Livermore, PA

We’re kicking off our Pennsylvania series in Andi’s home state, where history runs deep and ghost stories run even deeper. Pennsylvania began in 1681 when King Charles II granted William Penn land for his “holy experiment,” a colony built on freedom and fairness. From the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia to the steel mills of Pittsburgh, this state has always been a keystone in America’s story.

But not all of its history stays in the past. Just outside of Andi’s hometown lies Livermore, once a bustling canal and railroad town founded in 1827 along the Conemaugh River. Floods battered it for decades, and after the catastrophic St. Patrick’s Day Flood of 1936, the Army Corps of Engineers built the Conemaugh Dam. By the 1950s, the town was gone, submerged beneath a reservoir.

Locals say Livermore never truly disappeared. Some blame a curse from a woman executed for witchcraft long before the town existed. Hikers report hearing cries on the wind, seeing a hunched figure in the woods, or catching sight of a ghostly train’s headlight gliding silently where tracks once ran. The old cemetery still sits above the water, where visitors feel cold spots, see flashlights flicker out, and hear phantom footsteps.

When the water is low, you can sometimes glimpse chimneys from the drowned town. Walk the West Penn Trail if you dare, but go with respect, and never after dark. Livermore’s story might be buried, but its spirits are still very much awake.