The story of this Pennsylvania ghost town is equal parts intriguing and heartbreaking. Yellow Dog started out as a prosperous mining town. However, life in this tiny community soon fell apart. The most fascinating part of Yellow Dog’s story is how many photos remain from when it was a living, breathing town.

Yellow Dog is definitely one of the most well-preserved ghost towns in the East.

Photo Credit

In the 1890s, mining operations began in the local limestone quarries. Workers and their families soon flocked to the beautiful new hamlet.

Flickr/Architectural Afterlife

By the 1920s, Yellow Dog was home to just under 1,000 residents.

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

The term “yellow dog” means a cowardly or spineless person.

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

The town got its colorful name because the miners were said to agree to anything the mining company wanted in exchange for higher wages and better treatment.

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

In the 1930s, rumors started that a mine collapse had killed a local miner, and that the company that owned the mines had covered up the death.

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

When the Great Depression hit, the mines began to close for long periods of time. Some people say that the rumored death also had something to do with the closures.

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

In 1952, the mines closed for good. People began to leave Yellow Dog, and the town’s population dwindled.

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

The last residents vacated in 2011, leaving the entire town empty and quiet.

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

The homes and buildings are remarkably well-preserved, and filled with old personal effects.

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

You really get the feeling that this place could come back to life at any moment.

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

In 2014, Joseph Meyer and Amber Glaslow purchased the entire town with the intent to turn it into a historic “camp,” where people can come and live for a few days just as the original residents of Yellow Dog once did.

Photo Credit

Flickr/Architectural Afterlife

Johnny Joo via Architectural Afterlife

Yellow Dog is a unique an important part of Pennsylvania history. All photographs are by the talented Johnny Joo. Check out Joo’s new book Americana Forgotten for more incredible images of abandoned places around the country.

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