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Dead Man's Hollow
Dead Man's Hollow Conservation Area across the
Youghiogheny River from Versailles, PA.
The property is accessible from the Great Allegheny Passage, 1/2 mile downstream from the Boston Bridge. Trails, benches, a pond and the ruins from a ceramic tile factory are on site. Local school groups and the Audubon Society use the property for various educational programs. Visit www.dead-mans-hollow.com for more about the history and lore of Deadman’s Hollow.
The Wildlife Preserve at Dead Man’s Hollow encompasses 440 acres of highly significant wildlife habitat in Lincoln and Liberty Boroughs. The Preserve is the largest privately protected conservation area in Allegheny County.
The Allegheny Land Trust set out to acquire and permanently protect 400 acres of the Hollow from landfill development and other destructive activities after a 1994 scientific study identified the Hollow’s ecological significance. Grants from the County of Allegheny, the Katherine Mabis McKenna Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Keystone Program, as well as the support of many individuals, made the initial land acquisition possible. Recently, support from the Colcom Foundation enabled the Trust to acquire an additional 40-acre parcel along the Youghiogheny River and Great Allegheny Passage. This parcel consists of highly significant wildlife habitat with a vertical drop of over 400 feet to the Youghiogheny River.
Allegheny Land Trust has a color brochure describing the evolution of Dead Man’s Hollow from a less-than-pristine industrial center to a wild place that provides recreational and educational opportunities for the public. For a copy, please call the Trust at 412-741-2750, or send an e-mail to admin@alleghenylandtrust.org. You may also download a copy of the brochure (about 880KB) in PDF format. (To view this file, you’ll need Adobe Reader)