I recently visited, for the third time or so, the former town of Alvira (near Allenwood, PA). The short version of the story is, in 1942, the valley where Alvira was was chosen as the site of the Pennsylvania Ordnance Works, a TNT manufacturing plant meant to supply the US army. The residents of Alvira and the surrounding area were forced to sell their land for low prices and find other places to live. While the government promised them that they would be able to buy the land back when the plant closed, hardly anyone actually got their land back even though the plant only operated for eleven months. All the town buildings were destroyed, and today there are just old foundations, rubble, and tons of TNT storage bunkers. Most of the land is now state game lands, although some of it belongs to the Allenwood Federal Prison Complex. This is a good article to read if you're interested in the long version of the story.
Today, you can go to the game lands and see the site of the former town. I was there a few times when I was younger and appreciated seeing it again now that I understand why it ended up like this.
One of the many bunkers; most are locked up now.
Looking down an old well...
...which is inside here.
The Montgomery Area Historical Society put up markers where all the houses were.
Another old well...
...with what looks like newsprint on the stone? I'd love to know how it got like that.
Someone found and left all this old glass.
The most intact structure from the former town that we saw; it might've been a church?
This open bunker was set back from the main road.
Kind of spooky inside, and really echoey; my sister had a lot of fun.
The entrance to Washington Cemetery.
It's in pretty bad shape.
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