The Ghost of the Eliza Furnace
by Cheri Sicard

WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA, USA -- About halfway along the Ghost Town Trail, a shaded, limestone packed hiking, biking and equestrian road that runs through Cambria and Indiana counties in Western Pennsylvania, visitors will encounter the Eliza Furnace, and if they're lucky, its legendary ghost.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, the furnace operated from 1846 to 1849 and at its peak employed more than ninety workers and produced over 1000 tons of iron per year. Unfortunately, prosperity was short lived for furnace owners David Ritter and George Rodgers. The trials and tribulations of transporting iron by horse team to nearby Johnstown, coupled with poor quality ore, dropping iron prices and a host of other problems lead to the closing of the furnace just three short years after it opened.

Several legends exist about the furnace and its owners. On a recent visit, the most popular local tales told of Ritter being so distraught over his financial ruin, he hanged himself inside the furnace. Another story has the cause of Ritter's distress being the loss of his wife who alledgedly ran off with his business partner George Rodgers. Still another claims that Ritter's son had fallen into the furnace and died, leaving the father so overwrought he committed suicide. Whatever the reason behind Ritter's self-inflicted demise, sightings of his ghost have been frequently reported haunting the site of Eliza Furnace, especially in the evenings and at night.

Today the furnace remains remarkably well preserved. In fact it's one of the few furnaces in the world with its hot blast coils still intact. The Eliza Furnace is part of the Ghost Town Trail, accessible from PA 271 and U.S. 22. The site features a trailside picnic area and restrooms and is a great rest point for those cycling the trail, although it can also be accessed by auto.

The Ghost Town Trail, part of the Rails to trails project, is so named because it passes through the site of six former coal mining towns, including the once prosperous Wehrum and Bracken. Abondoned in the 1930s, little physical evidence of the towns still exist, but a few ghosts remain including a beautiful "white" lady who wanders the area of the "Bracken Dip" searching for the lover who murdered her here.

Practicalities

For more information about the Ghost Town Trail call the Indiana County Parks department at 724-463-8636 or visit their website at www.indianacountyparks.org.

The Dillweed Bed & Breakfast is a quaint place to stay right on the route of the Ghost Town Trail in Dilltown, PA. For more information call 814-446-6464 or visit their website at www.dillweedinc.com.

If you didn't bring your own bicycles, you can rent them in Dilltown at the Just Peddlin' Bike Rental adjacent to the trail (call 814-446-6835) or in Vintondale at the Trailside Bike Shop (call 814-749-7990).

If you need to fly to Western Pennsylvania, US Airways has service to Pittsburgh as well as Altoona, call 800-428-4322 for reservations or visit their website at www.usairways.com.

In the Nearby Area:

Cheri Sicard, a former circus performer and magician, and full time adventurer, is the editor of FabulousTravel.com and its sister site FabulousFoods.com. She lives in Playa del Rey, California with her dog Zoey. Follow this link to learn more about Cheri.