Rausch Gap, Pennsylvania
Encyclopedia
The 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...

 of Rausch Gap was the largest of several coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 mining towns in St. Anthony's Wilderness that appeared, flourished, and died during the period between 1830 and 1910. The ruins of the town are located in Cold Spring Township in Lebanon County
Lebanon County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 120,327 people and 32,771 families residing in the county. The population density was 332 people per square mile . There were 49,320 housing units at an average density of 136 per square mile...

, on the southern slopes of Sharp Mountain, where Rausch Creek cuts a gap through the mountain before entering Stony Creek
Stony Creek (Pennsylvania)
Stony Creek is a tributary of the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River from its headwaters to the gate of Pennsylvania State Game Lands 211...

, at 40°29′58"N 76°35′52"W.

While it may have been established as early as 1828, rapid growth did not occur until 1850, when the Dauphin and Susquehanna Coal Company built a railroad up the valley from the Susquehanna River
Susquehanna River
The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

 to Rausch Gap. The town became a rail center, with company offices and repair shops situated there. In 1854, the Dauphin and Susquehanna was extended eastward to Pine Grove
Pine Grove, Pennsylvania
Pine Grove, Pennsylvania may refer to more than one place:*Pine Grove, Cambria County, Pennsylvania*Pine Grove, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania*Pine Grove, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania*Pine Grove, Perry County, Pennsylvania...

 and Auburn
Auburn, Pennsylvania
There is also an Auburn Township in Pennsylvania.Auburn is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 839 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Auburn is located at ....

, as part of a planned railroad to Allentown
Allentown Railroad
The Allentown Railroad was a rail line proposed in the 1850s to connect the Central Railroad of New Jersey at Allentown with the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line across the Allegheny Mountains...

. By 1860, the population had grown to approximately 1,000. Employment was found in the mines and railroad shops. Many train crews also resided in Rausch Gap.

Several factors then contributed to the decay and eventual demise of the town. The first of these was the closing of the mine, although some mining continued into the 1930's. The line to Allentown had never been built, and the railroad came under the control of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. With the completion of the Lebanon and Tremont Branch in 1870, Pine Grove became a more important point on the line. The transfer of the machine shops and company offices from Rausch Gap to Pine Grove in 1872 was the most important factor in the demise of the town. When the railroad moved out, the town was stripped of its final purpose for existence.

By the year 1875, fewer than 100 people remained in the settlement. Some time around 1883, most of the buildings in the town were torn down by the railroad. By 1910, all the residents had departed, and Rausch Gap was a ghost town.

All that remains today are the stone foundations of buildings and a small cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

. Nature has taken back the land: a quick glance at the area and one would never know that it once flourished with people and industry.

Rausch Gap is now one of the many stops along the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...

. There is a shelter there for overnight campers and cold water from a spring and a decent outhouse.
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