Woodville's lost and forgotten II-John Heim & I79 Traditional Cache

The cache is an ammo can located at an isolated headstone and grave of a forgotten patient of Woodville. It is not where you might expect, but on a hillside with a once nice view of I79, the road that gave Mr Heim his 15 minutes of "fame".  

Back in September 28 1902, John Heim was admitted as a 70 yr old patient at Woodville State Mental Hospital in Collier township. However, he died on nov 26, two months later, and was then buried at some apparent expense on the hillside grounds of he hospital. The site later overlooked Heidelberg Raceway in the late 50s and would now overlook the home of Raceway Plaza, off route 50.  A 3 ft high, 1 foot thick solid granite headstone marked his resting place. Little is known of Mr Heim, other than he was born in 1832.  As the raceway developed, 50 years on, it was tended and looked after by the Woodville patients, who used to sneak out and go watch the car races from the hillside spot where his grave lay.

Move on 64 years to 1966. I79 was being developed and Mr Heim's coffin lay in the path of I79, with the planned south bound road going right over his headstone.  Construction was brought to a halt in August 1966, while William E Smith of the Highways Department took on the very difficult task of finding Mr Heim's relatives so he could get permission to move the headstone and grave, The road construction could not continue until it was moved, without long and costly court proceedings. (I heard that his relatives lived in the Homestead area). What happened next is a bit of a mystery, but apparently Mr Smith succeeded:- rhe coffin, grave and headstone were moved out of the way onto the hospital grounds, at some distance from the pauper's burial grounds.  I79 construction continued, and Johm Heim rested peacefully. Alas, he became lost in memories.... 

50 more years have passed. Woodville Hospital was decommissioned in 1992, the grounds divided, sold, and the hospital buildings demolished. On the old grounds was built a new housing development (The Villages at Neville's Park), Chartiers Valley Primary School, Hilltop Park and a PENDOT headquarters. The pauper burial grounds were forgotten as well. all became entangled in the woods and reclaimed by the growth of nature and wild vegitation. (see multistage cache "Woodville's Lost and Forgotten" GC4ZGV3). While collier township has occasionally worked to clear the grounds, they are as of 2020 weeded over. I have been researching and searching for Mr Heim. Thanks to help and some hints from Father Deville of Holy Rosary,Muse PA (the chaplain at Woodville for many years), John Heim's resting place is now the subject of this cache.  It is isolated, under the bushes, and in the weeds. It can be accessed by a short walk from the end of Marigold Court in Neville's Park, but you will have to scramble down a short part of the hillside through unforgiving bushes and thorns, especially in the summer. The Cache is by his headstone. As you log, think of his 15 minutes of "fame" back in 1966, and watch the thousands of motorists pass him by every day, ignorant of his existence........