Dead Man's Hollow

A 450-acre conservation area along the Youghiogheny River that earned its ominous name in 1874 when adolescent boys discovered a decomposed body hanging by a noose. The hollow became the setting for many dark tales including murders, gunfights, explosions, and mysterious drownings over the following decades.

Dead Man's Hollow is a 450-acre conservation area along the Youghiogheny River just south of McKeesport, spanning Liberty Borough, Lincoln Borough, and Elizabeth Township. Owned by the Allegheny Land Trust since 1996, it is the largest privately protected natural area in Allegheny County—and one of the most haunted hiking spots in America.

The hollow earned its grim name in 1874 when a group of boys roaming through the woods came upon a decomposed body hanging by a noose. The victim was never identified and no one was ever charged. This discovery set the tone for what would become a series of dark tales: suspicious drownings, violent gunfights, tragic explosions, and lightning strikes.

In 1880, Ward McConkey shot and killed shop owner George McClure during a robbery gone wrong in the hollow. McConkey was convicted and hanged for the murder, but locals say his ghost—or perhaps McClure's—still haunts the area. In 1883, four quarry workers lit a fire too close to explosives, causing a deadly blast that killed them all. Mike Sacco died in an elevator accident at the Union Sewer Pipe Company in 1905 when he became wedged between the second-floor ceiling and the rising elevator floor.

Edward Woods, a 74-year-old man, drowned in the Youghiogheny River and washed ashore at Dead Man's Hollow. Some suspected foul play and believe his spirit still wanders the banks. In 1934, a man rowing his boat on the river reported seeing a Native American ghost rise from the water—adding to the legend that the hollow is haunted by entities predating colonial settlement.

Visitors often return with unexplainable stories: shadowy presences following them through the woods, strange odors with no source, and voices when no one else is near. Local lore also claims the area is home to a cryptid—a massive snake spotted through the years. The remnants of the Bowman Brickyard and Union Sewer Pipe Company can still be found throughout the conservation area, crumbling monuments to the industries that once thrived here before a devastating fire ended operations in 1920.