Peale, Pennsylvania is a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 located in Cooper Township

Cooper Township, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Cooper Township is a township in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,731 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water.-Demographics:As of the census of...

, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Clearfield County, Pennsylvania

Clearfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 81,642.Clearfield County was created on March 26, 1804, from parts of Huntingdon and Lycoming Counties but was administered as part of Centre County until 1812...

. It was founded in 1883 and was named after S.R. Peale of Lock Haven

Lock Haven, Pennsylvania

The city of Lock Haven is the county seat of Clinton County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Located near the confluence of the West Branch Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Creek, it is the principal city of the Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, micropolitan statistical area, itself part of the...

.

An excerpt from The Raftman's Journal, published on August 20, 1885, describes more in-depth what the town was like:

The town of Peale is located on the line of the Beech Creek Railroad 75 miles west of Williamsport

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

Williamsport is a city in and the county seat of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania in the United States. In 2009, the population was estimated at 29,304...

. It was named after S.R. Peale of Lock Haven and is owned, and everything in it too, by the coal company. Two years ago the ground was a wilderness; today there are nearly 300 buildings and a population of 2,500 souls in the place, every one of whom is employed or dependent upon those employed by the coal or railroad company.

The town was built on a hill above Moravian Run. It is divided in two by a small tributary stream. The place is laid out with all the regularity of a city. Down in the ravine, at the foot of town are the slaughter houses, while all the stables drain into the little stream running through the center. A reservoir in back of town distributes pure water into every street and to every house in the place. The houses are 2 story frame buildings painted brick red; wainscoted to 4 ft. and plastered throughout; three rooms on the first floor, 2 or 3 on the second. They rent for $4.25 - $6.75 per month including water. Altogether they are the most comfortable miners' cabins seen throughout the county and the rent is not high for a man earning $9 – $12 per week.

The site of the Oakwood Cemetery is one of the few distinguishable sites left in what was once a thriving coal mining town -- and "distinguishable" is a very loose term. The cemetery only has one marked grave remaining, belonging to Martha Renfrew, aged 14yrs, 11mos at the time of her death.