Bear Valley Ghost Town, Dauphin County

jeff of pa

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Bear+Valley+Store.jpg DSCF0006(1).JPG
Ever here of the town of Bear Valley?
This is the general store for the town of Bear Valley! .....Yes there was a
village that existed near the RCTR Club ! From about the mid 1800's till as
late as the 1960's people lived back the entrance road of the club. In fact
it was about 2 miles farther west of the camp entrance, just beyond the
gates on the "Now - State Game Lands". The village was created to house the
workers of the Susquehanna Coal Co (The ruins of that mine still exist
today) The mine closed around 1930, but some stayed for the solitude of
mountain living. .Nothing of
the town remains today. even the clearing has grown full of trees. Here is
a diagram of the town.


town+of+bear+valley.jpg

Bear+Valley+School+1916fff.jpg
Bear Valley School,
Class of 1916". Yes this town also suported a one room school house.
 

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jeff of pa

jeff of pa

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(Above)This is "Shaft #1" which stood a bit north east of the gates. It was the smaller if the 2 mines and included 2 downward shafts. The coal was brought up and out of the mine and transported by a small locomotive southward to the shaft #2 area.

Susquehanna+Shaft+1.jpg

This "Shaft #2", south west of the gates, had the use of 4 downward shafts. here they never brought the coal completely out of the ground. Instead they brought it up to a tunnel that ran parallel with the ground and moved it south to another service tunnel.

Susquehanna+shaft+2+pic.jpg
 

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jeff of pa

jeff of pa

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100_1961.jpg

The coal from the 2 mines was then transported through a big service tunnel called "The Wiiliamstown Tunnel". This tunnel was bored completely through the southern side of the Big Lick Mountain. It was over a mile long and some of the miners actually walked through it every day to get to work. Weekends it was used for recreation. On the southern side stood the town of Williamstown and a huge breaker that processed the coal. (Below are some pictures of the Williamstown Tunnel) Because it is now owned by the State Game Commission, they have closed it off for saftey reasons

Williamstown+Tunnel+BV+Side.jpg
 

dillen013

Tenderfoot
Aug 3, 2014
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Thanks for the post,
Iv'e been trying to get a mental picture of what was happening on the mountain when they where mining it.
 

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jeff of pa

jeff of pa

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some more info on location

Untitle.jpg

brva.jpg

2015bv.jpg

1938

10438bearvalley.jpg


the Town October 15 1938
101538.jpg

September 13, 1958
91358.jpg

2015/16
2015town.jpg

the Colliery

October 4, 1938
10438collery.jpg

October 15, 1938
101538collery.jpg

Colliery

2015/16

2015collery.jpg

collery.jpg

Bear Valley

October 4, 1938
10438bearvalley.jpg
 

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jeff of pa

jeff of pa

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The star-independent. (Harrisburg, Pa.), 26 May 1915.

d.jpg

DSCF0004.JPG

DSCF0005.JPG
 

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dillen013

Tenderfoot
Aug 3, 2014
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Thanks for the additions Jeff, your last post with the attachment list wouldn't open the links but the rest of it was great.

I have been marking pins on google earth and the pics are a big help. At some point I want to try and locate the town, too bad it's on state game land. I have been having a lot of fun just looking into it.
 

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jeff of pa

jeff of pa

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see if this one opens

DSCF0001(1).JPG

a.JPG

b.JPG

c.JPG

d.JPG

DSCF0002.JPG

DSCF0003(1).JPG
 

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jeff of pa

jeff of pa

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DSCF0004(1).JPG

DSCF0005(1).JPG

DSCF0006.JPG

DSCF0007.JPG


DSCF0008.JPG

DSCF0009.JPG
 

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jeff of pa

jeff of pa

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(1).JPG
(2).JPG

DSCF0007(1).JPG
 

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jeff of pa

jeff of pa

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