Uncovering the Secrets of a Silent City: 30 Years Frozen in Time | Exploring Brownsville, PA
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- čas přidán 11. 07. 2024
- In today's adventure, we're exploring the absolutely shocking and unreal history of Brownsville, Pennsylvania. This suburb of Pittsburgh was tricked into selling 95% of it's buildings to one person in the 1990s who then turned the town into a ghost town. The story is almost too absurd to be real. Join me and let's see where things are now.
00:00 Intro - Background
01:55 A Mystery Investory Comes to Town
04:40 The Current State of Things
06:11 Abandoned Buildings on Main St.
08:54 3rd Oldest Castle in the US
10:34 Abandoned Church
11:33 How Did I Hear About Brownsville?
13:29 Tourism is the Push Now?
16:22 More Abandoned Buildings
19:59 Demolished Hospital Location and SO MANY CHURCHES
23:03 Outro
this breaks my heart to watch..I was born there in 1949 in the old hospital and grew up there when it still had 3 theaters a skating rink and a nightclub called the Lennox where Ella Fitzgerald and Ray Charles appeared ...truly an amazing place then to spend your youth. At 19 I started working as a locomotive fireman on the Monongahela RR located in the train station which was called the Union Station. Up into the 50s there were 100 trains a day thru it...from the city of Fairmont WVa on north to Pittsburgh and beyond...Some of the engineers I worked with had been there since the 1920s and gave me much of the history I now know about the local RR which was a shortline coal feeder from the mines running from WVa to the junctions with the B&O , PR and Lake Eerie RRs just north of town. Many thanks for the video
I hope you write a journal of your experiences ✨️ 😊
You should definitely think about writing a book imo thanks for the comment
This video represents the shadow of the American dream that looms over the entire country. Nothing but faded glory here now and into the future
I’m from here too, but on the outskirts in the country near Grindstone, my mom and dad told me all about that stuff that was down there and when we were teenagers, then we know about the tunnels in the old church we’ve gone into them. They lead to the castle and all the other slave quarters.
I’m from here too, but on the outskirts in the country near Grindstone, my mom and dad told me all about that stuff that was down there and when we were teenagers, then we know about the tunnels in the old church we’ve gone into them. They lead to the castle and all the other slave quarters. And the funny thing is we went to school with Ligget. If you went to Brownsville school, you went to school with a bunch of Leggott. Wonder if they were related and yes, they were some rich motherfuckers.
I grew up just on the other side of the Brownsville tunnel so we went into town a lot. I practically lived in the library including volunteering there as a kid. There was an incredible Italian restaurant in lower Brownsville that we always went to for family birthdays. There was also an arts center where my sister and I went for their art and drama summer camps. And I went on so many tours of Nemacolin Castle (pronounced with an e like in egg) that I practically had the whole tour memorized. I remember when everyone started talking about the guy buying up everything and at first people were so excited. I was confused why he wanted a riverboat casino there since it was already a pretty empty and slow town but I figured I was a kid and the grown-ups knew what they were talking about. I also didn't know just how much of the town he had bought. Then I graduated and moved to Pittsburgh. Any time I would go back the place just looked sadder and sadder. So many gorgeous historical homes falling apart. There was one my mom and I called "our house" because we loved it so much and desperately wanted to fix it up. I hope they can figure out a way to revitalize it.
Shocking that you would not know why there are so many churches in one town. So glad so many people set you straight. I hope you read all of the comments and found out why.
My hometown in Western Pennsylvania had a church almost on every corner. Also, if you went up to the Roman Catholic Church when you were near it where the old hospital once stood, you would’ve seen one heck of a gorgeous building. It is absolutely stunning inside and out. And you would’ve had a wonderful view of all of Brownsville.
I drove through Brownsville many years ago with my cousins and we took the time to go around and see some of the buildings. It really is a beautiful river town. I was recently there for a relative’s funeral and found the people very warm and welcoming.
A number of years ago, we took a wrong turn and ended up driving through downtown Brownsville. I said at the time that it looked like a movie set for a depression era movie. It was very sad.
The by-product coking ovens at integrated steel mills is really what spelled the end of "Connellsville Region Coke" (of which Brownsville was part) as long ago as the 1920s. Steel makers could make coke on an industrial scale and save the chemical runoff, something that could not be done with the hundreds of labor intensive "bee hive" ovens lined up in batteries all around the Monongahela and Youghiogheny valleys.
22:39 - Brownsville was also the hometown of the Monongahela Railway (MRY, later MGA), which connected with the Pittsburgh and Lake Erie and Pennsylvania Railroad at Brown Tower. There was a sizeable locomotive shop in town at one time. The Monongahela went as far south as Fairmont, WV and Fairview, WV. MGA was absorbed by Conrail in the early 1990s and today the mainline is operated by Norfolk Southern. MRY 71 is a reminder of those times.
As to "why so many churches" it must be remembered that Brownsville was a "whole world of people" at one time, and every group brought with them a particular following of Christianity from the old countries. Add this to the usual mainline protestant denominations and it resulted in a lot of church buildings.
Thanks for the video. I was born and raised in a community close to Brownsville. So it is great to see this video. In the 1950s when I was little my family often drove up to the mountains through Brownsville. There was only the Brownsville Bridge as shown often in the video. (The high-level bridge did not exist.) That downtown section you walked in this video was jam-packed with people. Cars would be backed up for blocks. It would take seemingly forever to get through that section in either direction. Brownsville was a bustling town in those days. All of those storefronts that you passed were occupied by successful businesses. Passenger rail service died out a little before my time. Union Station in this building is amazing.
When I was a teenager in the late 50's, my uncle was a minister in the Presbyterian Church which was on Market St. The house and church stood right about where the straight part of the exit is parallel to the bridge. You could stand on the front porch and look to the right and see the St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church. The parsonage was a wonderful house. You had to go up to get to the first floor, and it had an oval winding staircase in the front hall. I'm a Michigander so I was fascinated with the ups and downs of the town. My aunt knew the people at the castle so, although I don't remember much about it, I've been through it. There are some amazing old buildings there. You've done a great job of showing the best side of the town. I saw a video awhile back where the person showed the other side, and it was sad. It looks like a clean town, and I hope the residents can slowly bring it back to life. Thanks.
The rerouting of Route 40 over the Lane Bane bridge also contributed to the decline of downtown Brownsville
I moved to brownsville 4 years ago from maryland, where i was born and raised so i never knew the history about where i live now. Thanks!
Amazing! What took you to Brownsville?
@@IanMartinExploration Unfortunately it’s not a great story, not a case of moving randomly. I had to move here in with my dad when my mom died
Ahh, I’m sorry to hear that.
This was the birthplace and home of the love of my life, Emmor K Porter. It actually pains my heart and brings tears to my eyes.
Dear Tru... Your plea to Emmor was very moving. As was the sad story of the town.
I lived in Brownsville in the mid to late 1990s and I never knew the Ligget story! My place was a block away from the castle. I used to walk to the old town square by the castle and enjoy a cigar and the scenery. It's a beautiful place in spring/summer when everything is green. I am sort of sad that they tore down some of the old buildings though. I liked them. I moved back to Pennsylvania in 2019 so one of these days I will make the five hour drive to Brownsville and check it out.
Wow all got to say is wow. Being from Philadelphia, an knowing most of the areas in PA. Never knew about Brownsville. Great looking area it is amazing this could happen in PA. Thanks for making the video.
I grew up about 5 miles away from Brownsville in 1948. Going to Brownsville in those days was like going to Pittsburgh. They had just about everything you would need. They said at one time that Brownsville was going to be bigger than Pittsburg. The first church coming across the new bridge was St Nicholas Greek Catholic Church, where my family belonged.a lot of buildings are gone. I can remember the Plaza movie theater. The Union Station building was across from the flat iron building. I used to go to a dentist’s office there.
Brownsville was primed to be a bustling river city, almost like Pittsburgh. One of the buildings you were on, on Market St, across from the parking lot, and next to the tear-down lot, was a former Old Fellows Lodge. It was then used as an arts academy and performing arts center. It is now abandoned after the academy moved next to the police station. It is/was beautiful inside.
That church (former Methodist church) you peeked in always caught my attention when I was driving home. It is for sale for $85K, but there's so much damage from elements.
There are a lot of churches because of the many denominations, heritages --Catholic, Byzantine, Orthodox, Methodist, Lutheran, Baptist and more. Like a dozen+. In Fayette County, we will call churches "The Italian church; the Polish church; the Slovak church; the Irish church", etc., because it was a place where people could gather with those from the country and culture they came from, share traditional foods, and speak & worship in their languages.
There is a former synagogue that was converted to hold a business and it is still there and active.
The video seems to portray a ghost town, albeit: Very clean and orderly. I'm curious how they manage to keep the area looking decent, with so little going on. What produces real estate taxes and necessary revenue?
Thanks for visiting Brownsville. You summed up the history wonderfully. I pastor two of the churches in Brownsville. That is one thing that is still strong in the little area, the ministerial association is vibrant and active. Meaning although the churches you spotted are mostly small congregation wise, they are alive and kicking. We do work together to serve the community with food banks, community events, benevolent funds. While depressed the people do care for their own.
If you ever come back into the area and wish to explore the churches please let me know. I’d be happy to help make that happen.
Also all the flags were put up by the local rotary club which is also incredibly active. They go up for veterans, Memorial Day, the 4th and a few other national holidays.
I love videos like this. I grew up in Brownsville but moved away 20+ yrs ago and haven’t been back. Videos like this make me wanna go back to visit.
My dad is from Brownsville. We go back often, and the older I get, the prouder I feel of having Appalachian roots. What a beautiful and resilient part of the world.
Thank you for the video. It brought back a lot of memories. My father was from Newell and went to High School in Brownsville. Two of my uncles worked for the P&LE Railroad. As with a previous post, I graduated from California University of Pa in 1966. After WW II, my family moved to Point Marion where he became the Superintendent of Schools in the Albert Gallatin School District. There are many such small towns that suffered the same fate as Brownsville. When coal died out, so did the towns. The flood in the 80’s sealed the fate of the river towns. I find that returning is very depressing.
I went to California University about 6 miles away. I worked on the college newspaper . We printed our paper at the Brownsville Telegraph. So i was in Brownsville weekly. It was a pretty grim place in the midd 1980s. I was in town from the fall of 1983 to 1987. Many of those storefronts were boarded up 41 years. It was pretty much a ghost town before the Leggets. The telegraph was by the bridge. Also down by the bridge was Fiddles hot dog shop. We would eat lunch there every Friday while our paper was being printed. Fiddle's was in a movie that was made around the area in 1982. "Maria's Lovers" more was shot across the river in west Brownsville. A professor of mine had a painting that highlighted the churches in town . I think there was 10 or 12 in the painting. "The Town of Churches" I don't think Brownsville was a suburb of Pittsburgh . Not close enough.
Miklos?
Was a barber that used to cut my hair in Bville by that name.
@@cpu554 not a direct relative. If so probably a break earlier than my great grandfather.
Unfortunately there a more than a few towns like this in the rural areas of PA. I am impressed that even though there are lots of abandoned buildings I didn't see any graffiti or even much trash blighting the town. Obviously, its citizens still have pride in their hometown. Also like the posters hanging from the telephone polls. I'm guessing they are honoring veterans who served in maybe WWII and/or Korea. Never saw that anywhere and a wonderful way to remember these men who time is taking from us.
Many towns in Pennsylvania have these posters that commemorate veterans. Given the numbers, most are from the ww2 era through today. I’m always impressed by the effort and care the local folks take in remembering their local service members. Brownsville is like many small towns in Pennsylvania. Though Brownsville has some uniquely well preserved older buildings.
Also, most towns in Pennsylvania have a lot of churches in them. They reflect the many faith traditions of the many immigrant communities.
To net the story of their decline: the elite leaders of the country sold their local communities out for cash. They fooled themselves and their communities on a false narrative of global trade. Yes, many profited, and very few of them were in places like Brownsville….
@@stephenlight647 My family is from NE PA and you are certainly right about the many churches. The same goes for cemetaries. Each church had its cemetary. Irish Catholics were buried in one cemetary. Italians had theirs as did Poles/slovaks, the Protestants were more likely to be buried together regardless of ethnicity. When my Irish Catholic dad married my English-Lenni Lenape-PA Dutch Episcopal mom back in 1950 that was considered a mixed marriage and a bit of a scandal.😄
America has fallen down
My sister used to live in Yellow Dog over by Worthington pa. My aunt used to own a pizza shop in Worthington back in the late 80's early 90's
What a Story..
youtube's algorithm brought me to you. Nice Content. Left a sub 😊
I moved out of PA 20+ years ago. Moved for employment, ended up in Delaware not exactly livable jobs here Glad I'm retired now. Thanks for your Brownsville walk around.
I go to Brownsville for three things. Bowman’s castle, Paceys restaurant and the steam show. I’d love the actual town to revive and have shops and eateries. I’d go more often. Great video!!
Edit 4 things: the drive in movie theatre!!!
Town has so much potential. Very sad.
I really enjoyed this, Ian. I wanted to add that many different churches allowed immigrants to maintain their cultural and religious beliefs. You walked among Byzantine, Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches near the old hospital. It was important for people to stay connected to their roots.
This was neat. My grandmother and family were huge pioneers founding much of Brownsville. The Krepps and Moffitt Families. Apparently the Krepps pioneered the first ferry across the Monongahela. My 2x grandparents were postmasters of the town for years. The old homes they owned along Water Street, 500 & 518 were original to them but have been torn down. I’m trying to find out more about why and when but haven’t gotten too lucky there. My grandfather was born in that hospital in 1927 for 7 days for a total of $57! I have many many photos of the former days. It’s so cool to see being on the other side of the country in CA so thank you for showing me around.
Bet you wish California could look this good, now.
USA costs: Greed is Good. Return to Feudalism
My husband's family is from Brownsville and I'm excited to share this information with them. To help with pronunciation of the castle: Nema-colon. Thank you for covering this old beautiful town ❤️
My old girlfriend was from Brownsville , we visited her family in the early 1990’s I walked those streets back then and it was the same then as I see you walk it now , omg nothing has changed
Born and raised in Bville.
The only difference between Bville and Rome is there are more Italians in Bville.
Thanks for capturing some nice shots of the town!
I have lived here my whole life and in my eyes it’s always been a sad Pretty run down place within the past year I’ve noticed some things have started to get nicer but still no real change I hope one day I’ll be able to see it change for the better
My family has roots in Brownsville. I had no idea about the history, this is incredible (and heart breaking)! Thank you for sharing.
Beautiful old town. Lots of potential. Loved the flatiron building and the castle. So cool. Thanks for sharing. 😊
Fantastic work here. Thanks for this.
I bet a developer bought this town to convert it to a planned 1% town for the extreme wealthy that work in Pittsburgh.
I have seen this happen in other areas.
One developer bought up a ton of land in my area in the 70s and held onto it until the 2010s and sold it for a huge profit for new housing developments and a hospital and nursing homes that hold 2000 residents each. The developer made hundreds of millions of dollars.
In 2002, literally overnight after 9/11 , the developer here built 2000 new houses in New developments that didn't exist before that. They had been vacant farmland.
And the average house was 150k, and these new houses were 750k to 1.5 million AND EVERY ONE OF THEM SOLD IN JUST 2 MONTHS
They had more buyers than they had lots
And I was shocked when I saw that these houses were vacant from 6am to 8pm every week day.
They just didn't want to live in NY or NJ
And they could afford to buy these million dollar houses and drive 3 hours each way every day.
Great video Ian! I lived in Pittsburgh for a decade and only headed down 43 to 40 that far past Brownsville a few times.
Have you headed up 51 towards the south hills and done a video on all the strip malls and buildings sitting empty that are owned by the Lavitske Brothers? You can literally walk up and down a long stretch of 51 with just empty storefronts that have been vacant for years! It’s crazy!
Western PA is an endless source of CZcams content!
Thanks for watching! I actually haven’t spent much time in the route 51 corridor area. Is the area you’re talking about kinda up by the old Century III mall? I’m really starting to develop a fascination with western PA. And you’re right, seemingly endless content too!
They're starting to demo the mall. Dont wait too long lol @IanMartinExploration
America has fallen down. Strip malls from sea to shining sea.
Thank you so much sir. I really enjoyed this video on Browsville, PA. Even though many buildings are closed down. It is a beautiful town, very historic and has an interesting rural look about it. Watching from Toronto, On. 🇨🇦 The landscape is most interesting. Thanks, looking forward to more.❤
Loved the video!!! I also saw that old video from 10 some years ago of the sad downtown and the old hospital.I wanted to drive thru Brownsville a few years ago but we didn't have the time.We were in the Pittsburgh area and other areas hrs away etc.This video shows the town looking much better etc.
the mural seen around 19:00 was done by a few members of Pittsburgh's IATSE union, it was painted for the short lived Netflix show I Am Not Okay With This from 2020
Great tour. May I suggest a tour of Emlenton, PA? Rich history, amazing houses, easily accessible.
Amazing buildings.
I'm from Little Washington, now live outside Ocean City Md. My parents talked about Brownsville often. Sadly, every time I drive through or stop at Brownsville, it seems to look worse than before. Saddens me, as western PA is of my heritage.
I was born in the Brownsville hospital & grew up in Brownsville /W. Brownsville & left in 1963 & have been back many times. I walked the path u walked many times. I will always have fond memories of my childhood there & be thankful for a safe / fun childhood. tks Mike ( Mickey) Carr
Enjoyed the video.
Thank you for the tour. Very delightful and interesting❤😮 23:37 23:37
Good stuff,new sub here, Happy Trails.
I believe that Brownsville also has a Colonial era history as Redstone Old Fort. It was a settlement by the time of the French and Indian War, 1757-1763.
When my husband and I were stationed in West Germany 1984-1993 the soldiers stationed there back then used to joke and say that Germany " rebuilt with preserved actual blueprints for the city centers " made West Germany look in 1984 like they won WW2. Whenever we returned to the states to travel by car to visit friends and relatives it was quiet shocking to see one old town after another just like what you are showing us. The Cable news every day with thie slick commercials and foolish talk shows act like the states have been well preserved when just visit Gary Indiana and now with all the Tornado damage recently the weather gods are very angry . I always wished I studied archetecture to restore these building as they have in Europe by hiring experts from Germany to Italy and France with their desire to keep their old world architecture back in business. The people who work in the state and local governments need to get out of their offices and go on a walking tour with you ! Then they need to all go to Europe and see what they preserved after two world wars. The states look like we lost all wars in the last 250 years ! Thank you for sharing your tour of Brownsville < OA I love Western PA - Very peaceful and tranquil.
The European countries, including Germany, Italy, and France did not rebuild themselves. They did it very largely with much help and money from the United States and through the Marshall plan: Congress appropriated $13.3 billion for European recovery, which is roughly equivalent to $150 billion today. The aid initially came in the form of shipments of food, fuel, machinery, and other staples from the United States. It later led to investment in industrial capacity in Europe, which helped revitalize European industries. The Marshall Plan also provided political and economic stability to European countries, which helped to pull them closer to the United States.
Well… US Steel ..Braddock Works , was just bought out by Nippon Steel … so did the US really win WW2 . I don’t see too many US cars on the roadways either.
Really a shame how they sold out this country!
Thank you for this video. There is a property- residential land that is for sale for 8k. Brownsville is about an hour away from Pittsburgh. We are contemplating if it is good to live there or not.
I grew up in Centerville PA not to far from Brownsville. Thanks for posting about the history of a place I've traveled through so many time. I also noticed the Connecticut Tigers hat you have, good stuff.
First time possibly ever to notice the hat. Kudos!
It's not the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Way to far away from the Burg to call it one.
I agree but your 'burg' is missing the h.
@@hazcat640 not when it’s referred to as the ‘burg. Only when it’s spelled out as Pittsburgh!
@@amam904 I was born and lived there for 40 years. It's "The 'burgh".
Very good. I founds this interesting
Hi , mock castle you mean , I'm I England and we have lots of castles / fortifications dating back to the 12th century . We tend to repurpose a lot of our old derelict buildings so to keep them for future generations .There's a ghost village in England that was abandoned in the 1940s its amazing. Great video very informative 😊
This vid makes me feel so sad. A once bustling city in serious decline, with beautiful old buildings, empty. Like a ghost town. I never been there, but the history now lays dormant. I hope that someday they can revitalize Brownsville. So many churches, because people are of different religious sects. Glad they all worshipped, like we did from childhood.😌🙏😊
Moved to Cumberland, MD 6 weeks ago. I work remotely and this town is full of great architecture and really seems to be working at coming back. Bought a huge old house that's in pretty good shape and we have at least 8 active churches within just a few blocks. The "house" behind us on the other side of our alley apparently used to be some sort of church but now is vacant.
This is my hometown thank you!
Live in Brownsville great video man
Looking at the map, the cloverleaf intersection of Turnpike PA43 and US40 used to be the southern terminus for PA43. That left Brownsville on the path in between Pittsburgh and Uniontown. Drove through it many times over the past few decades, and saw the slow decline. I still occasionally pass through since 43 was completed and the town is entirely bypassed, and with the drastically less traffic through town, it seems to be wasting away.
Brownsville reminded me of the town in the movie the Deer hunter !!
I grew up in Brownsville.1962 to 92'...very sad but I do luv that place ❤
It's important, I think, to recognize that it was decisions made by people, not forces beyond anyone's control, that did this.
But they made decisions based on promises made by Ernest Liggett. Such a shame!
I raced(and crashed my brains out) at Brownsville once in the early 00s. The track was run by the Combs family a legendary motocross family. The track was fun, it was the first time my dad saw us race. Overall we have great memories of Brownsville and I was bummed when I found out the track wasn't going to open again.
If the town has ownership of these buildings they need to be online for sale so the city makes money and people get to buy the property. The reason they are empty is not just that they are abandoned but nobody knows who to contact to buy and invest in them. Just DO NOT sell to one person again. Rochester PA had the same issue and is in the same shape. Cal U of PA 1986
Im sure this has been happening all over this country for a while now .....Sad , great info and Video man
I had never even considered this sorta thing happening before I came across this story. I bet you’re right though. If it happened here, its probably happened in numerous other towns as well.
In a lot of the Older small towns for sure , the last few years its happening in the Larger older cities , just in a way different way ......Like pushing whats going on in Portland Or. and San Francisco , ect ect@@IanMartinExploration
i read a bunch of stuff like 15 years ago or so , and it was all about how much money it costs to keep a City running , and they said its cheaper to relocate people to new cities vs repairing a City........im not sure hopw to put the two together , but i think you can get a sense of what i am saying ........ @@IanMartinExploration
Sad that this is the state of most "main streets" in America. The loss of industry and the invention of the shopping mall killed the beautiful downtown's of the USA.
My memories of a young lad that Bville was out of a Norman Rockwell painting. So sad to see it now.
This town was in a Netflix TV series called “I’m not okay with this”. It was a good show
I first learned about Brownsville because it was featured as the setting for I am not Okay with This.
good video
We have a place across the river in California Pa my mother used to shop in Brownsville as a kid in the 50s. The fiddler's diner and the town was the location they shot a Netflix show I am not ok with that. People said the Brownsville mural was added when they shot the show, I thought it was previously there. I spent a few months a year in the area and I have noticed it getting revamped slowly. I did not know the Legget story nice to know. Nice video too.
Such a sad story what happened in this town in the 90s. :(
You forgot West Brownsville! It's across the iron bridge by Fiddle's restaurant, you were standing right underneath it!
I’m sure, with todays shortage of housing, if groups (not one) of investors that work remotely, would be willing to invest in fixing up some of the more interesting old buildings into very unique loft style condos….I think if the city invests in some bike trails or park space and some select demolition projects as well
Sadly, a lot of PA towns are down at the heels like Brownville. Supporting industries died or moved away. Some people think these PA towns will boom again when heat and extreme weather drive climate refugees to move in. Taxes are high here due to a decreasing tax base but house here are super affordable, presenting a great option to people who work remotely and for people looking for an affordable place to retire. Over the past few years, I've been first a remote worker, then a retiree. I know that moving to little PA town is a cool experience.
lol, too funny
As a former businessman, I'm curious. What was the point of Liggett(?) buying all these properties, then just letting them fall into ruin? Could he not find a way to finance his 'River Walk' plan? He should have made a fortune off that, if it had succeeded.
He should have made a fortune off the property he invested in but the Government stole it through “eminent domain”. Theft. Robbery…
I appreciate the Liggett story. I lived in a nearby town (Beallsville) from 1993 to 2004. We knew a developer bought most of Brownsville. We always heard change was coming and it was going to rival The Waterfront in Homestead, PA which opened in 1998 or 99. It never happened.
I heard Leggett failed to obtain a gambling license and then just stopped everything.
@@penguinton Really? Wow. I never knew gambling was part of the plan.
It was a beautiful town and i have so many childhood memories from Brownsville. My grandparents, the Horwaths, first lived in Blainsburg across the river then at 15 Angle Street (at Middle Alley). I still have relatives in the area.
Oh, at 16:32 the "Eagles Lodge" is the BPOE (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) Elks Lodge. My grandfather belonged and had a wonderful gold Elks ring. At 18:23 one of those storefronts was a Print-O-Stat drafting supply store.
My second cousin Johnny lived and loved Brownsville. We used to fish off the high stonewall in Behind the Union station building, we used to catch large carp,.by just throwing bread over with hook in it. Great fun we used to take cigarettes to my dad, when he was passing through Brownsville locks. I believe it was lock 4, before they took it out.
my parents were born and raised there..my dad played football at california, pa and played in the phythian bowl in 1951...i've been to brownsville many times...sad....i still have one relative there left... most of my family is buried in lafayette memorial park
The Redstone Castle predates Nemicolen's Castle buy many hundreds maybe thousands of years. It had stone ramparts made of huge boulders of red stone Redstone Creek is named for. Although the stines were destroyed by settlers, the pentagonal earthen rampart that it sat in is still under the train tracks that cross said creek at its mouth into the Monongahela at Brownsville.
At this place is now an edie that prevents a large whirlpool. This is the lair of Mishipeshu, the underwater panther. When tou see a petroglyph of this entity near water is like a modern sign alwrting you the swimming is risky here. I have heard there was once a big one there.
I could go on about the ancient history of Brownsville it has always been a special place. I have many friends there and many fond memories. I never knew the Brownsville curse was because of a creepy investor. Thats a lesson for sure.
The reason that there were so many churches was because of the many nationalities of immigrants to the area! If you go out to the many small communities you would find out that they were called coal patches! These were patches of homes for each coal mine and each area held a certain group of people! One patch would be where the Polish people lived and another would be the Italians, another was Germans, Slovakians, and so on! There is more history in this town and the surrounding communities but you only touch a small fraction! Brownsville has a huge history with the small communities all around it!
Where did you find your music clips for this video?
Thanks for the tour! Churches and bars thrive in areas of severe economic depression. My hometown, Curwensville, has ~2500 residents and 8 churches.
You missed out on that hospital man as a teenager we used to run through there crazy and they say it was haunted. I never saw or heard anything but people say it’s was haunted.
Gives certain areas of wv vibes
Not sure if you mentioned this but you walked over the oldest cast iron bridge in the world a few times
I’d be interested in sharing more of the history of our town
This is not true. It's the oldest in America..... Not the world
Not only the oldest, but it is the First iron bridge in the United States!
There are so many dying small towns in western Pennsylvania. My husband was from that area and one of the problems I felt is that the area was not very welcoming to outsiders. I talked with city leaders in his town and encouraged them to look into becoming telecommuting centers. With home prices being so reasonable, it's a great place for that. However, they all rejected any movement toward inviting outsiders in. So for now, their economy depends on social services and caring for the elderly population.
Che k out Ambridge pa 1 hr down the Ohio from Brownsville the history is crazy... very important connections to George Washington and the Seneca Indians ,logstown ,and General Anthony Wayne from the 1700s
Same situation with 80% of the towns in PA.
You said the name of the castle correctly the 1st time.
Thx for the info. Really is sad that downtown has been mislead.... . Along with old buildings is also old hazardous building materials, hopefully the "town" committee will make good judgments for those remaining. The many churches in one area... different dates built. As foreigners moved into town, they brought their own religions. As you have said this town was established 1800s. Main source of employment was coal then iron and the railroad.
The main reason for so many churches is because there are many denominations of Christianity. It's nice that they are co-located.
I got a terrible speeding ticket in Brownsville on my way to my reserve unit just outside of town. That cop hit me with everything he could. No fond memories of Brownsville sorry. Thankfully the guys from my reserve unit helped me out by squaring me away with some money so I did not take a total loss for the weekend. Not nice of them to target Soldiers on their way to drill on the weekends.
Go slow and see our town. Go fast and see our jail. That's missing a word here and there but it's a popular sign in PA.
You might want to check the names of folks in the cemetery to give you a clue about the immigrant populations that settled and worked in the area. Abandon buildings can only tell you so much. A cemetery has much more to offer as for the people who lived there and where they came from. Many small towns have several churches.
Hey, I’ll give you three thumbs up for your comments. You are so right… Go to the cemeteries.
Coal is not all at once as if by magic “discovered”!
Back in the early 80’s 60 minutes had a story about how bad the people in rest home were being treated so bad and it seemed Leggit owned it , not sure but sounds familiar
With housing at such a premium the city should make some sort of help renovate to own on apartments/condos in those buildings. That would bring in residents and speed up the transformation.
What happens to abandoned buildings is eventually they leak. Then that water inside of them freezes. When water freezes it expands. That expanding ice tears everything apart. That kind of deterioration simply isn't repairable. Everything that was supposed to be tight is loose. The only thing keeping it all in place then is gravity. I know they still look like buildings but it's an illusion. It's really all of the parts of buildings now. On the bright side you could make a fortune selling all of those antique bricks. There is a market for them.
There is sure alot of traffic for a small, desolate town.
My great grandmother was born here.
My grandmother was born here in 1922
Very interesting Historical place !!!🎯🎥