carney, Jr.

Lackawanna #4 (Wehrum) and Train Station Photo: Denise Dusza Weber

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MINE DISASTERS Mine disasters were an unfortunate part of life in a coal town. One of the worst disasters in the valley, and the second worst in Indiana County, occurred at Wehrum in 1909.

LACKAWANNA NO. 4 MINE, WEHRUM, PA 21 MINERS KILLED. JUNE 23, 1909 FROM THE FEDERAL GEOLOGICAL SURVEY REPORT, BY J.W. PAUL, 1909.

The explosion occurred about 7:40 A.M. resulting in the deaths of 21 men and the injury of 12 others. Seven died from burns or injuries and 14 from afterdamp. The explosion area was limited due to the wet conditions in other sections. All bodies were recovered by 7:30 P.M. On the previous night a charge of powder in the bottom coal at the face of an air course blew out. The following morning the miner put two sticks of dynamite in the same hole and fired them without using any tamping. The shot ignited the coal dust in the working place. The miner who fired the shot survived the explosion.

(From the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, D.C. & the U.S. Bureau of Mines Report, Beaver, WV.) LACKAWANNA #3 This was a short-lived “coal patch” town located between Rexis and Wehrum in an area known locally as Edwards Flats. The modest town is described in Charles Hasson’s article in The Weekly Tribune as a point that was “the most hustling and important along the route”. Lackawanna #3 was abandoned in 1905 due to an economic downturn. In 1914, the coal washery in Wehrum burned to the ground. The #3 mine complex was renovated and water in the mine pumped out. Lackawanna’s #3 and #4 mines were then connected underground and the coal was processed and shipped out of #3.

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MODEST “NO. 3.”

BY CHARLES HASSON

THE WEEKLY TRIBUNE, JOHNSTOWN, PA - JANUARY 29, 1904

Lackawanna #3, wash plant, other buildings Photo: Denise Dusza Weber

Continuing down the valley for a distance of about a mile and a half, the traveler comes to another extensive coal operation of the Lackawanna Company, known as “No.3.” Although lacking a more pretentious name, this point is one of the most hustling and important along the route. With its splendid brick engine houses, machine shops and boiler house, one is led to the belief that it was very modest in its selection of a name.

On the side of the hill just north of the works, standing like sentinels over the operation, are long rows of houses which are inhabited by the employees of the busy village. Now and then a long train of cars emerges from the mines loaded with the mineral wealth of the valley. Later this coal will be hauled from the mines into an immense coal crusher and washer, now in course of construction, where it will be crushed to the required size and later washed free of sulphur and other objectionable substances, fitting it for coking, and transported to market.

Photo right: The coal mine refuse pile for Lackawanna #3 has been reclaimed and is no longer visible along the Ghost Town Trail. Refuse piles from previous mining are being reclaimed throughout the valley.

Usable coal from the refuse piles is blended with other coal to supply fuel for use at specially designed cogeneration power plants. As the refuse piles are reclaimed these symbols of the mining era are fading Lackawanna #3 Mine Refuse Pile, 1993 Photo: Denise Dusza Weber from the landscape.

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VINTONDALE

Vintondale Freight Station Photo: Denise Dusza Weber

The industrial era came to this part of Cambria County with the opening of the Eliza Furnace in late 1845, but Vintondale did not come into existence until the early 1890s. The town had gone by several names (Barker City, Vinton, Vintonvale) before Vintondale was decided on by the Post Office. The town is named for Judge Augustine Vinton Barker, an Ebensburg developer. The first coal was shipped from Vintondale in 1894 – one hundred years before the trail was established.

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The borough was incorporated in 1907. It is located next to the Indiana County line at the jointure of the North and South branches of the Blacklick Creek. About 500 people reside in Vintondale today.

The Vintondale mine complex was a huge operation, employing hundreds of men in the mine, coke ovens and outside help.

Main Street in Vintondale, 1906 From the early Photo: Denise Dusza Weber 1900s on, Vintondale was under the influence of investor Warren Delano III (shown left), until Delano’s death in 1920.

Delano was the maternal uncle of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The town eventually had six operating mines, along with extensive coke production facilities. Vintondale was a ‘closed’ company town. The town had a rough and wooly reputation. The coal and iron police, employed by the Warren Delano III mine company, patrolled the town on mounted horses.

President Vinton Colliery Co. The company police played a large role in keeping order Photo: Denise Dusza Weber in this company town.

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During the nationwide mine strike of 1922, Vintondale garnered its first national attention. The newly organized American Civil Liberties Union investigated the conditions in the town and the oppressive practices of the coal and iron police. In 1924, Vintondale’s miners went on strike in a dispute over wages – many of the strikers were evicted from their company houses and were forced to live in tents. Vintondale’s mines were eventually unionized in 1933.

Vintondale's last mine, #6, closed in 1968 - the coke ovens had ceased operation by 1945 after the washery fire. During its operations Vintondale's coal and coke output were shipped by railroad to the Buffalo, New York steel mills because of Warren Delano’s historic ties to Buffalo's Lackawanna Steel and its Lackawanna Coal and Coke Company.

Mine #6 - Workers Memorial Wall, 2009 A wood carving of mine worker once existed at the Eliza Station, Vintondale

Vintondale YMCA Baseball Team Photo: Denise Dusza Weber For more extensive reading on the colorful history of this former company town, refer to Delano’s Domain: A History of Warren Delano’s Mining Towns of Vintondale, Wehrum and Claghorn by Denise Dusza Weber. In 2008, Weber also released a vintage photo book on Vintondale through the Images of America Series, published by Arcadia Publishing. The book traces the history of Vintondale from when coal was first shipped in 1894 through 66 | P a g e

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2008. The book is available at local bookstores, historical societies, from on-line booksellers and from the author.

BRACKEN AND WEBER Weber may have first been a lumber camp of the Weber Lumber Company that was in existence before 1900. After the name Weber’s Siding was rejected by the Post Office, it seems the name Bracken came into use. Birth certificates of children born in the town list their birthplace as Bracken. The 1907, USGS topographical map for this area shows the location as Weber. The Commercial Coal Company Mine #4, began shipping coal in 1904 and operated until about 1920.

Above: Portion of 1907 USGS topographical map showing the location of the ghost town of Weber.

Bracken was located about half-way between Vintondale and Twin Rocks on the north side of Blacklick Creek in present day State Game Lands 79. Foundations and evidence of some streets are still visible, along with an artesian well. The section of Plank Road in this area is called the ‘Bracken Dip’. Plank Road or the Twin Rocks Road was constructed in 1926 – a monument to mark the paving of the road is located along the highway just after leaving the Vintondale Borough limits.

Ghost sightings have been reported in this area. If you are inclined to believe in ghosts, or just enjoy reading about them, Ghost Tales from the Ghost Town Trail by C.L. Shore was published by CeShore Publishing Company in 2001.

The author Malcolm Cowley once described Bracken as the “god-awfulest mining camp in Pennsylvania, all of the trees gone, all of the houses squalid, not even a company store”.

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MALCOLM COWLEY Malcolm Cowley (1898 – 1989) was born at his grandfather’s farm near Belsano, Cambria County. Cowley was a writer, poet, critic and literary historian. He spent his summers at his grandfather’s farm and attended Peabody High School in Pittsburgh during the school year. Cowley interrupted his studies at Harvard University to serve in the ambulance corps in France during World War I. He also served as a war correspondent for the Pittsburgh Gazette (now Post-Gazette) and later graduated from Harvard in 1920, after returning to the United States.

In the 1930’s Cowley lived in Paris. For three years he was associated with of the group of American writers Malcolm Cowley at the White known as the ‘Lost Generation’. This group included Mill Hotel, 1985 the writers Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound and E. E. Cummings, Photo: Denise Dusza Weber among others. Cowley’s book, Exile’s Return: A Literary Odyssey of the 1920’s, published in 1934, was one of the first and best books written about the Lost Generation.

While working as an editorial advisor for Viking Press, Cowley advocated for the publication of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road.

He is also credited with reviving the reputations of William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald, and for discovering and influencing the writer, John Cheever, while working at the New Republic.

Cowley’s most popular work, Blue Juniata: A Life, includes an assortment of poems that chronicles the Blacklick Valley. Titles of some of the poems include: Mine No. 6, The Hill Above the Mine, Laurel Mountain and The Boy in Sunlight. All of these poems include references to the Blacklick Valley or its inhabitants. The book was titled Blue Juniata after a ballad Cowley heard older people sing during his summers at his grandfather’s farm. Cowley reportedly also used the title Blue Juniata because it was more ‘poetic’ sounding than Blacklick Creek.

In the poem Day Coach, Cowley writes of a railroad trip on returning to his grandfather’s farm. A portion of the poem reads: 68 | P a g e

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“Time is recorded not by minutes, but by station stops; We are two stops east of Altoona, one stop west of it; Cresson, Cres-son, change cars for Luckett, Munster, and all points on the line that runs crookedly back into a boyhood, with every burden of an hour dropping like October fruit at every revolution of the driving wheel and a year lost at each grimly remembered stations: Ebensburg, Beulah Road, Nant-y-glo.

Gather your luggage and move it to the door. Twin Rocks.”

Cowley’s essay, My Countryside, Then and Now: A Study in American Evolution appeared in Harper’s Weekly magazine in January 1929. The essay records the changes that occurred in the Blacklick Valley from 1916, when Cowley left the area, to the late 1920s, when he returned for brief visits. While visiting a swimming hole below the White Mill Dam (now along on the Rexis Branch), Cowley wrote of how the scene he witnessed reflected a change in the rights of American women: “This time the swimming hole was crowded with young men, children, girls in their teens, and middle-aged women who had never worn a bathing suit before.

All of the boys could swim, and a few were really skillful.

But it was the presence of women that astonished me. No one familiar with the position of farm wives in my country could fail to gasp at finding them here in the water, at a time when there were socks to mend and dewberries to preserve.

Their right to the swimming hole-a right significant of all the little revolutions by which the life of American country women is being transformed-had not been won without a struggle. I heard that Preacher Cameron had declaimed against it three successive Sundays.”

For over 65 years Malcolm Cowley was at the center of the American literary movement. He was a major influence in the careers of several of America’s most significant writers and a witness and active participant to the American literary movement for most of the 20th Century.

Cowley died in 1989 at New Milford, Connecticut. Throughout his life he maintained an abiding interest in Belsano and the Blacklick Valley, his ancestral home.

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TWIN ROCKS – TOWN OF MANY NAMES The village of Twin Rocks was established in 1875. The name was derived from two identical rocks located in the big bend of the South Branch of Blacklick Creek. The railroad route was excavated through an area known as ‘the cut’.

When the railroad was constructed in 1893-94, the twin rocks were reportedly made into building stone used in the construction of the Rockville Bridge near Harrisburg.

Twin Rocks looking north, c. 1905 Photo: George Warholic

The village has also been known as Big Bend for the large sweeping curve in Blacklick Creek. The old schoolhouse in Twin Rocks, still standing, has the name ‘Big Bend’ etched into a large stone mounted above the schoolhouse entrance. The village post office was known as Expedit – three names, one place.

Twin Rocks – A Town of Many Names It is a curious fact, says the Mountaineer Herald; and no doubt an annoying one, to the business men of Big Bend, that they must, if they want anything shipped to them, by railroad, give the shipping point as Twin Rocks, while if they want an answer to a letter, they must tell the other fellow to address them as Expedit. In other words, Big Bend is the town name, Twin Rocks is the railroad station, and Expedit is the Post Office. A part of Big Bend is also called Seldersville, which adds somewhat to the confusion. Get together gentlemen, get together.

The Weekly Tribune, 1904

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NANT-Y-GLO – ‘STREAMS OF COAL’ The name of the town comes from the Welsh “Nant-Y-Glo”, meaning “Streams or Valley of Coal”. The town name is also spelled Nanty Glo and Nanty-Glo. In recent years the hyphenated spelling of the town is regaining favor as people rediscover the heritage of the town.

Nanty Glo began in the 1890s under the name Glenglade. By 1896, the community had 13 houses located on both sides of the South Branch of the Blacklick Creek. Commercial mining was initiated in 1896 by Dr. James W. Dunwiddie of Pine Flats, Indiana County, who established Nanty Glo Mine No. 1. By 1899, huge coal deposits in the area attracted additional settlers.

Glenglade became Nant-Y-Glo on Feb. 20 1901.

Springfield Mine, 1937 Photo: Ben Shahn, Library of Congress Five large commercial mines operated in Nanty Glo – reportedly the greatest concentration of coal mines in one town in the state. The largest of the commercial mines was the Heisley Mine which employed 1,130 workers. Several other “house coal” mines, of a much smaller scale, also operated in the town. Nanty Glo was incorporated as a borough in 1918, from parts of Blacklick Township and Jackson Township.

Boy picking coal at rock dump, 1937 Photo: Ben Shahn, Library of Congress

The photographer, Ben Shahn, employed by the Farm Security Administration, Office of War Information visited Nanty Glo in 1937 and recorded the stark conditions of life in the town at the time.

In 1943, Alfred Eisenstaedt, a photographer for Life magazine, visited Nanty Glo to record the coal miner’s working and living conditions. An extensive magazine article portrayed the bleak lives that the miners and their families faced prior to an impending miner’s strike.

Nanty Glo was a stronghold of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). John Brophy, union organizer and President of District 2, was active in Nanty Glo and other

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west-central PA mining towns. Born in Lancashire, England in 1883 and reared by a union supporting coal miner, Brophy joined the UMWA in 1899 and held various positions in the national office of the UMWA, and later with the AFL-CIO. In 1926, Brophy challenged the legendary John L. Lewis for the Presidency of the UMWA. Photo: John Brophy, Courtesy of The Catholic University of America archives.

In 1993, an historical marker, located at Triangle Park on Route 271 entering Nanty Glo, was erected by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission to recognize John Brophy’s substantial labor organizing achievements. The historical marker reads…

The American labor leader lived here in Nanty Glo. Brophy was president of District 2, United Mine Workers of America, 1916-1926; he gained national prominence for his “Miner's Program”, calling for a shorter work week, nationalization of the mines, and a labor party. An official of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), 19351961, Brophy was a longtime advocate for a democratic labor movement.

Right: John Brophy Historical Marker

In the 1940s, Nanty Go reached its peak population of 6,240 residents. Today, about 2,500 residents live here. It is the second largest town along the Ghost Town Trail.

Trail entrance at Nanty Glo, students from the nearby Blacklick Valley High are shown performing a trail clean-up.

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BEULA This town was located about halfway between Nanty Glo and Ebensburg. The town was laid out by Reverend Morgan John Rhys (Reese) in 1792 after the plan of Philadelphia. Buela contained about three hundred inhabitants of mostly Welsh descent. The town had two hotels, a store, mill, school, church and circulating library of six hundred volumes. Beula had the first post office in Cambria County and the first polling place for holding elections for this region before Cambria County existed. A stone marker and historical plaque, erected by the Cambria County Historical Society in 1936, is located onequarter of a mile south of the trail on Beula Road. The town cemetery is located nearby on private property.

EBENSBURG A Welshman, Morgan John Rhys (Reese), purchased land in the Ebensburg area in 1796 from Dr. Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Rees Lloyd and a group of Welsh colonists arrived in the fall of 1796 and began building shelters, a chapel, and grist and saw mills. More settlers established a village nearby at Beula. When Cambria County was established in 1804 Ebensburg was designated the county seat, and Beula was gradually abandoned. Ebensburg was incorporated in 1825 and was named after John Rhys’ son, Eben.

Due to the wealth of coal in the area and the demand for travel routes over the Allegheny Mountains, both canal and railroad routes were built through the area in the mid-1800s.

Ebensburg became a supply stop along the Huntingdon, Indiana and Cambria Turnpike, which connected with other highways all the way to Pittsburgh.

The scenic beauty, healthy environment, and ease of access made the region a popular summer destination for wealthy industrialists from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and even New York. The town once had several resort hotels. The Great Fire of 1915, one of several major fires in the community, destroyed most of downtown Ebensburg.

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Ebensburg is the largest community located along the trail (pop. 3,091). It is also the highest town in elevation on the trail, situated at 2,025 feet. Ample trail parking is located at the access area near the Young People’s Community Center on Prave Street. Ebensburg is an historic town with a nicely restored main street, historic homes and neighborhoods.

Cambria County Courthouse Photo: Courtesy of Cambria County The Cambria County Courthouse, an impressive building of Victorian Second Empire design, dates from 1880. The building was designed by M.E. Beebe of Buffalo, New York and built by Henry Shenk, at an original cost of $109,607. An estimated 100,000 bricks were used in the building’s construction, 20,000 of the bricks were made on site, the remainder shipped to Ebensburg from Philadelphia.

Major renovations were completed in 1923 and again in 1992. The building has a 500seat courtroom, still one of the largest courtrooms in the United States. The courthouse is visible from the trail as it looms over the community.

Photo left: the former Cambria County Jail, constructed in 1872, is located on North Center Street. Many other historic buildings are located throughout the borough. Throughout its development Ebensburg has preserved numerous historic buildings which help it retain its old-time charm.

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THE REXIS BRANCH Villages on the Rexis Branch include Rexis, Red Mill and White Mill. The branch is a fourmile spur which ends at Route 422. Beyond Route 422 the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority hopes to develop a new trail to Revloc – a distance of approximately 16 miles. Near Revloc the trail will re-connect to the existing Ghost Town Trail, forming a 32-mile loop. This trail will be named the ‘CandI’ Trail (pronounced ‘Candy’), after the C&I Railroad, who owned the line until 1993.

The Rexis Branch is an especially scenic section of trail featuring mature hemlock trees, rhododendrons, mountain laurel and the rushing waters of the North Branch of Blacklick Creek. The upper portions of the North Branch are stocked with trout by the PA Fish & Boat Commission. At Route 422, Elk Creek joins the North Branch.

REXIS This small village is named for George Rex, a Philadelphia investor in the Cambria Land Company.

Half of Rexis was built by Blair Shaffer, owner of a local planning mill, the other half by the Vinton Lumber Company. By 1899 the town had one of the largest lumber mills in the United States. The lumber mill was served by the Blacklick & Yellow Creek Railroad, until ending operations in 1907. In 1910 the railroad was sold to Coleman and Weaver and renamed the Cambria & Indiana Railroad.

Rexis was an important connection for the C&I Railroad. Coal cars from Colver were transferred here to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Ebensburg and Blacklick Branch.

Photo left: Rexis in the 1940’s. In the foreground is the C&I Railroad switch yard.

Photo: courtesy of Bonnie Hunter Lucas.

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RED MILL This small village is located about halfway along the Rexis Branch. Today it is the home of the Red Mill Cottage, which caters to trail users and other visitors to the area.

Built in 1828 by John Duncan, the Red Mill operated as a grist mill until the early 1900s.

The water wheel, twenty feet high and five-foot-wide, was built of locust and hickory. A wooden shaft ran through the water wheel hub transmitting power by means of wooden gem wheels. In earlier times farmers would bring their grain to the Red Mill to have it ground into flour.

The village was also later known as Nipton when a quarry was established downstream of the village in the 1920s by the Ebensburg Sand, Clay & Stone Company. The company provided 10 houses for its employees – several of these concrete block houses still remain. The C&I Railroad hauled sand and stone from the quarry until WWII. Railroad operations ceased on this branch following the July 1977 flood when the railroad bridge was swept away.

Red Mill also has an historic highway bridge over the North Branch of Blacklick Creek, located on Red Mill Road, 800 feet west of the trail. The bridge is a pin connected, single span, ninety foot-long, Pratt thru truss. The bridge, c. 1895 was manufactured by the Variety Iron Works, an Ohio fabricator of standard design truss bridges from the late 1880s until about 1907. The Red Mill Bridge is regarded by bridge enthusiasts as historically and technologically significant because of its completeness and non-standard Historic Red Mill Bridge, 2010 details. It is currently closed to highway traffic.

The trail bridge spanning the North Branch of Blacklick Creek, crossed just before reaching Red Mill, was constructed in 1998. The self-weathering steel bridge, with glue laminated wood decking, is 125 feet in length and was built at a cost of $650,000.

The following newspaper travel article, written and illustrated by Arch Bristow, appeared in The Weekly Tribune. It paints an idyllic scene of the Red Mill and life in this portion of the Blacklick Valley in the early 1900s.

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‘The Old Red Mill’ Written and Illustrated for The Tribune

by Arch Bristow, 1908 The "Red Mill"-even the name sounds interesting. If it were the Blue Mill, or the Gray Mill, or the White Mill it would not be so attractive. It stands on the bank of the North Blacklick, down in the extreme northwestern corner of Cambria County. It stands so near the Indiana line, that a boy might throw a stone from its door beyond the big wild cherry nearby which marks the boundary between Cambria and Indiana counties. John Duncan built the Red Mill in 1828 and, with a few short rests, it has been grinding ever since. In its early days, the stage coaches traveling from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia used to rattle down the hill and ford the creek where the bridge now stands, a few rods above the mill. There were deer then in the hills which surround it. Indian trails could then be pointed out in the valley and the forests were still standing. Things are changing along the Blacklick in these days, and yet the change is not so great. The large timber has disappeared from the hills, and so have the deer, and so have the stages; but the old mill has gone along merrily all these years and is hale and hearty as ever. As we first saw it on a cool November morning, when the white frost was on the rhododendron leaves and the mill pond was crusted at the edges with thin ice, it looked so hospitable and inviting you could not choose but to stop.

A Sturdy Old Mill The men who built the Red Mill must have sung as they worked. Its sturdy oak ribs are tight and firm today and the wooden pegs that hold them are solid in their sockets. Its rafters are not sagged with age or twisted with the many blasts that must have strained against them. The mill is a red cheeked old patriarch, firm on is feet. In an old mill the first thing thought of is the wheel. Painters have painted it, poets have sung about it. It is a climb down into the wheel pit. There is a slippery ladder and the rungs are a long way apart. And there is the old wheel. The splash of the water for years on the stones has covered them with a green moss. The wheel is built of locust and hickory and is twenty feet high and five feet wide. A shaft which runs through its hub transmits the power to the mill above by means of wooden gear wheels. The miller goes up the ladder to turn in the water and let you see the great wheel in motion. And the water comes with a splash 77 | P a g e

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and a rush, filling the broad buckets till slowly the old wheel begins to turn. In a moment it is going full tilt with a tremendous splashing and dashing of spray in all directions.

Talk of Wheel and Water How many times it has turned in just this fashion: "We have worked together a long time, you and I," says the wheel. "Does it seem like a long time to you, brother," laughs the wheel as it splashes off over the rocks. "Why, I've been running her thousands of years and really it only seems yesterday that you came to work and play with me."

"Think of all the mouths we have fed that are closed and gone", says the wheel. "Think of the many summers you have splashed over me and cooled me when I was hot and tired and think of the long freezing winters when you have chilled me to the hub and clogged me up with ice so that I had to be chopped free." "Ah, yes'" returns the water. "I suppose it does seem long to you, and no doubt I shall be running on here a thousand years after you are gone, and I shall miss you, old friend, and I will often think of all the good times we have had together."

An Interesting Picture The massive gear wheels which connect the wheel with the machinery above are made of hickory. They slip and screech as the miller throws the lever that connects them, and the hum and roar of the mill upstairs is heard. They are grinding buckwheat flour. The black hulls of grain are flying out a shoot to the creek below the mill, and sacks of the fresh ground grain are piled by the door. Truly, the old mill is a lesson in useful industry, continued on to a good old age. Some of the beams and pillars are carved with various initials - some of them, no doubt, cut by boys while waiting for their grist to be ground.

In the earlier days, the thinly settled farmers used to come to the mill with their grain bags thrown across a horse. They would wait while the miller ground their few bushels of grain and took out the toll, and then ride off again to their home in the remote woods.

Idyllic Scene The Red Mill lies in as pretty a spot as one need wish to see. Thickets of laurel and rhododendrons surround it. During the dry season of last September, the forest fires came so close to it the men had to keep the roof wet to save it from the sparks. Outside, the blue-jays are calling in the thickets and a red squirrel jumps from an overhanging hemlock bough and scampers along the eaves. The old mill is worth a visit. It will make you welcome, and treat you kindly, and go right on grinding as it has done for the last eighty years.

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call from the hemlocks, mountain laurel and rhododendron line the shady hillsides, and the water still runs in the creek, just like it did when Arch Bristow visited here in 1908.

WHITE MILL White Mill marks the end of the Rexis Branch. A grist mill operated here in the 1800s remnants of the mill’s stonework can be seen along the creek downstream of the Route 422 highway bridge. The elevation of the trail at this point is 1,572 feet.

In 1756, during the French and Indian War, Lt. Col. John Armstrong led a force of 307 men from Fort Shirley, in present Huntingdon County, to attack the Indian village at Kittanning.

Armstrong used the Kittanning Path, an Indian path which was located several miles north of the present-day U.S. Route 422, through Cambria and Indiana Counties.

The Rexis Branch ends at White Mill under Route 422, not far from Belsano. This underpass pathway leads to Vic Miller Road in Blacklick Township. A small, informal pulloff area is located along the township road. A short distance from the Route 422 underpass, along Vic Miller Road, the C&I Extension begins. Parking is available where the rail-trail segment begins.

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TRAIL SEGMENTS This section of the guidebook contains mile-by-mile highlights of the trail. The trail descriptions, divided into six segments, are written in a format that follows the trail from west to east. Available parking, elevation changes and descriptive highlights of each segment are provided to help you prepare for your trip and to offer background information on what you’ll see once you get there.

BLACK LICK (SAYLOR PARK) TO HESHBON Distance: Parking: Elevation change: Trail highlights:

6 miles Saylor Park, Heshbon 980 feet to 1260 feet Saylor Park, Hoodlebug Trail, Laurel Run #1, Blacklick Creek Watershed Association, State Game Lands 276, Chestnut Ridge, Auld’s Run, Tragedy at Heshbon

Milepost 0

Milepo The trail begins at Saylor Park in the community of Black Lick. st 1Ample parking is available at Saylor Park.

The park, operated by Burrell Township, offers picnic pavilions, a basketball court, ball fields and an asphalt walking path.

Saylor Park is the meeting point of the Hoodlebug Trail and Ghost Town Trail. From this point the Hoodlebug Trail extends 10.5 miles north, paralleling Route 119 to Indiana, PA. The Hoodlebug Trail also travels south to Blairsville, utilizing a signed bike route that follows township roads. The signed bicycle route is intended for trail users who want to travel the Hoodlebug Trail to access the West Penn Trail to the west. The bike route is best traveled by experienced road riders, since it is not a rail-trail and riders will encounter traffic and steep grades.

Shortly after leaving Saylor Park the Ghost Town Trail crosses over Blacklick Creek for the first time. Between Black Lick and Ebensburg there are 20 stream crossings consisting of everything from fine cut stone bridges; to iron railroad bridges; to 80 | P a g e

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modern pre-fabricated bridges. All but three of the trail bridges date from the early railroad era.

Until the trail’s completion this part of the Blacklick Valley was seldom visited by people, due to it remoteness and rugged terrain.

The trail is located within the Allegheny Mountain physiographic region. The Allegheny Front, to the east, posed significant barrier to early travelers. Even today, it can be challenge to travel over Cresson Mountain during the winter months.

Just beyond the large railroad bridge is the former location of the Bell’s Mills Grist Mill, built in 1839. Remnants of a dam, constructed later at this site to provide water to the Josephine Furnace & Iron Works, can be seen in the creek.

The trail in this segment also passes the location of the Josephine Salvage Yard, owned by the Kovalchick Salvage Company (KSC) of Indiana, PA. KSC donated the former Ebensburg & Blacklick Railroad property from Dilltown to Nanty Glo, which became the first sixteen miles of the Ghost Town Trail. The Kovalchick family owns the East Broad Top Railroad, located in Rockhill Furnace, PA. The EBT is an historic narrow-gauge railroad that continues to operate as a tourist train.

This railroad segment was built in 1903-04 by D.H. Keenan, a Philadelphia contractor. The railroad from Blacklick Station to Dilltown was built by two different contractors to expedite the construction time. Building thirteen miles of railroad in one year, through this rugged terrain, was quite a construction achievement.

Laurel Run #1 is the next stream crossing. Rock cut along trail Photo: Lee Kring Laurel Run is a very common name for streams in this region - there are two Laurel Runs along the Ghost Town Trail. This Laurel Run has a fine stone-arched bridge, worth stopping to look at.

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At the headwaters of Laurel Run #1 the Blacklick Creek Watershed Association operates a passive acid mine treatment system, which has improved the stream’s water quality and resulted in the return of aquatic life in this small stream A large portion of this trail segment passes through PA State Game Lands 276, encompassing 3,942 acres. In the State Game Lands the trail crosses through Chestnut Ridge, a geologic feature formed by being thrust up through the Allegheny Plateau eons ago. Chestnut Ridge and Laurel Ridge, located further east on the trail, are the only true mountains west of the Allegheny Front. Blacklick Creek is strewn with large boulders and rocks in this trail segment. After heavy rains the creek is very turbulent – it is classified as a Class 3 and whitewater area. The creek is popular with kayakers seeking to tame the rapids – only experienced kayakers should attempt to run these rapids.

Since 1993 the Blacklick Creek Watershed Association has provided a focal point to improve the quality of the Blacklick Creek watershed.

With 420 square miles in Cambria and Indiana Counties, the watershed is a major contributor to the Conemaugh River Basin. The largest streams in the watershed are Blacklick, Elk, Two Lick and Yellow Creeks.

The Blacklick Creek watershed contains 300 surface coal mine discharges and numerous mine spoil piles.

On average, 300,000 pounds of mine acid per day (and decreasing), comes from 90 known pollution sources.

A good place to stop and view the rapids of Blacklick Creek is at the long fence in an area where the railroad was dynamited out the mountain’s hillside. A panoramic view of the rushing waters of Blacklick Creek, as it slices through the valley, can be observed from this point.

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Auld’s Run is a small mountain stream whose headwaters begin further up the mountain, near Luciusboro. It features a series of small cascading waterfalls that pass under a railroad bridge made from beautiful cut stones. A trail picnic shelter is located nearby.

Tragedy struck near Heshbon on July 18, 1982 when four young children drowned in Blacklick Creek. The story was widely reported throughout the nation. A memorial bench, near the drowning location, honors the lives of the young victims and provides a spot to reflect on the lives lost on that tragic day.

This trail segment ends at Heshbon, a small village located on PA Route 259. A parking area is available at Heshbon.

The 154’ Parker through truss steel bridge, on Route 259, was built in 1941. An earlier steel bridge was built in 1902 to replace a covered bridge.

Four Children Drown in Creek Published: July 18, 1982 From the New York Times Staff Reports…

Four young brothers and sisters who could not swim drowned Friday when they fell into a 15-foot hole while wading in a creek, Coroner Thomas Streams said. The victims, children of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Frain of West Wheatfield Township, were identified as Teresa, 13 years old; Janie, 10; Johnny, 9, and Diane Hancock, 14, a halfsister. They had gone to wade in Blacklick Creek in Indiana County with several relatives.

Wagner’s Sawmill Covered Bridge existed here before the first iron bridge. The 132-foot long Town lattice truss covered bridge was originally built in 1857, then rebuilt in 1883 at a cost of $941. Indiana County was once home to forty-eight documented covered bridges, including three on Blacklick Creek. Today, only four covered bridges remain in Indiana County. The remaining covered bridges (Kintersburg, Trusal, Harmon and Thomas) are located in north-central Indiana County.

The Hoskin’s Grist Mill, operated by William B. Hoskinson, was located at Heshbon. The mill race and some stonework are still visible along the creek, just downstream from the Route 259 highway bridge. In 1920 the son of the mill owner drowned in the mill pond while trying to learn to swim.

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Scenes along the Ghost Town Trail…

Rock shelter, near Heshbon Photo: Earl Carney, Jr.

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HESHBON TO DILLTOWN Distance: Parking: Elevation change: Trail highlights:

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7.5 miles Heshbon, Dilltown 1260 feet to 1350 feet Claghorn, Brush Creek, Buena Vista Furnace, Ghost Towns of Scott Glen and Armerford, Trail Bridges, Dilltown

Milepost 6

Leaving Heshbon heading east the trail grade flattens out noticeably– from Heshbon Milepo to Dilltown there is only a ninety-foot rise in elevation over this seven-mile stretch.

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Claghorn was located at the confluence of Brush Creek and Blacklick Creek. Brush Creek, a good quality cold-water stream, receives trout stockings from the PA Fish & Boat Commission.

Claghorn was named for Clarence Claghorn, Superintendent of the Vinton Colliery Company and the Lackawanna Coal and Coke Company. Mr. Claghorn was described by Charles Hasson as “like Robinson Crusoe of old, ‘monarch of all he surveys’…. Mr. Claghorn is his own principality. His authority is absolute – there is no appeal. But, although an autocrat in his way, is but to say that he exercises authority for the good of the community and its people, and it is largely through his benefactions that the valley is a Mecca for thousands of contented workmen and their families.”

“The town has an immense coal washer and crusher, mines equipped with the very latest mine machinery, and in fact, everything that goes into the make-up of a model town. Its streets are wide, and along them good buildings are being erected.

There seems little room for disputing the assertion that Claghorn will be the best and prettiest town in the Blacklick Valley.”

- Charles Hasson

The Weekly Tribune, Construction of Claghorn started in 1903, 1904 but was abruptly halted in 1904 when Wehrum closed temporarily. In 1916, the mines were re-opened and operated until 1924. The most prominent remaining feature of the ghost town of Claghorn is the concrete arch bridge spanning Blacklick Creek. Built in 1917 by Indiana County for $19,000, the bridge has weathered many floods. The town 85 | P a g e 85 l P a g e

of Claghorn was located across the bridge from the trail. Houses in Claghorn were rented until after World War II, when the Vinton Coal and Coke Company sold demolition rights to the Kovalchick Salvage Company.

The impact of mining in the Blacklick Creek Valley is very visible in the area just east of Claghorn. Spoil piles from the mining era have left a bleak landscape. In the future this former mine site will look different. A mining company that owns the property is applying for permits to re-mine the remaining spoil piles - when the area is re-mined it will be reclaimed and restored.

The Buena Vista Furnace is accessed from the trail by a short path that leads to the iron furnace. Operating off and on from 1848 to 1856, Buena Vista Furnace was one of three iron furnaces in the Blacklick Valley.

The furnace and its adjoining five acres are leased to Indiana County Parks & Trails, by the Indiana County Historical & Genealogical Society.

Leaving the Buena Vista Furnace, the trail passes under PA Route 56, and enters the former Oneida Mine Complex at Dias. A loading tipple and coal cleaning plant Operated here until 1992. The final railroad coal shipments in the Blacklick Valley left from here, ending nearly a 100-year span of railroading in the valley.

Two miles past the Oneida Mine area the trail enters a cut through the mountain that Charles Hasson of The Weekly Tribune described in 1904 as “about 90 feet deep where an almost solid wall of rock was cut away to make room for the iron horse.� This railroad segment was constructed by McMenamin & Sons of Philadelphia.

The railroad cut is especially scenic with its rhododendron-lined hillsides. In the summer the cut is cooler than the rest of the trail because the sun does not penetrate far into the ravine. In the winter dripping water in the numerous rock crevices creates interesting ice formations.

Ice formations along trail. Photo: Lee Kring Leaving the cut, the trail immediately crosses over the Scott Glen Bridge. This 120-foot long pre-fabricated bridge was installed in October 2009. The railroad bridge was swept 86 | P a g e

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away during the Great Flood of 1977. This trail bridge and the Armerford Bridge were installed by Shawrose Construction of Coraopolis, PA. The new bridge abutments were elevated in height to the 100-year flood level.

Scott Glen Bridge in early fall. Photo: Earl Carney, Jr. Blacklick Creek makes a large sweeping curve in this area – it is known locally as the ‘island’, but it is really a large loop in the creek. The loop was the site of the Scott Glen mine. Other mine workings were located across the creek and serviced by a railroad spur known as the JQ Siding.

The town of Scott Glen was located a short distance from the mine and railroad. It was also known as Scottglen Station.

Three-thousand feet further along the trail, the Armerford Bridge stretches 222-feet across the creek. The bridge is a unique, three-span bridge made of self-weathering steel.

Each span has its own separate arch, giving the bridge a ‘camel back appearance’ and a unique roller coaster ride. The bridge decking is made from a Brazilian hardwood that is extremely tight-grained and rot resistant.

Both trail bridges were manufactured by Echo Bridge Company of Elmira, NY – shipped to Dilltown in 25-foot long sections; bolted together at the site; and then set in place with a large crane. Installation of both bridges completed a final missing link in the Ghost Town Trail system that was much anticipated by trail users.

After passing through the bridge area, the trail enters the community of Dilltown. A large pavilion, restroom and ample parking are located at this access area. Across Route 403 from the access area is the Dillweed Bed & Breakfast and Trail Shop. Stop here for some ice cream, light refreshments and Ghost Town Trail souvenirs. Overnight rooms are available at the beautifully restored Dillweed. Throughout the summer the Dillweed sponsors summer concerts in their backyard garden. The Dillweed Piccadilly Herb Fair is 87 | P a g e

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held in early June, along with several theatrical events throughout the year, presented by the Dillweed Parlor Players.

DILLTOWN TO VINTONDALE Distance: Parking: Elevation change: Highlights:

6 miles Dilltown, Wehrum, Rexis 1350 feet to 1360 feet Blacklick Valley Natural Area, Buffington, Blacklick Furnace, Ghost Towns of Wehrum and Lackawanna #3, Laurel Run #2, Eliza Furnace, Eliza Station

Milepost 13

This trail segment has the least elevation change of any trail segment – over the 6-mile Milepo segment the trail is virtually flat, rising only 10 feet in elevation over its length.

This trail segment is the most heavily used section of the trail - it was part of the originalst sixteen 1 miles of trail opened in October 1994.

One-half mile east from Dilltown is the Blacklick Valley Natural Area. This 713-acre site was a gift to the people of Indiana County from David and Penny Russell, former residents of Dilltown. The natural area was established to protect and preserve outstanding examples of natural habitat in the Blacklick Valley, especially large forested areas that migrating song birds seek out.

The 313-acre Parker Tract, located in the southern portion of the natural area, is across the creek from the Ghost Town Trail. The Parker Tract contains 6-miles of hiking trails that navigate wetlands, upland forests and former Christmas tree plantings. To access the Parker Tract, use McFeaters Road, from Route 22.

A self-guided interpretive brochure for the natural area is available at www.indianacountyparks.org. The northern portion of the natural area, comprising 400 acres, remains undeveloped. It features Clarke Run, a mountain stream with large rocks and boulders.

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A wayside exhibit area with a small pavilion is located one-half mile east of Dilltown. The exhibit interprets the Blacklick Creek watershed and the efforts to remediate the creek from the effects of abandoned mine drainage.

After passing several wetland areas near Clarke Run and Dodson Run, the trail crosses River Road, near the ‘iron bridge’ at the former settlement of Buffington. Buffington was a country settlement established by the Lackawanna Coal and Coke Company. The village once had its own post office – it is now part of the Vintondale postal area.

The Blacklick or Wheatfield Furnace operated here until 1859, but unlike the Buena Vista and Eliza Furnace, there are no visible remains of this furnace. The final operator of the furnace was the Wood, Morrell & Company who owned several large tracts of property in Buffington Township and East Wheatfield Township, including parts of what is now the Blacklick Valley Natural Area. These large tracts were used for charcoal production. An historical sign and pavilion at this location provides a rest area for trail visitors.

Halfway between Dilltown and Vintondale, at the Wehrum Road crossing, is the ghost town of Wehrum, the largest of the former ghost towns. Wehrum was also known as Lackawanna #4. Wehrum once had 230 houses, a hotel, company store, jail, bank, post office, school, and two churches. Wehrum was founded in 1901 by Warren Delano III. When Mr. Delano visited Vintondale, he traveled in his own private rail car. For his overnight accommodations he either stayed in his rail car or at the Wehrum Hotel. Passing through this area on the trail it is hard to imagine that a thriving, vibrant community once existed here only 80 years ago.

The next ghost town is Lackawanna #3, encountered before crossing the bridge at the second Laurel Run on the trail. Just before reaching Laurel Run #2 is a small picnic pavilion and rest area.

Near Vintondale, the trail divides, with the main trail stem heading east towards Vintondale, Twin Rocks, Nanty Glo and Ebensburg. The Rexis Access Area and Rexis Branch lie a short distance to the north of the trail divide. The most prominent feature of this trail segment is the Eliza Furnace, straddling the Indiana and Cambria County lines.

An interpretive exhibit at the furnace details the

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furnace operations, charcoal making, and the life of the people who worked at the furnace. A short distance from the furnace is the Eliza Station, which has a restroom, small picnic shelter and interpretive information about Vintondale.

A train station was located here during the railroad era. At the height of the railroad era residents of coal towns could ride the train to just about anywhere they wanted to on an extensive rail network.

Train passengers to Vintondale were met by the coal and iron police employed by the Vinton Colliery Company, who questioned the travelers on their business in town – union sympathizers and others without good reason were ordered back on the train and escorted from town. In times of labor unrest, extra police were hired by the company to keep the peace.

Vinton Colliery Company Police Photo: Denise Dusza Weber What are those fountains in the North Branch of Blacklick Creek?

The ‘fountains’, are actually bore holes drilled by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection into the Vintondale mine pool. The bore holes relieve water pressure in Mine #6 and keep water from seeping into homes in nearby Vintondale. The white deposition in the stream bed is aluminum. The height of the ‘fountains’ varies throughout the year, depending on the water level in the mine pool below.

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VINTONDALE TO NANTY GLO Distance: Parking: Elevation change: Trail highlights:

_______ 6 miles Rexis, Vintondale, Twin Rocks, Nanty Glo 1360 feet to 1720 feet Vintondale, Laurel Ridge, AMD &ART, The Great Map, Mine Worker’s Memorial, South Branch Blacklick Creek, Ghost Town of Bracken, State Game Lands 79, Twin Rocks

Milepost 19

At this point the trail enters Cambria County for the first time. Vintondale was the center Milepos of major coal operations from 1894 t 1 until 1968. The town has a lively, colorful, and engaging history. At one time 32 dialects and languages were spoken in Vintondale. A mosaic of ethnic groups lived and worked together in this small community.

Immigrants from many countries came here to work in the mines and seek a new life in America.

From this point the trail begins its steepest climb as it follows the South Branch of Blacklick Creek. Vintondale marks the crossing point through the Laurel Ridge. Chickaree Mountain, on Laurel Ridge, rises to 2,460 feet overlooking Vintondale.

Trail elevation profile map from Saylor Park to Ebensburg. Map by Patrick McKinney.

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The AMD&ART project integrates public art, historical interpretation, landscape restoration and community involvement to remediate environmental problems caused by abandoned mine drainage and coal mining. A series of treatment ponds are located at the site of the Vintondale mine complex to treat acid mine water and heal the landscape.

Near the former Mine #6 is The Great Map, which uses colorful tiles to replicate the 1923 Sanborn Insurance map of the Vinton Colliery.

Standing on the map trail visitors can compare the present landscape with earlier mining times. Surrounding the map are black granite tiles etched with historic photos of Vintondale and the word ‘Hope’ inscribed in the 26 of the 32 languages once spoken in the town.

At the portal of Mine #6 is a black granite wall with life-sized etchings of actual coal miners entering and exiting the mine on a shift change. The Mine Worker’s Memorial is reproduced from a photo taken at the mine entrance of this once bustling mine. A brick wall near the entrance is engraved with the names of miners and the jobs they performed while working in the mine. The miner’s memorial acknowledges the hard work coal miners endured while laboring in the mines to improve their lives and the lives of their families.

AMD&ART is a unique and moving tribute to the coal miners and the mining era that dominated the valley for nearly a century - while offering new hope for the valley’s future.

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Leaving the AMD&ART project site the trail passes over the South Branch of Blacklick Creek for the first time. The stream is fast flowing in this section with numerous rocks and rapids. The trail from this point to Twin Rocks has the steepest grade of the entire trail, rising 300 feet in less than 2 miles, as it works its way through the Laurel Ridge.

A large wetlands area contains native cranberries. Some years the berries are more plentiful than others in the cranberry bog. A large spoil pile remains in this area, a stark symbol of the heyday of mining in Vintondale.

Next the trail enters the 8,300-acre State Game Lands 79.

Rhododendrons dominate the woods - by late June their white blossoms highlight shady portions of the trail. In the State Game Lands, the ghost town of Bracken, also once known as Weber, is passed. The town was located on the north side of the creek. In recent years both a surface mine and an underground mine have operated in the game lands and coal trucks cross the trail on the mine access road.

Further along, the trail crosses through another ravine, before crossing Plank Road in the village of Twin Rocks. Twin Rocks has also been known as Expedit and Big Bend. From Twin Rocks to Nanty Glo the trail levels out again, as it parallels the creek and PA Route 271.

Ravine near Twin Rocks, look for seams of coal in the rock layers

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New water and sewage lines connecting the communities of Vintondale, Twin Rocks, and Nanty Glo are located underneath this segment of the trail demonstrating the multiple-use public benefits of former railroad corridors.

Witch hazel, blooming in early winter in State Game Lands 79

NANTY GLO TO EBENSBURG Distance: Parking: Elevation change: Highlights:

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8 miles Nanty Glo, Ebensburg 1720 feet to 2000 feet Nanty Glo, Ghost Town of Beula, Revloc, Ebensburg, Lake Rowenna Milepost 24

Parking in Nanty Glo is available in two locations: behind the fire hall and along McCoy Milepost Street. Nanty Glo is a Welsh word meaning ‘streams or valley of coal’. The town was a 1 of major coal community in the valley and a stronghold of the United Mine Workers America. A spur of the Ebensburg and Blacklick Railroad, known as the Lincoln Siding, once served mines in another portion of the town, but the Lincoln Siding has not been converted into a trail.

Treatment system at Webster Discharge Photo: BCWA

Towering over the community is one of the largest spoil piles in the region. Today, the pile is being re-mined for use in power plants in the area. Two mine treatment systems have been constructed by the Blacklick Creek Watershed Association in Nanty Glo – one system is located on Coal Pit Run; the second system treats the Webster mine discharge. The Webster treatment system was completed by the CCC&RA as the project sponsor, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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Leaving Nanty Glo, the trail is wedged between Beula Road and the South Branch of Blacklick Creek, crossing Evans Run before it re-enters State Game Lands 79 again. The ghost town of Beula was established in 1792 – it was located between Nanty Glo and Ebensburg, near where the trail bridge passes over Beula Road. There are no remains of this former Welsh community, other than a cemetery, located on private property. The cemetery contains approximately 55 tombstones. An historical marker for the town of Beula, erected by the Cambria County Historical Society, is located on Beula Road a short distance south of the trail.

Revloc is a former mining and railroad town located near the trail between Nanty Glo and Ebensburg. The name is derived from combining three letters each from Colman and Weaver, owners of the Cambria & Indiana Railroad. Another nearby town on the C&I is Colver – Colver is Revloc spelled backwards. Beth Energy operated Mine #32 in Revloc until the 1980’s.

Revloc was established in 1917. In 1995 the community was designated as a National Register Historic District. According to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, “Revloc is a typical example of coal mining communities in southwestern Pennsylvania: uniformly constructed wood-frame miners' housing, and more sturdily built, masonry and stone housing for management, company office and mine buildings, churches, a school, and a community park. The Revloc Historic District is distinctive among coal patches in the region for its use of brick veneer construction that was locally called "tile" in a large portion of the community.” Source: Jones, Karaleah S., Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Revloc Historic District, nomination document, 1994, National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places, Washington, D.C. Near Revloc the former C&I Railroad, now owned by the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority, merges with the Ghost Town Trail. It is hoped that someday a trail will be constructed on the C&I Railroad to expand the regional trail network.

Ebensburg marks the eastern terminus of the trail. The town has served as the county seat for Cambria County since 1804. Here trail visitors will find the greatest number of businesses, lodging, and restaurants, within a short driving distance from the trail.

Lake Rowena (13 acres), is situated on Ebensburg’s eastern edge. To reach the lake ride to the very end of the Ghost Town Trail, turn right on Center Street (Old Route 422) and ride down the hill to the lake. The lake has a picnic area and is a popular fishing spot throughout the year.

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St Francis University in Loretto is located 8 miles north of Ebensburg and houses The Museum of the Southern Alleghenies. Further north is Prince Gallitzin State Park (7,335 acres) which offers campground rentals and Glendale Lake a 1,632-acre reservoir for fishing and boating. Mountain bike, snowmobile and horseback riding trails are also offered.

Ebensburg, located 22 miles west of Altoona, is situated at the junction of Routes 22, 422 and 219. Altoona offers the Railroader’s Memorial Museum, the Altoona Horseshoe Curve, Lakemont Amusement Park, Altoona Curve minor league baseball, and Penn State’s Altoona Campus, among other attractions.

THE REXIS BRANCH Distance: Parking: Elevation change: Highlights:

___ 4 miles Rexis, Red Mill, White Mill 1400 feet to 1600 feet Rexis, C&I Railroad, North Branch Blacklick Creek, Downey Run, Red Mill Cottage, White Mill

_

Milepost 4

Milepost The Rexis Branch, a four-mile trail spur, is located on the former Cambria & Indiana Railroad.

1 Rexis is a small village in Indiana County that owes its existence to both lumbering and railroads. Part of the town was a company town, the remainder private property, developed by Blair Shaffer. The Vinton Lumber Company operated a large sawmill here until 1907. The lumber railroad, the Blacklick & Yellow Creek, was sold to Coleman and Weaver in 1910 to become the C&I Railroad.

The Rexis Access Area was the former location of several railroad sidings used to transfer coal cars from the Colver coal mines to the Pennsylvania Railroad. A restored C&I coal hopper car is located near the trail access area.

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Leaving Rexis heading north, the trail enters a scenic forest setting with hemlock trees, large boulders and the rushing waters of the North Branch of Blacklick Creek below. Downey Run, a pretty mountain stream that the trail passes over often spills its banks and sometimes floods the trail.

Just beyond Downey Run are the remnants of the Ebensburg Sand, Clay & Stone Company, which operated a quarry here until WWII. The company provided ten houses for its employees, four of the houses remain.

The village of Red Mill in Blacklick Township is encountered next. Red Mill was once the site of a grist mill operated by John Duncan. Duncan and his descendents also operated a farm and sawmill in Buffington Township. In later years the village housed workers of a nearby stone quarry. Red Mill is now the home of the Red Mill Cottage, which trail users can rent for an extended stay in the area. An historic iron bridge is located over the North Branch on Red Mill Road, about 800 feet from the trail.

From Red Mill to White Mill the trail continues a gradual climb.

This trail section is filled with hemlock trees, rhododendron and mountain laurel thickets, an ideal habitat for black bears. During the black bear hunting season, held before Thanksgiving, hunters often harvest some of the area’s largest black bears from here.

The trail passes underneath Route 422 on a concrete sidewalk next to the confluence of the North Branch of Blacklick Creek and Elk Creek.

Mountain laurel in bloom

At White Mill the trail reaches the start of the C&I Extension. A small parking area is available on Vic Miller Road, off Route 422.

From Rexis to White Mill the trail rises 200 feet in elevation, on one of the trail’s most scenic segments.

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THE C&I EXTENSION ______________________________________________________________________ Distance: Parking: Elevation change: Highlights:

8 miles Vic Miller Road, Expedite Road 1580 feet to 1860 feet C&I Railroad, Srtitty’s Way, Elk Creek, elevation changes, Carson’s Crossing, Belsano, Twin Rocks

C&I Extension

In 2017 the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority completed construction of an additional eight miles of trail that links to the Rexis Branch of the Ghost Town Trail. This segment, known as the C&I Extension, is named after the Cambria & Indiana Railroad, which operated on this line from 1904 to 1994. This trail section is named, Stritty’s Way, in memory of Thomas Strittmatter, a former member of the CCC&RA Board of Directors.

The C&I Railroad traces its history to 1910 when a logging railroad, the Blacklick & Yellow Creek Railroad, was put up for sale. John Heisley Weaver and B. Dawson Colman teamed up together to purchase the BL&YC Railroad to extend the line to the vast coal fields being developed in northern Cambria County. The line primarily hauled coal, but it also offered passenger service, including a C&I Railroad Hoodlebug. The C&I Railroad ultimately became one of the country’s most financially successful and well-run short line railroads.

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The October 11, 1924 train robbery was one of the most dramatic events to occur on the C&I Railroad. Bandits held up the train and stole the $33,054 Colver Mine payroll. James Gorman, a railroad guard, was shot and killed during the robbery.

The bandits escaped, two of them were found a few weeks later in Terre Haute, Indiana with $20,000 in cash. The men were sent to Rockview State Prison and on February 23, 1925, just four months after the robbery, they were electrocuted. Other bandits who participated in the robbery were never caught. Some of the money was never found, could it still be hiding somewhere along the trail?

Pennsylvania Profiles feature on The Belsano Job by Patrick Reynolds. Reprints of the Pennsylvania Profiles series are available from The Red Rose Studio.

Visit: www.redrosestudio.com The July 1977 flood, along with the eventual decline of the coal industry, lead to the railroad’s subsequent demise. The line has been reborn again as one of the most scenic and challenging sections of the Ghost Town Trail.

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Readers wanting to know more about the engaging history of the C&I Railroad are referred to The Cambria & Indiana Railroad: 90 Years, 1904 – 1994 by Jack Hill. The book contains extensive information and photographs of the railroad that was a significant part of the heritage of this area. Photo: C&I Railroad Bicentennial Caboose At the end of the 4-mile segment of the Ghost Town Trail, known as the Rexis Branch, the trail passes underneath Route 422 near Belsano, where the North Branch of Blacklick Creek and Elk Creek meet. The trail follows Vic Miller Road for a short distance before hopping back onto the rail-trail. From this point the C&I Extension begins a gradual climb until reaching a crossing of Route 271. From Route 271 to the pedestrian bridge over Route 422 the trail has a steep grade. After the Route 422 pedestrian bridge at Belsano the trail continues to Expedite Road near Twin Rocks. Over Expedite Road there are two refurbished trail bridges.The bridge crossing is known as Carson’s Crossing, after Carson Kitner, a young boy who tragically lost his life at a very early age.

There is a 280-foot change in elevation from Vic Miller Road (1580’) to Expedite Road (1860’). The steepest portion of the C&I Extension is within the two-mile segment from Route 271 (1620’) to Snake Road (1800’). Of course, remember on the way back down you can coast.

In future years the trail will extend from Expedite Road for an additional seven miles to reconnect with the Ghost Town Trail near Nanty Glo. When this addition is added it will result in a continuous loop trail of approximately 35 miles and will be one of the country’s most unique rail-trail rides.

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AT TRAIL’S END

__________

Visualize a ribbon of green that links together communities, parks, historic sites and wildlife habitat.

Master Plan for the Ghost Town Trail, October 1992 Milepost 44

The ‘ribbon of green’ envisioned in the trail master plan has become a reality. Each year thousands of people visit and explore the Ghost Town Trail. Some come for a oncein-a-lifetime visit - others are on the trail every day, like 73-year old Hank from Mundy’s Corner, who rides a remarkable 6,000 miles a year on the trail.

If you explore the Ghost Town Trail, from Blacklick to Ebensburg, you will travel 32 miles and climb from 980 feet to 2,000 feet in elevation – an elevation change of 1,020 feet over the entire distance. A side trip on the Rexis Branch and the C&I Extension will add twelve miles to your journey.

You will pass through two ancient geologic formations of the Allegheny Mountains, Chestnut Ridge and Laurel Ridge. You will see signs and symbols of iron making, lumbering, railroading and coal mining. You will experience small villages and the now silent ghost towns of Appalachia.

You will see areas of scenic natural beauty, contrasted with a landscape of stark man-made destruction. You will observe efforts to heal the wounds of this destruction to restore the land and its people.

If you are a careful observer, you will experience, first-hand, the legacy of the Blacklick Valley - its past, present and future.

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DAY TRIPS NEAR THE GHOST TOWN TRAIL

he following day trips are places to visit if you are planning an extended stay to the Ghost Town Trail, or if you visit on a regular basis and would like to explore some other nearby sites. These recommended trips are selected for their accessibility to the trail and their unique natural and historic features. This is not an all-inclusive list - only a place to start exploring what the region has to offer.

To learn more about attractions in our region visit: Indiana County Tourist Bureau www.visitindianacountypa.org

Johnstown & Cambria County Visitor’s Bureau www.visitjohnstownpa.com

1. Blacklick Valley Natural Area The Blacklick Valley Natural Area (BVNA) is a 713-acre nature preserve operated by Indiana County Parks & Trails. The Ghost Town Trail passes through the BVNA about one-half mile east of Dilltown, but the best way to access the BVNA is to enter the site on McFeaters Road off Route 22. At the end of McFeaters road is a small parking area at the 300-acre Parker Tract.

Here you will find six miles of hiking trails in a diverse natural setting. A large portion of the Parker Tract is a forested wetland with numerous vernal ponds and springs. Charcoal flats, leftover from the days of charcoal making, can be found in the upper portions of the site. A self-guided interpretive trail brochure is available for printing at the website: www.indianacountyparks.org.

Skunk cabbage, late winter at the BVNA

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2. Buttermilk Falls Natural Area Buttermilk Falls features an impressive 45-foot waterfall and scenic woodland. Buttermilk Falls is a common name for waterfalls. This Buttermilk Falls is a 48-acre natural area operated by Indiana County Parks & Trails in West Wheatfield Township.

Between 1931 and 1956 the property was owned by Fred McFeely, grandfather of Fred Rogers of children's television fame. McFeely, a wealthy industrialist from Latrobe, utilized the property as a retreat. His estate featured a cottage, horse stables, a three-car garage, outbuildings and a swimming area in the creek above the falls.

Buttermilk Falls Photo: Earl Carney, Jr.

Stone foundations and retaining walls from the former McFeely estate are visible at the site. Mr. Rogers often visited the site as a child and considered Buttermilk Falls to be a magical place.

Waterfalls the size and scope of Buttermilk Falls are uncommon in western Pennsylvania.

Falls occur when a stream wears away an easily erodible layer of rock, but then encounters a resistant layer. The resistant layer erodes at a slower rate than the surrounding rock, forming a waterfall. At Buttermilk Falls, a resistant layer of sandstone underlies easily erodible shale.

A restroom, small picnic pavilion, hiking trail, and falls observation area are available at the site.

To reach Buttermilk Falls take the Clay Pike Road exit off Route 22, near Clyde, and travel two miles south to Valley Brook Road. A small parking lot is located at the end of Valley Brook Road.

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3. Two National Park Sites There are two National Park sites within easy driving distance of the Ghost Town Trail.

These include the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site and the Johnstown Flood National Memorial. Visitation to these two sites requires an entry fee.

The Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site is located just off U.S. 22 approximately 12 miles west of Altoona and 10 miles east of Ebensburg. Take the Gallitzin Exit and follow the signs. For visitor information call (814) 886-6150.

The website for the historic site is: www.nps.gov/alpo.

The Allegheny Portage Railroad operated Lemon House, Allegheny Portage Railroad from 1834 to 1854 and was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains. It consisted of 10 inclines, over a distance of 36 miles, allowing river and canal traffic between the Ohio and the Susquehanna rivers. The Allegheny Portage Railroad played an important role in opening the interior of the United States to settlement and industry. According the National Park Service, “Allegheny Portage Railroad was a great achievement in early travel. Charles Dickens, Jenny Lind, and Ulysses S. Grant traveled over the Allegheny Mountains. They braved a system that injured passengers on a weekly basis. A system of inclined planes and a nine-hundred-foot tunnel carved through solid rock by Welsh coalminers made this feat possible.” The site also has trails, an interpretive center, ranger-lead guided walks and special events throughout the year.

The Johnstown Flood National Memorial is located off of US 219 between Ebensburg and Johnstown. Take the Saint Michael/Sidman exit. Head east on PA 869. Turn left onto Lake Road at sign for Johnstown Flood National Memorial.

The story of the 1889 Johnstown Flood is one of the most compelling stories of the late nineteenth century. The park has a visitor center featuring exhibits and offers viewings of the film “Black Friday”, which presents the story of the Lake Conemaugh before South Fork Hunting and Fishing Club and how the dramatic the flood Photo: jaha.org failure of the South Fork Dam (Lake Conemaugh) caused the destruction of Johnstown. Only Abraham Lincoln’s assassination received more press coverage than the Johnstown Flood during the 1800s.

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4. Johnstown Flood Museum, Discovery Center, and Inclined Plane The Johnstown Flood Museum, operated by the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, is located at 304 Washington Street, Johnstown PA 15901, on the corner of Washington and Walnut Streets. When you purchase a ticket to the flood museum, you also receive a ticket to the Heritage Discovery Center, which is located a half-mile away at 201 Sixth Avenue, Johnstown, 15906. The museum website is: www.jaha.org.

The museum features an extensive collection of displays, artifacts and interactive interpretive exhibits on the flood and its impact on the city and the nation. Make sure to allow time to see Charles Guggenheim’s Academy Award winning documentary film, “The Johnstown Flood”, recently transferred to high definition format.

Flood Museum Photo: jaha.org

Nearby is the Johnstown Inclined Plane, the steepest vehicular incline plane in the world. After the 1889 Johnstown Flood the city was rebuilt and new residential areas were placed on higher elevations. The Johnstown Inclined Plane was built to serve the residents of Westmont. Westmont, at top of Yoder Hill, has a grade of 70% which is too steep for a road. Construction of the incline started in 1890, and service began on June 1, 1891. The inclined plane transported people, horses and wagons up and down the steep hillside.

In addition to its normal service, the Inclined Plane was used to rescue Johnstown residents in two floods: in March 1936, when nearby residents of Johnstown escaped via the Inclined Plane; and July 1977, when it was used to bring rescuers and rescue equipment down into the valley.

There is a fee to ride the inclined plane. Senior citizens 65+ ride free, every day. Special rates apply for Inclined Plane children and groups of 20 or more. The inclined plane Photo: Courtesy of CamTran is operated by the Cambria County Transit Authority.

Contact CamTran at (814) 536-1816 for more information.

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5. Yellow Creek State Park Yellow Creek State Park is located ten miles east of Indiana, PA and fifteen miles west of Ebensburg on Route 422. The park is named for Yellow and Little Yellow creeks, tributaries of the lake. The creek names are derived from the yellow clay found in their banks and bottoms. The 2,981-acre park is along one of the first “highways� in the state, the Kittanning Path. This trail was used by the Delaware and Shawnee nations and by early settlers.

Today, visitors enjoy a sandy beach, picnicking and the educational programs. The 720-acre Yellow Creek Lake is a destination for boaters and anglers. The lake and park are an important rest stop for migrating birds and the park is designated as an Important Bird Area.

The park has five miles of hiking trails, a fifteenmile single track mountain bike trail, cabin and yurt rentals, boat rentals, swimming beach and offers an extensive environmental education series.

Camping at Yellow Creek State Park Six cottages and four yurts are available to rent at Yellow Creek State Park. The cottages are set on the lakeshore near McFeather's Cove. They sleep up to five in single or double bunks. The cottages have wooden floors, glass windows, a porch, and electric lights. Outside of each cottage are picnic tables and fire rings.

The yurts also sleep up to five in single or double bunks. They are a bit more modern than the cottages. Each yurt has a refrigerator and stove as well as tables, chairs, deck and electric lights and heat.

Yurt at Yellow Creek State Park Photo: Ken Bisbee

There are also two private campgrounds located near Yellow Creek State Park.

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6. Indiana County’s Emerald Necklace Stretching across the southern tier of Indiana County are several parks, historic sites, trails, and public lands that encompass a corridor of natural and historic features strung together like beads on an emerald necklace.

Beginning on the far western edge of Indiana County, the Emerald Necklace includes: Saltsburg, an historic canal town; the West Penn Trail, a 17mile rail-trail; Tunnelview Historic Site devoted to Tunnelview Historic Site transportation history related to the Pennsylvania Canal and railroads; Conemaugh River Lake, an 8,300 acre U.S. Army Corps of Engineers site, covering a large swath of the southwestern part of the county; Blairsville, an historic canal, railroad and underground railroad community; Hoodlebug Trail, a 10-mile rail-trail that parallels Route 119; Pine Ridge Park, a 630-acre county park; PA State Game Lands 276 and 153; the Buttermilk Falls Natural Area; the Blacklick Valley Natural Area; the Charles F. Lewis Natural Area on Route 403 near Cramer; and the Ghost Town Trail. All of these sites are located on, or very near Route 22.

Map of Indiana County’s ‘Emerald Necklace’. The Emerald Necklace is a corridor of parks, historic sites, trails and public lands stretching across the southern tier of Indiana County.

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7. Trans Allegheny Trails Location: Description:

Multiple locations in Indiana, Cambria, Blair, Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties.

A regional trail network of thirteen trails that traverse the Allegheny ridge and valley region of west-central PA. The Ghost Town Trail, Hoodlebug Trail and Blairsville Riverfront Trail are operated by Indiana County Parks & Trails.

In July 2011 the Rails to Trails Conservancy sponsored a five-day bicycle sojourn which attracted over two hundred participants from throughout the United States to our region. As a follow-up to the sojourn several regional trail operators joined together to build on the success of the sojourn. The result was the formation of Trans Allegheny Trails, a consortium of thirteen trails that traverse west-central Pennsylvania.

The purpose of the group is to jointly promote the trails and to assist each other in advocating for the completion of missing links within the trail network. Many of the trails in the Trans Allegheny Trails network were first created during the America’s Industrial Heritage Project era. Over the past decades the various trail groups have worked to implement and manage their trails. The various trail operators include private non-profit trail organizations, conservancy groups, county agencies, the Pittsburgh-to-Harrisburg Main Line Canal Greenway program and the National Park Service.

The Trans Allegheny Trails network includes rail-trails, mountain bike trails and on-road connections. Unlike the Great Allegheny Passage, which runs from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD, the Trans Allegheny Trail is not one continuous rail-trail. The Trans Allegheny Trail offers a variety of options to its users – from easy, flat rails-trails to trails with challenging hills and steep climbs. Overall, the network offers a unique way to way to see and experience west-central Pennsylvania.

The variety of trails allows the visitor to experience canals, railroads, tunnels, bridges, coal towns, wildlife areas and the scenic beauty of northern Appalachia.

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The Trans Allegheny Trails network includes: Apollo’s Kiski River Trail Bell’s Gap Trail Blairsville Riverfront Trail Lower Trail 6 to 10 Trail Ghost Town Trail Hoodlebug Trail Jim Mayer Trail Path of the Flood Roaring Run Trail Staple Bend Tunnel Trail West Penn Trail Westmoreland Heritage Trail Trans Allegheny Trails Highlights It is beyond the scope of this guidebook to provide a complete account of each trail in the Trans Allegheny network. Instead readers are referred to the Trans Allegheny Trails extensive website which includes information, interactive maps and itineraries that will help you plan a trip.

Website: www.transalleghenytrails.com

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SUPPORTING THE GHOST TOWN TRAIL

y contributing to The Indiana County Parks & Trails Legacy Fund, trail visitors can demonstrate their support of the Ghost Town Trail.

In cooperation with The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies a fund has been established on behalf of the trail.

Donations to the fund are earmarked for the trail and can be directed to the trail’s general operations, or for specific projects. All donations are tax-deductible to the maximum extent permitted by law.

To obtain a donor form or to learn more about The Indiana County Parks & Trails Legacy Fund visit: www.indianacountyparks.org/faqs/parklegacy.htm Contributions can be mailed to: The Community Foundation for the Alleghenies Somerset Trust Building 116 Market Street, Suite 4 Johnstown, PA 15901

Near Buena Vista Furnace

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & CONTRIBUTORS

any people contributed background information, photographs, maps, illustrations and drawings to compile the Ghost Town Trail Guidebook.

Others assisted with proofreading, verifying information and assisting in the guidebook’s completion.

Thanks to the following contributors: Delores Trail Stop Photo: Harry Hunt Columbus and Jack Bartock, Patrick McKinney, Karen Welsh, Raymond A. Washlaski, Tony and Penny Perman, Lee Kring, Julia Herbst, George Warholic, Harry Hunt, John Dropcho, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Catholic University Library Archives, Harrison Wick and the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Special Collections and Archives, Indiana County Historical & Genealogical Society, Indiana Gazette, Johnstown Area Heritage Association, Cambria County Transit Authority, National Park Service, Bob Eppley, Blacklick Creek Watershed Association, Mark Shields of the Mileposter Tandem Bicycle Club, Malcolm Hermann of Municipal Publications, Dave Hurst of Hurst Media Works, Rails to Trails Conservancy and the Ben Shahn Collection from the Library of Congress.

Special thanks to Denise Dusza Weber for permission to reprint historical photographs from her collection and for her extensive efforts in documenting the history of Vintondale, Wehrum and Claghorn. Also special thanks to Penny Russell for permitting use of her artwork and illustrations, and to Earl Carney, Jr. whose landscape photographs of the Blacklick Valley greatly added to the guidebook.

While many people have assisted in this effort, any errors or omissions contained in the guidebook are mine alone. If you have comments, suggestions or corrections for future editions of the guidebook please contact me.

Ed Patterson, Director E-mail: indparks@gmail.com Indiana County Parks & Trails 1128 Blue Spruce Road Indiana, PA 15701 111 | P a g e

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REFERENCES Blank, Uel. The Community Tourism Imperative: The Necessity, Opportunities, Its Potential. State College, PA: Venture Publishing Inc., 1989.

Bristow, Arch. “The Old Red Mill.” The Weekly Tribune, Johnstown, PA. 1908.

Buck, Soloman J. and Elizabeth Hawthorn Buck. The Planting of Civilization in Western Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1979.

Cowley, Malcolm. Blue Juniata: A Life. New York: The Viking Press, 1985.

Cowley, Malcolm. “My Countryside Then and Now: A Study in American Evolution.”

Harper’s Weekly, January 1929.

Edmunds, William E. “Coal in Pennsylvania (2nd ed.).” Pennsylvania Geological Survey, 4th Series, Educational Series 7, 2006.

Hasson, Charles. “The Busy Blacklick Valley: A Section of Earth Whose Industries Are Bound to Cut a Considerable Figure.” The Weekly Tribune, Johnstown, PA, January 29, 1904.

Indiana County Parks. A Master Plan for the Ghost Town Trail. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission, 1992.

Indiana County Parks, IUP Archeological Services, Thomas Harley Architects. A Master Plan for the Eliza Furnace. The Southwestern Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission, 1995.

Stephenson, Clarence D. Indiana County: 175th Anniversary History. Indiana, PA: A.G. Halldin Publishing Company, 1978.

Stewart, J.T. Indiana County Pennsylvania: Her People, Past and Present. Chicago, IL: J.H. Beers & Company, 1913.

Washliski, Raymond A., Editor and Ryan P. Washliski, Technical Editor. Index to the Bituminous Coal Mines and Coal Company Patch Towns of Indiana County, PA Internet: http://patheoldminer.rootsweb.ancestry.com/indindex1.html he Coal Weber, Denise Dusza. Delano’s Domain: A History of Warren Delano’s Mining Towns of Vintondale, Wehrum, and Claghorn, Volume 1, 1789-1930. Indiana, PA: A.G. Halldin Publishing, Company, 1991.

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Mileage Chart and Trail Maps ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪

Mileage Chart Black Lick to Dilltown Dilltown to Nanty Glo (includes Rexis Branch) Nanty Glo to Ebensburg C&I Extension

The Scott Glenn Bridge is named after a former coal mining village once located along the trail.

The bridge was constructed in 2009.

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ABOUT INDIANA C OUNTY PARKS & TRAILS Indiana County Parks & Trails offers one of Pennsylvania’s most diverse park and trail systems. County residents, and an increasing number of visitors from outside the region, enjoy a wide assortment of recreation opportunities. The park system includes regional parks, historic sites, covered bridges, natural areas and trails in a variety of settings. To learn more about Indiana County Parks & Trails visit: www.indianacountyparks.org

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