This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in Pennsylvania.
Many of the ghost towns in Pennsylvania are located in Western Pennsylvania, particularly in the Appalachian and Allegheny regions of the Rust Belt. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the mountainous parts of Pennsylvania were home to a booming coal industry. Many of these towns also housed coking facilities for the coal mined nearby, many of which still have the remains of the abandoned coke ovens.
Classifications
Barren site
Sites no longer in existence Sites that have been destroyed Covered with water Reverted to pasture May have a few difficult to find foundations/footings at most
Neglected site
Only rubble left All buildings uninhabited Roofless building ruins Some buildings or houses still standing, but majority are roofless
Abandoned site
Building or houses still standing Buildings and houses all abandoned No population, except caretaker Site no longer in existence except for one or two buildings, for example old church, grocery store
Semi-abandoned site
Building or houses still standing Buildings and houses largely abandoned Few residents Many abandoned buildings Small population
Historic community
Building or houses still standing Still a busy community Smaller than its boom years Population has decreased dramatically, to one fifth or less.
List of towns NameOther namesCountyTownshipSettledAbandonedCurrent statusRemarksAcmeWestmoreland /Fayette countiesDonegal, Mount Pleasant (Westmoreland) Bullskin (Fayette)AitchHuntingdon County1887SubmergedSubmerged to form Raystown Lake.AliceWestmoreland CountyEast Huntingdon TownshipAlviraWisetownUnion CountyGregg TownshipAndricoWestmoreland CountyDerry TownshipAntwerpClarion CountyRichland TownshipAppalachaIndiana CountyWhite TownshipAqueductIndiana CountyWest Wheatfield TownshipArdaraWestmoreland CountyNorth Huntingdon TownshipArmerfordIndiana CountyEast Wheatfield TownshipLies along the Ghost Town Trail in East Wheatfield Township in Indiana County.ArroyoElk CountySpring Creek TownshipBagdadWestmoreland CountyAllegheny TownshipBairdstownWestmoreland CountyDerry TownshipBarclayBradford CountyFranklin TownshipBells MillsIndiana CountyBlacklick TownshipBeaver CityBeaverClarion CountyBeaver Township1874HistoricA medium sized oil boom town of around 750 people. Known for having a strong temperance movement.BenningtonCambria/Blair CountyAllegheny TownshipBeulaCambria County17961804Welsh religious ghost town. Big Creek ValleyCarbon County1966SubmergedSubmerged to form Beltzville Lake.Big RunElk CountyBillmeyerBillmyerLancaster CountyBlairfourBlair CountyThe site of a quarry for Blair Limestone Company.Blue RockElk CountyAlong the Clarion-Little Toby Trail, connected to Ellmont, another ghost town, by the local landmark Blue Rock Swinging Bridge.BrackenIndiana CountyA coal mining ghost town along the Ghost Town Trail.BraddockAllegheny CountyN/ASemi-abandonedNotorious for its crumbling infrastructure and "post-apocalyptic" appearance.BrownsvilleFayette CountyN/AHistoricBuena VistaIndiana CountyBrush Valley TownshipByrnesvilleColumbia CountyConyngham TownshipCardiffLocated along the Ghost Town TrailCelestiaSullivan County1887A religious community of Millennialists.CentraliaColumbia CountySemi-abandonedA coal mining ghost town, where a fire has been burning underground for yearsCerealLindencrossWestmoreland CountyNorth Huntingdon TownshipWas a major location for breakfast cereal production plants starting in 1904 until the factories closed for good in the 1940s.ChesterHumphriesWestmoreland CountyDerry Township1644A coal mining ghost town, often known as Humphries after the owner of the mine.ClaghornIndiana CountyEast Wheatfield TownshipAlong the Ghost Town TrailCokevilleBroad FordingWestmoreland CountyDerry TownshipSubmergeda Pennsylvania Canal & coal mining ghost town, under the waters of Conemaugh River Lake. Cold SpringLebanon CountyCold Spring TownshipA township that has not had any staff or budget in the municipal government since the 1960s.Concrete CityLuzerne CountyHistoricCorduroyElk CountyHighland TownshipLocated on the Clarion River near Rushland.CorydonMcKean CountyCorydon TownshipSubmergedFlooded by Allegheny ReservoirCressonvilleBranch TownshipSchuylkill CountyCrumCrumb, CrumtownSomerset CountyBefore 18331926NeglectedAlmost all of the buildings in Crum were bought out in the late 1920s by the Berwind Corporation to keep pollution out of their watershed.CrunkletonFranklin County1772BarrenA colonial hamlet between Greencastle and Waynesboro.DahogaElk CountyJones TownshipDiasIndiana CountyBrush Valley TownshipA coal town on the Ghost Town Trail.DilltownIndiana CountyBuffington TownshipOnce an important commerce center, now sparsely populated.DunbarFrogtownFayette CountyN/AHistoricEast Fork Road DistrictPotter CountyAbsorbedEckleyLuzerne CountyFoster TownshipHistorica coal mining ghost town, now a coal mining museumEdgertonLackawanna CountyA coal mining ghost town.EdriIndiana CountyConemaugh TownshipA coal mining ghost town.EleanoraJefferson CountyMcCalmont TownshipA coal and coke company town.Elk CityKiser/Tilt-TopClarion CountyElk Township1875HistoricA large oil boom town. In 1877, the city's population reached 2,500-3,000 people. By 1881, the town had turned into a much smaller village of 494 people.EllmontElk County/Jefferson CountyA logging town famous for a rope bridge, Blue Rock Swinging Bridge, which connects it to another ghost town, Blue Rock.EmmonsSullivan CountyDavidson TownshipFormer lumber town.EmpireElk CountyA logging town with a railroad tunnel.EritonClearfield CountySandy TownshipA coal mining ghost town.FairbanksWestmoreland CountyLoyalhanna TownshipA coal mining ghost town.FerrierIndiana CountyBrush Valley TownshipA coal mining ghost town.FillmoreIndiana CountyBlacklick TownshipSubmergedFormerly along the banks of the Conemaugh River, submerged under the waters of Conemaugh River Lake after construction of the Conemaugh Dam.Forest HomeForest CityClarion CountyBeaver Township18761885BarrenA notably pleasant oil town with a population of around 500 people. It was located near an Antwerp pump station.Fort PalmerWestmoreland CountyFairfield Township1771FosterIndiana CountyConemaugh TownshipA coal mining ghost town.FoxtownWestmoreland CountyHempfield TownshipA coal mining ghost town.French AzilumBradford County1793FreytownLackawanna CountyFrick's LockChester CountyEast Coventry TownshipFrogtownWestmoreland CountySalem TownshipA coal mining ghost townFullertonClarion CountyRichland TownshipNeglectedLocated next to the Allegheny Valley Railroad between Emlenton and Foxburg. The town existed to support the storage and transportation of oil.Gold MineGazzamClearfield CountyJordan TownshipFormer mining town which was named after Joseph M. Gazzam, a state senator and an incorporator of the Beech Creek Railroad.Grays RunAn obscure logging town.Greenwood FurnaceHuntingdon CountyJackson TownshipFormerly home to a booming iron industry, the town declined after new techniques rendered its facilities obsolete.Hart TownIndiana CountyYoung TownshipOnce a coal mining town, the mines at Hart Town had closed by the start of World War II. Hazel HurstMcKean CountyOnce an important glass production town with multiple factories, all of which are now closed.HelvetiaClearfield CountyBrady TownshipA coal mining ghost townHicks RunCameron County19041912BarrenA logging town located near Route 555 in Driftwood.HolbrookGreene CountyAbandonedAlthough the greater Holbrook area still has residents, the village proper is almost entirely abandoned.HoratioJefferson CountyYoung Townshipcoal mining ghost townHowe FarmClarion CountyBeaver Township, Ashland Township18771878BarrenA small, short-lived oil boom town.HuronWestmoreland CountySalem TownshipA coal mining ghost town.InglebyFowlerCentre CountyHaines TownshipInstanterElk CountySubmergedUnder the waters of East Branch Lake.Jefferson CityJeffersonClarion CountyBeaver Township18761882BarrenFormer oil town of 1,000 people. JohnettaArmstrong CountyGilpin TownshipA brick works & coal mining ghost townJollerHuntingdon County19161979BarrenA coal mining ghost town.Kelly's StationTunneltonIndiana CountyConemaugh TownshipFormer town along the Conemaugh RiverKinzuaWarren County1963see also Kinzua CreekLackawanna No. 3Indiana CountyBuffington TownshipLocated along the Ghost Town Trail.LandrusTioga CountyAn early pioneer of using electricity in logging camps, Landrus disappeared after the railroad was redirected through a different town.LaquinBradford CountyFranklin Township1902Once a booming lumber town.Laurel RunLuzerne CountyN/ASemi-abandonedHas experienced a sharp decline in residents due to the contamination caused by the Laurel Run mine fire, which started in 1915 and is still burning.LausanneLausanne LandingCarbon CountyLily PondAn extremely small logging town on the Clarion River.LivermoreWestmoreland CountyDerry TownshipSubmergedA Pennsylvania Canal ghost town under the waters of Conemaugh River LakeLoopIndiana CountyWest Mahoning TownshipAn iron furnace & coal mining ghost townMarburgSubmergedSubmerged under Lake Marburg.MariettaWestmoreland CountyLigonier TownshipA coal mining ghost townMastenLycoming CountyMcIntyreLycoming CountyMcIntyre TownshipMcKinleyElk CountyHighland TownshipA logging/oil drilling ghost town.MecoIndiana CountyBrush Valley TownshipA coal mining ghost townMehrtenaMertina, MertenaClarion CountyBeaver Township18721878BarrenA small oil town.MiddletownLocated on the Clarion River between Corduroy and Rushland.Milford MillsSubmergedFlooded by creation of Marsh Creek LakeMillwood ShaftWestmoreland CountyDerry TownshipMongtownKnoxClarion CountyBeaver Township18721881BarrenAn oil boom town. Home to the famous St. Lawrence well.NebraskaForest CountyNelsonvilleElk CountyNemacolinGreene CountyCumberland TownshipFormerly the site of the Buckeye Coal Mine.New EnglandWestmoreland County19001932A coal mining ghost town.NewportIndiana CountyBlacklick TownshipBefore colonization (possibly 8,000 years bce)1820sBarren/historicA former Native American settlement. In 2019, Indiana University of Pennsylvania students of archaeology began excavation at the site.Newtown MillsForest CountyKingsley TownshipNorwichMcKean CountyA town that once housed 5,000 residents.Old Patton (Wakena)Westmoreland CountyBell TownshipA coal mining ghost townOwl's NestElk CountyHighland TownshipA logging/oil drilling ghost townPandamoniaPandemoniumPerry CountyLocated in the Tuscarora State Forest.PealeClearfield CountyCooper TownshipCoal mining ghost townPembertonHuntingdon CountyFranklin TownshipPetroleum CenterVenango CountyCornplanter TownshipPickwickParis CityClarion CountySalem Township1872-18731880-1881BarrenAn oil boom town, named for the Pickwick Club of St. Petersburg.Pig’s EarElk CountyHighland TownshipSemi-abandonedAn oil drilling ghost townPitholeVenango CountyCornplanter TownshipAn oil drilling ghost townPoe MillsCentre CountyA former logging town, now the site of Poe Paddy State Park.Port PerryAllegheny CountyNorth Versailles Township1945PoweltonCentre CountyA coal mining ghost townPoweltonHuntingdon CountyA coal mining ghost townQuaker BridgeRattling RunRausch GapLebanon CountyCold Spring TownshipRed HotAllegheny CountyWest Deer TownshipAlong Saxonburg BoulevardRed ShaftA coal mining ghost townRickettsSullivan/Wyoming countiesColley (Sullivan)