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Nelsonville Brick Park
580 Lake Hope Dr., Nelsonville - MAP IT
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Nelsonville was known as a prominent center for brick production. The town’s bricks were known for their high quality and were used in building products throughout the United States. At its height, the Nelsonville Brick Co. was crafting 25 million bricks a year and baking them in what looked like giant beehive-shaped ovens with tall smoke stacks. By the 1930s, brick production had slowed down and the Nelsonville Brick Co. soon closed its doors.
While most of the company was torn down, a few of the beehives and smokestacks still exist, including at a place called Nelsonville Brick Park, open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Here, visitors can look inside one of the ovens and read historical signage that tells more about the town’s brick history.
Hillandale Bridge “The Bridge to Nowhere”
27560 Tremaine Dr., Euclid - MAP IT
Built in the late 1920s, the Hillandale Bridge (a concrete, arched design) in Euclid was meant to connect the residents of a new housing development on the outskirts of town with the rest of the community. To do so, a ravine had to be crossed, so a bridge was built. However, due to the onset of the Great Depression, the housing development never came to fruition and a bridge to nowhere was left standing in the middle of the woods, never to be utilized.
A visit to the bridge today shows that this place won’t be around much longer. The bridge itself is deteriorating at a rapid rate and there are actually holes that drop down quite a few feet from the top of the bridge to the ravine below. Almost every free space of concrete has been vandalized.
If you want to see it before it’s gone, the bridge is located at Hillandale Park. There are no signs pointing to it, but a clear path in the woods (and a very short walk) can be found in the southeast corner of the park.
The Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
In a moment, we’ll tell you about Centralia, Pennsylvania, a place that, in reality, is pretty underwhelming to visit. However, the nearby Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike is worth visiting—especially if you’re interested in a rugged, uncertain adventure that, although legal to do, doesn’t feel like it…
The 13 mile stretch of abandoned highway (open to hikers and cyclists) contains the remains of a four-lane road and two abandoned tunnels that were once part of the nearby Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76), located at its intersection with I-70 in Breezewood. (It's next to this church at MAP IT)
The turnpike opened in 1940 and was known as the “Tunnel Highway” because it featured seven different mountain tunnels. The problem was, each tunnel was originally built for the railroad and was so narrow that only one lane of car traffic (on either side) could fit through at any given time. Needless to say, as highway traffic increased in the 1950s, this caused major traffic issues. By the late 1950s, it was realized that something had to be done. Plans were made to widen some of the tunnels and abandon and bypass others. The Sideling Hill Tunnel and the Rays Hill Tunnel, plus 13 miles of the highway that connected them, was determined to be easier to bypass than to expand and, along with a former travel center, was abandoned in 1968, and has remained so ever since.
After all these years, the road is in surprisingly good condition and the tunnels are steady and safe. The Sideling Hill Tunnel is the most impressive part of the highway and was the longest of the original seven tunnels. It spans nearly 6,800 feet through the mountain and takes quite a while to ride or walk through, and it gets very dark in the middle!
The highway and its tunnels have had a colorful second life. In the 1970s, they were used to test the use of rumble strips (now common place), as well as to train highway maintenance workers. In the early 2000s, the U.S. military used the abandoned highway to train soldiers for Iraq. Even earlier, the military had considered using the tunnels to store weapons and the highway as a landing strip.
At left is an image from Wikipedia Commons that shows the abandoned turnpike (left) and the “new” one at right.
Because of its post-apocalyptic appearance (and vibe), the highway has been used in several films, including The Road with Viggo Mortensen in 2008.
At this time, several groups are working to make the abandoned highway an official bike trail. Until then, all non-motorized vehicles are welcome. Just remember with either hiking or biking, there are no amenities along the trail, so be prepared before you leave.
An official parking area for accessing the old highway is located at the intersection of U.S. 30 (Lincoln Highway) and Tannery Rd. in Breezewood, just behind the Mt. Zion Church at 16651 Lincoln Highway. Nearby is a TA Travel Center where you can stock up on snacks and drinks before exploring this abandoned part of Pennsylvania’s past.
Centralia, Pa. - Silent Hill - MAP IT
As the inspiration for a haunted town in the popular horror film, Silent Hill, and featured in numerous television programs, you would think that visiting the abandoned town of Centralia in central Pennsylvania would be an interesting experience. But, you’d be wrong.
At one time not long ago, just like the story of the “The World’s Greatest Mine Fire” in Ohio in 1884, people drove from miles around to see the coal fires that burned beneath Centralia. However, compared to the Ohio fire, the Centralia fire is a much more recent event, having started in 1962. It still burns today at depths of about 300 feet over an eight-mile area, and smoke still rises from the ground.
It is debated about how the coal seam beneath the town caught fire, but it had to do with the handling of an old strip mine that was being used as a city landfill and that needed cleaned up. One idea was to burn the landfill trash in the mine and seal it up, which is what was attempted. However, the coal seam beneath the trash ignited (others say it was already burning) and it is now expected to burn for another 250 years.
The fire and poisonous gases were so bad in the area that, in 1962, the population began to dwindle. Over the years, it dropped from 1,500 residents to about 5 people at the last count in 2017.
While there were many empty houses and buildings (and other signs of life) in the early years of the abandonment of Centralia, today, it is nothing more than a grid of empty streets that is slowly being overtaken by nature. There are only a few buildings left standing (one being a fire station, of course) but soon, it will probably be hard to tell that anything was ever here. The same goes with an old abandoned section of highway near town that used to be a popular tourist spot, but that is now plowed up and less interesting to see.
Maybe the only interesting places to see in the town (but certainly not worth driving out of your way) are the areas where smoke is often still rising out of the ground, but not always. The locations for each plume of smoke can be found on Google Maps. Sadly, many areas around the town are used as a dump, which also takes away from the experience.
If you happen to be in the area, which is unlikely because of its remote location, Centralia is a short but interesting detour. Otherwise, it’s not interesting enough.
The Only Geyser in the Eastern United States
2-528 Big Mine Run Rd., Ashland - MAP IT
This is actually not true. There are no geysers in the eastern United States. But, a hole in the ground next to a small creek on the outskirts of Ashland, Pennsylvania (near Centralia) sure looks like one! Technically, the Big Mine Run Geyser, as it is called, is a carbon dioxide-driven cold water spring that appears to mimic the eruption of a geyser. This happens due to the buildup of carbon dioxide gas within the water in the abandoned mine shafts beneath Ashland. As the pressure increases, it forces water to the surface and it erupts through the ground.
There is no fanfare given to this location. It is simply there, next to the road in a residential area, with no signage or place to sit. However, the orange rocks (iron oxidation) and clear white water spouting from the ground are hard to miss, and you are allowed to be there, so feel free to look around.
Just like Centralia, you probably don’t want to go out of your way to visit the Big Mine Run Geyser, but if you’re in the area, it’s definitely unique! Plus, there are two more related sites in Ashland: the Museum of Anthracite Mining and the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine & Steam Train, which is on display at Higher Ups Park.
The New Jersey Pine Barrens
I hate to admit this, but the reason I dragged my children to the New Jersey Pine Barrens a number of years ago is because of a movie I saw when I was a kid—one that many people think is terrible, but that I always enjoyed. It’s called Nothing But Trouble. It was directed by and stars Dan Aykroyd, plus Chevy Chase, Demi Moore and John Candy. If that sounds like a powerhouse of talent, think again. It bombed at the box office and Aykroyd has never directed again.
To be fair, the film has since garnered a cult-like following. I don’t suggest watching it, but, the gist of the story has to do with a group of city dwellers who get lost in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey and get into trouble with the yokels.
The Pine Barrens is a huge, desolate area of southern New Jersey that’s covered almost entirely by pine trees. It was once part of the iron ore boom of the late 18th century, which eventually went bust. Just like so many places mentioned in this magazine, it now contains abandoned towns and iron furnaces that the public can visit. They’re often located in the middle of what seems like nowhere!
In the film, the city dwellers end up interacting with a wide range of strange characters, including a wealthy and demented judge who lives in a giant mansion that’s surrounded by ghost towns and burning underground fires, and who doesn’t like outsiders.
It turns out the movie is based on exaggerated versions of several real abandoned towns in the Pine Barrens, namely Batsto Village (an 18th century ironworking and glassmaking town) and Atsion, an 18th century ironworks village and sawmill. Both places were considered “company towns” where the company/land owner lived in a lavish mansion and his employees lived in meager accommodations around the property. After the decline of the iron industry in the area, the towns and mansions were abandoned and are now open as parks.
Maybe not an exaggeration from the movie is how easy it is to get lost in the Pine Barrens. The forested region contains more than 500 miles of unpaved roads and trails! It is not uncommon to find abandoned houses and structures along the roads and to discover that almost every square mile looks the same! While my children and I didn’t meet any strange characters (in fact, everyone was very friendly!) or get lost on our trip, we did get to tour some of the old mansions and company towns, as well as to explore dozens of abandoned places within the region. It was also interesting to see the huge blueberry farms that prosper in the region, as well as the mix of coastal and wooded ecosystems coexisting in the area.
Besides the “ghost towns” and tours, pretty much everything to do in the Pine Barrens is recreational, from hiking, biking and kayaking to off-roading and camping.
In the end, the whole area is not as strange as the movie made it seem, but it sure is an odd and unique place to visit.
