In the most remote parts of central Pennsylvania there are a string of state game lands that go by the name of “St Anthony’s Wilderness”. And on a mountain ridge, accessible only by hiking in, are the ruins of a small coal-mining community around the village known as Yellow Springs. An identifying sign along the Appalachian Trail (see second image) notifies the visitor that in the 1850’s there had been homes there. Now, however, the forest has swallowed all but a few crumbling remains.
You can see Stone Tower in the first image, which is over a quarter mile from the village, but still has some recognizable elements of a chimney or air vent and walled structure used for the mining process. In the third picture you can make out an old well from Yellow Springs, even though moss and debris obscure the view.
The Yellow Springs are high stop the ridge of Stoney Mountain, and it is hard to imagine folks having an easy life here. Mining is just a rough livelihood in general, but even when folks clearcut the forest the ground was so rocky that it would not have easily yielded crops. At one point there was a railroad that at least connected some of the local mining towns — no traces of this remain today. The type of coal in Yellow Springs was soon found to be inferior, and after the trees were logged the entire area’s economic base collapsed. By the early 20th century Yellow Springs was abandoned entirely.
If you hike in, the quiet sounds of crickets, birds, and wind in the trees completely contrast with the noises that once must have dominated 170 years ago.
