The trail passes many historical sites, particularly sites of abandoned coal mines and their
company towns. The ghost towns include Bracken, Armerford, Lackawanna No. 3,
Wehrum, Scott Glenn, Webster,
Beulah (or Beula), and Claghorn. It was founded in 1901 by
Warren Delano, uncle of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for the
Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, which opened mines in the area. When the mines declined and closed in the 1930s, the town was abandoned. Only one of the houses is still standing, across from the site of the hotel and the remains of the bank vault. One of the few other remnants of Wehrum is a
Russian Orthodox Church cemetery that sits in the woods above the trail; the last burials took place in 1927. The trail follows the
Pennsylvania Railroad's Ebensburg & Blacklick line past Wehrum, which opened in 1903.
Claghorn Construction of Claghorn by Lackawanna Coal began in 1903. Due to an economic downturn, work was suspended in 1904. The Vinton Colliery Company purchased the partially built town in 1916 and opened six mines in the area. The company constructed 84 houses, a three-story 22 room hotel, a building that served as a school and theater, and a company store. The Ebensburg-Black Lick line of the
Pennsylvania Railroad extended past Claghorn. The mines were closed in 1924, and houses were rented until after
World War II when the town was abandoned. As early as 1850, the furnace was struggling financially and forced to close. Ownership passed to Dr. Alexander Johnson, who sought experienced individuals to run the furnace. When Johnson died in 1874, he stipulated that his estate be divided amongst his three children. The courts ruled that the estate "could not be parted or divided ... without injury to or prejudice to or spoiling the whole thereof."
Eliza Furnace The Eliza Furnace, also known as Ritter's Furnace, operated between 1846 and 1849. It is one of the best-preserved hot blast iron furnaces in Pennsylvania, one of the first in the area, and is on the
National Register of Historic Places. At its peak the furnace produced about 1,080 tons of iron annually, employed over 90 men and boys, and used 45 mules. The furnace operation encompassed , though Ritter and Irvin owned much more. The property included many related buildings such as a casting house and a stove house, twenty-one log homes, a wagon shop, smoke house, stable, sawmill, boarding house, and store. The employees were often
paid in kind rather than in cash. The furnace was never able to achieve a profit and was forced to close for several reasons: the
Pennsylvania Railroad chose the
Conemaugh Valley for its new route rather than the Blacklick, the furnace utilized outdated technologies, and the cost of hauling iron to the Canal was high. David Ritter experienced financial problems, losing property in
Armagh as payment when sued by former partner George Rodgers for $350. In July 1848, the property was seized and sold at
sheriff's sale to Soloman Alter and Joseph Replier of
Philadelphia. After being purchased by Alter and Replier, the property passed hands many times before ultimately passing from Manor Realty of the Pennsylvania Railroad to the Cambria County Historical Society. ==Economic impact and funding==