Pennsylvania’s vibrant past, combined with advances in society, has inevitably led to many places – schools, prisons, hospitals, churches, and even entire towns – being abandoned. Many of those abandoned sites sit empty. Some offer tours to curious visitors, while others have been turned into museums. Visit these nine abandoned places in PA on this awesome road trip that will take you to some fascinating spots.

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1. Pithole City
Pithole City, Cornplanter Township, PA 16341, USA
Flickr/Plazak
You asked for it*, so let’s start our road trip at Pithole, a former ghost town in Pennsylvania that once had the United States’ first commercial oil well. Only about six miles from Oil Creek State Park, the town once boomed, boasting dozens of hotels, homes, a theater, a railroad, and more than 20,000 residents in 1865. By 1877, however, the town had been abandoned. Prospectors headed to newly discovered oil wells nearby. Pithole sat abandoned until 1972 when a Visitor Center was built. Today, visitors flock to that center to learn more about the former ghost town that once thrived in the mid-19th century.
2. Centralia
Centralia, PA, USA
Wikipedia/JohnDS
Centralia, Pennsylvania still has less than a dozen of its original residents but, for the most part, it has become a virtual ghost town. Fire swept through the mines in 1962 and continues to burn today. Experts speculate the fire could burn for hundreds of years. The fire resulted in the exodus of the majority of townspeople with the town itself being condemned in 1992. For anyone looking for an in-depth history and tour of Centralia, the video below is very informative:

3. Penn Hills Resort, Poconos
Penn Hills, PA, USA
Wikipedia/Idamantium
The abandoned Penn Hills Resort in the Pocono Mountains gives glimpses into what once must have been at this former honeymoon resort that permanently shut down in 2009. Originally opened in 1944, the more than 100-room hotel sat on 500 acres that included a golf course, a ski resort, an ice skating rink, and an outdoor swimming pool. It’s also said that fugitive Eric Frein, who murdered one Pennsylvania state trooper and injured another, wrote his "manifesto" on the walls of the abandoned resort. If you've never heard of this abandoned resort in Pennsylvania, well - now you have.

4. Pennhurst State School and Hospital, Spring City
Pennhurst State School, 1205 Commonwealth Dr, Spring City, PA 19475, USA
Chris Taylor / Google Reviews
Pennhurst State School and Hospital opened in 1908 and functioned as a school and a hospital for the physically and mentally disabled. Lurid tales eventually crept out of the site with people alleging that patients were tortured with young children confined to cribs for years on end, and allegations of sexual abuse of patients. The campus of the school and the hospital were connected by underground tunnels. The court ordered Pennhurst to close in 1986 and, since then, the abandoned campus has become a must-visit for the curious.

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5. Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia
Eastern State Penitentiary, 2027 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19130, USA
Wikipedia/Carol M. Highsmith
Eastern State Penitentiary, the one-time home of Al Capone, set the standard for prison operations when it opened in 1829. In fact, several hundred prisons in the United States modeled themselves after the Pennsylvania prison. Eastern State Penitentiary remained in operation until 1971. Today, while it’s technically still an abandoned prison, it has been transformed into a must-visit museum that features an audio tour, artistic installations, and a firsthand look at the historic building. This is easily one of the most notoriously haunted places in PA.

6. Old York County Prison, York
319 Chestnut St, York, PA 17403, USA
Flickr/Jimmy Emerson, DVM
The Old York County Prison sits on private property. However, you can still catch a glimpse of the now abandoned building that once housed York County’s prisoners. Opened in 1907, prisoners used the prison walls as their own canvas, scrawling obscenities and slogans and even drawing artistic portraits of figures such as Jimi Hendrix. Many also spoke of the prison being haunted by the strong smell of cigarette smoke wafting in the air when no one was there. The Old York County Prison, which closed in the 1970s, is located on Chestnut Street.
7. Fricks Locks, Pottstown
Wikpedia/James Bubeck
Snuggled against the Schuylkill Canal, Fricks Locks’ first farm appeared in 1757 and, from there, Fricks Locks became a vibrant community that continued to grow late into the 20th century. Then, however, fate stepped in when a nuclear power plant was built across the river from the village. That, combined with the canal becoming obsolete, resulted in the village being abandoned. To this day, Fricks Locks Village is a place worth visiting.
8. Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike, near Breezewood
Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike, Abandoned Pennsylvania Tpke, Breezewood, PA 15533, USA
Wikipedia/Jgera5
Most, if not all, Pennsylvanians have traveled on the Pennsylvania Turnpike at least once. But, did you know that a 13-mile stretch of the turnpike was shut down in 1968 in lieu of a more convenient stretch of road? Those 13 abandoned miles, which activists have fought for years to have turned into a bike path, include Rays Hill Tunnel and Sideling Hill Tunnel. The abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike draws cyclists, hikers, photographers, and curiosity seekers for its sheer isolation and beauty.
9. Larimer School, Pittsburgh
Larimer, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USA
Flickr/Brook Ward
Larimer School dates back to 1896. The once-elegant building, now but a shell of its former self, boasted terrazzo floors and marble paneling. As attendance began to drop in the 1970s, Larimer School eventually permanently shut its doors in 1980, and it has sat abandoned ever since. The Larimer School, however, isn’t destined to remain forgotten. In fact, a developer recently purchased the building and plans to turn it into affordable housing for Pittsburghers. This abandoned school in Pennsylvania is forever one of our favorites!

Ready for a road trip to these abandoned places in PA? Or, maybe you’re in the mood for a road trip that promises a little more of a quaint experience? Then take small town road trip through Pennsylvania’s most picturesque towns.

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More to Explore

Abandoned Places In PA

Beth Price-Williams | January 23, 2020
  1. What is the most famous abandoned place in Pennsylvania?

Abandoned places in Pennsylvania are pretty easy to find, no matter where you live in the state. Perhaps the largest abandoned spot in Pennsylvania is an abandoned stretch of PA Turnpike. The 13-mile stretch, shut down and abandoned in the 1960s, features two tunnels – Rays Hill Tunnel and Sideling Hill Tunnel. The abandoned PA Turnpike is popular with hikers and bikers.

Another almost abandoned yet famous spot in Pennsylvania is Centralia. The not-quite ghost town has just between five and 10 residents, the majority pushed out by a fire that’s been burning in a coal mine below the town since the early 1960s.

 

2. What is the most haunted place in Pennsylvania?

If you like exploring haunted places in Pennsylvania, you’ll find a ton. Van Sant Covered Bridge in New Hope, for example, is also known as Crybaby Bridge and is said to be haunted by a distraught mom. Many years ago, a mom threw her newborn from the bridge then she hanged herself from the rafters of the bridge itself. Today’s visitors tell of hearing the sounds of footsteps on the roof of the covered bridge – said to be the mom looking for her baby. If you listen closely enough, you might also hear the anguished cries of that baby.

3. Can I go ghost hunting in Pennsylvania?

If you’re in the mood for ghost hunting, embark on a haunted road trip in Pennsylvania that will take you to some of the state’s most storied and haunted sites. Hit the road on this haunted road trip, for example, where you’ll visit Mishler Theater in Altoona, Hansell Road in Buckingham, and Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.

You can also join guided ghost hunts in numerous spots throughout Pennsylvania. Ghost Hunts USA, for example, leads overnight ghost hunts at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, said to be one of the most haunted places in Pennsylvania.

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