This cache is in the vicinity of
Livermore, Pennsylvania. It will be really hard to find this
town on any map because Livermore is no more. The town was
dismantled in 1950 to make way for the Conemaugh
River Lake, a flood control project of the Army Corps of
Engineers. The town was named in honor of Alonzo Livermore, an
engineer for the Pennsylvania Canal (1828-1852) which was the
lifeblood of the town's economy in its early days. Livermore was a
town of considerable size, large enough to have been incorporated
as a borough in 1863. There were more than 40 homes and businesses
here. It’s all gone now. Or is it?
Livermore has become the subject of an unusual number of ghost
stories and urban legends. Some say that if the water is clear, and
the moonlight is just right, you can still see the tops of houses
or the steeple of the church out in the lake where the doomed town
once stood. Many believe that the spirits of deceased Livermore
residents were disturbed when the town cemetery was relocated to
high ground prior to construction of the dam. They say that ghosts
roam the forest searching for their missing town. Generations of
teenagers have come here in the dark of night to get scared out of
their wits. I know of some who swear that they will never go back
to this place, not even in the daytime. There are also stories of
atrocities committed by escapees from the nearby Torrance State
Mental Hospital and rumors that practitioners of the occult
frequent the area. The list goes on and on. But the most persistent
and famous of all Livermore legends would have to be that George
Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead” was filmed here. It’s very
possible given that Romero is a Pittsburgh native and that the
movie was made in the Pittsburgh area. Does anybody remember Chilly
Billy Cardill? He had a bit part as a reporter in this 1968 black
and white horror classic which was the first of three “zombie”
movies by Romero. The sequels “Day of the Dead” and “Dawn of the
Dead” were also filmed in the Pittsburgh area. Fortunately, I did
not encounter any ghosts or zombies when I hid the cache but if you
go searching keep an eye out for living dead on the prowl for human
flesh. They can be dangerous…
Directions: Take route 22 approximately 5 miles east from New
Alexandria or 4 miles west from Blairsville to the intersection of
routes 22 and 982. Go north from this intersection on Livermore
Road for approximately 3 miles to a DEAD END at the entrance to the
Livermore Cemetery. Are you scared yet? Begin your hike to the
cache from here. Coordinates: 40° 27.532, -79° 20.140
You will want to locate a service road that leads to the cache.
Attempts to shortcut will be defeated by a very dense thicket that
grows just about everywhere in this area. It may very well be
necessary to backtrack to locate the beginning of this trail which
is not marked on any map. On your final approach to the
coordinates, you will pass between hedgerows planted and maintained
by the game commission for bird habitat. Please note that the game
commision cuts the grass in this area only one time per year in the
late summer or fall and it becomes quite overgrown in mid to late
summer. Add one star each to the difficulty and terrain if you go
looking for the cache in this season. Good Luck!
This area offers excellent opportunities for hiking or biking in
spite of the occasional flesh eating zombie. There is a 3.3 mile
trail
on the 1907 grade of the Pennsylvania Railroad which crosses the
Conemaugh River four times on impressive stone arch bridges.
Warning: The cache may occasionally be inaccessible after heavy
rains or during the spring runoff due to it being within the area
of the flood control reservoir.
Warning: Do not enter the Livermore Cemetery unless it is open
to the public according to the schedule posted at the gate. It is
not necessary to enter the cemetery to get to the cache. It’s not
even in the right direction. The cemetery has suffered repeated
vandalism due to its remote location and its reputation for being
haunted. It is for this reason that visitation to the cemetery is
restricted and trespassing is not tolerated. If the evil spirits,
or devil-worshippers, or zombies don’t get you then the cops
probably will.
