From the Fire, Came the Floods

If the Appalachia region has anything, it’s urban legends and stories of cryptids and creatures that lurk in the trees. These stories are made evermore eerie by the ruins and abandoned structures reclaimed by nature sprinkle throughout the hills. Somewhere between the skin walkers and mimics, there are stories of ghost towns with ominous histories. One such town, is Livermore, Pennsylvania.

As the story goes, an unnamed witch was taken with the beauty of Livermore and settled herself in the town, enchanting and bewitching her neighbours. This mysterious woman was later burned at the stake and with her last words cursed the town. I spent some time digging for an historical record of such an execution in the state and came up empty. What I did find is room to entertain the possibility that an unsanctioned execution could have happened. The town of Livermore, Pennsylvania was established in 1827 and never grew to more than two hundred and eleven people. Small town, vigilante justice would not have been entirely unheard of at the time and superstitions likely ran high—especially in some podunk canal town. With  her last words, this witch is said to have damned the town and its people to ruins and floods. Again, there is no evidence of her existence . However, two centuries ago, it would have been easy enough to erase someone’s records of existence. Identities were easily stolen and created than they are today, and it’s still an issue. Sometimes, the only proof we have of a birth or death or execution are the stories passed down through generations. The legend of the witch who cursed Livermore is one such story, but the devastation she’s said to have promised is supported by history.
The Johnstown Flood of 1889 was catastrophic and left Livermore residents displaced at best. Newspapers from across the state featured requests for donations and relief for the surviving state residents affected by the damage. More than two thousand lives were claimed by The Great Flood of 1889. Still, the town reached its peak population the following year and for the next thirty-five years the population steadily declined. The Great St. Patrick’s Day Flood of 1936 claimed an estimated eighty lives, though those records are also difficult to confirm or disprove. From then on, the town’s population steadily declined until  Livermore was condemned in 1952. The remaining fifty-seven residents were then evacuated and the town was razed and flooded, in part for the construction of the Conemaugh Lake Dam which was intended to prevent future flooding. During this process, the local cemetery was moved, and many believe this accounts for a great deal of the unrest experienced by those who come to explore the area.
The legends and reported experiences of visitors has attracted countless visitors to the area over the years. This has unfortunately resulted in increased police patrols in the immediate vicinity of the cemetery, to minimize vandalism and criminal trespass. However, sources say that activity is experienced on the trail, as well as some great visuals of the cemetery.
Should you choose to visit for yourself, please be respectful of those both those living and not.

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