Dead Man's Hollow

Dead Mans Hollow
Protected Conservation Area
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
Counties Elizabeth Township, Liberty Borough, and Lincoln Borough
Coordinates 40°19′08″N 79°51′17″W / 40.31896°N 79.85477°W / 40.31896; -79.85477Coordinates: 40°19′08″N 79°51′17″W / 40.31896°N 79.85477°W / 40.31896; -79.85477
Highest point 331 feet
Location of Dead Man's Hollow in Pennsylvania
Website:

Dead Man's Hollow is a 450-acre conservation area.[1] It is private protected conservation area and the largest in Allegheny County.[2]

Natural history

Dead Man's Hollow is considered the largest protected area in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is also the most undisturbed tributary valley in the Youghiogheny River Valley. The park is located about 500 feet inland from the Mononghela River.[2]

Conservationists have made progress in removing non-native, invasive plant species. Most of the conservation area is beneath a canopy of native hardwoods. Twenty-four species of birds have been found in the area.[1] In January 2017, the Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources designated the area was a Wild Plant Sanctuary.[2]

History

Beehive ovens used to convert coal into coke, a necessary ingredient needed for steel production

Ruins of former industrial companies are also in the park. 'Ruin's Trail' leads to old coal kilns and the abandoned buildings of an abandoned pipe factory which was destroyed by fire about 1920 The historical basis for the name of the area is a local legend that accounts a discovery of the dead body of a man hanged from a tree by some boys about 1870.[2]

Recreation

A biker approaching Dead Man's Hollow (about 100 yards to the left)

The Great Allegheny Passage bike and hiking trail borders the area. The trail extends from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Washington, DC. Within the conservation area itself there are about six miles of multipurpose trails.[2] In 2013, the trail provided access to the area and was completed (from West Homestead to Pittsburgh).[3] It was described as the "most open trail miles in the nation"[4] Within the hollow itself, eight miles of hiking trails can be found.[1] Local legend suggests that a ghost resides in the area.[5]

The ruins of a pipe factory in Dead Man's Hollow

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dead Man's Hollow - Allegheny Land Trust". Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Flannick, James (March 17, 2017). "New Life For Dead Man's Hollow". Pittsburgh Post Gazette. pp. LX-1, LX-2.
  3. ↑ Jones, Diana Nelson (June 15, 2013). "Riders hit trail as last link in Great Allegheny Passage opens". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  4. ↑ Jones, Diana Nelson (June 16, 2013). "Bicyclists celebrate reaching end of Great Allegheny Passage trail". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. ↑ "Dead Man's Hollow Destination Stickers in Memory of John Bendzuch", (2012), McKeesport, Pennsylvania, McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center.


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