Central PA Tips?

[A.C.]

I'm currently planning out some sites to check out in the Central PA area... I'm trying to stay within 1-1.5 hours of Harrisburg if possible. Right now I am considering trying my luck at exploring the Rockville Quarry or what was left of it, as well as just taking a shot in the dark and checking out a few streams in the area.

 

My first official fossil hunt was last Friday (Aug 28) at the Swatara fossil pit. Found a few shells and what I believe to be a partial trilobite exoskeleton or imprint. Definitely going to check that site out again though. 

 

Does anyone have any tips/locations for the Central PA area? Right now my holy grail is a complete trilobite but I'm so new to the game that I get excited at any remnant of a previous life.

 

[aek]

I don't know that area, but maybe try the fossilguy website for tips.

[historianmichael]

There are a lot of available resources both online and in print about fossil collecting in Central PA. I recommend starting with what you are most interested in and doing some research. A lot of the information is old, but some is still good. I have been exploring a lot of Central PA this summer so if you have any questions about specific sites, just send me a message and I will see what I can do to help. Here are some resources to start out with:

 

http://www.fossilspot.com/STATES/PA.HTM

http://donaldkenney.x10.mx/STATES/PA.HTM

https://www.fossilguy.com/sites/mahantango/index.htm

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/forum/128-pennsylvania/

[A.C.]

3 hours ago, historianmichael said:

There are a lot of available resources both online and in print about fossil collecting in Central PA. I recommend starting with what you are most interested in and doing some research. A lot of the information is old, but some is still good. I have been exploring a lot of Central PA this summer so if you have any questions about specific sites, just send me a message and I will see what I can do to help. Here are some resources to start out with:

 

http://www.fossilspot.com/STATES/PA.HTM

http://donaldkenney.x10.mx/STATES/PA.HTM

https://www.fossilguy.com/sites/mahantango/index.htm

http://www.thefossilforum.com/index.php?/forum/128-pennsylvania/

I think I am most interested in finding a trilobite and some fern. I'm bummed St. Clair is closed to the collection as all the videos online make that place seem like a goldmine of gems. Do you know of any other areas nearby St. Clair that offer collection? In addition any places you would recommend specifically in the central PA region to check out?

[BigKen]

17 hours ago, A.C. said:

I think I am most interested in finding a trilobite and some fern. I'm bummed St. Clair is closed to the collection as all the videos online make that place seem like a goldmine of gems. Do you know of any other areas nearby St. Clair that offer collection? In addition any places you would recommend specifically in the central PA region to check out?

If you are looking specifically for the fern fossils that made St Clair famous, you might try Centralia.  I’ve never collected there (I’ve been to Centralia... as have most people who are fascinated by creepy places... but it was during my long lull away from collecting so I was totally unaware of this exposure or the fact that it apparently contains fern fossils).  
 

If you don’t know, Centralia is the home of an infamous underground coal fire that, after literally decades of resisting every effort to extinguish it and of residents breathing the toxic smoke, officials finally gave up and bought up (almost) every house and relocated the entire town, lock, stock and barrel. As of a 15 years ago, there were still a few elderly holdouts who refused to take the money and were instead living in a weird netherworld of paved streets and neighborhoods that were wreathed in smokey haze and 99.99% vacant lots where the homes had been bought up and demolished.  The buyout was, I believe, in the 1970s so even if those holdouts were relatively youthful when they decided to take a stand and not leave, any who are still there have got to be getting old now.  
 

But I digress.  There is apparently a nice exposure in Centralia that contains great looking ferns similar to those you would find at St. Clair.  I don’t know exactly where it is, but it is well-known and gets mentioned in here from time to time so you could do a search here or just Google “Centralia” “fossils” and you would certainly  get more than enough information to find it and, since the town is essentially a ghost town, you need not worry about accidentally entering private property, or parking in an illegal spot or having other difficulties with local residents (that’s a double-edged sword, though, because, God forbid, you should have an accident or if all that toxic smoke created a tribe  of aggressive zombies hungry for brains, help is likely a good distance away, too).  

[A.C.]

4 hours ago, BigKen said:

If you are looking specifically for the fern fossils that made St Clair famous, you might try Centralia.  I’ve never collected there (I’ve been to Centralia... as have most people who are fascinated by creepy places... but it was during my long lull away from collecting so I was totally unaware of this exposure or the fact that it apparently contains fern fossils).  
 

If you don’t know, Centralia is the home of an infamous underground coal fire that, after literally decades of resisting every effort to extinguish it and of residents breathing the toxic smoke, officials finally gave up and bought up (almost) every house and relocated the entire town, lock, stock and barrel. As of a 15 years ago, there were still a few elderly holdouts who refused to take the money and were instead living in a weird netherworld of paved streets and neighborhoods that were wreathed in smokey haze and 99.99% vacant lots where the homes had been bought up and demolished.  The buyout was, I believe, in the 1970s so even if those holdouts were relatively youthful when they decided to take a stand and not leave, any who are still there have got to be getting old now.  
 

But I digress.  There is apparently a nice exposure in Centralia that contains great looking ferns similar to those you would find at St. Clair.  I don’t know exactly where it is, but it is well-known and gets mentioned in here from time to time so you could do a search here or just Google “Centralia” “fossils” and you would certainly  get more than enough information to find it and, since the town is essentially a ghost town, you need not worry about accidentally entering private property, or parking in an illegal spot or having other difficulties with local residents (that’s a double-edged sword, though, because, God forbid, you should have an accident or if all that toxic smoke created a tribe  of aggressive zombies hungry for brains, help is likely a good distance away, too).  

Awesome! I will definitely have to look that up... definitely going to do my best to avoid the zombies though.  Will have to do my research first though as a simple google search makes it seem like a potentially dangerous area with the smoke. If I end up going I'll be sure to make a post about it.

 

[traveltip1]

I think the Rockville site is closed and posted and mostly overgrown.

[A.C.]

11 hours ago, traveltip1 said:

I think the Rockville site is closed and posted and mostly overgrown.

I went to the Rockville site yesterday (or what I think was it). From what I could see only the railroad area is off-limits. It was very overgrown though and would have been much easier to get to by crossing through the posted property. I found a ton of brachiopods but the site is definitely not for someone looking for an easy to get to the location. I ended up torn up by thorns and encountered a pretty huge black racer snake.  

[BigKen]

On 9/2/2020 at 3:58 PM, A.C. said:

Awesome! I will definitely have to look that up... definitely going to do my best to avoid the zombies though.  Will have to do my research first though as a simple google search makes it seem like a potentially dangerous area with the smoke. If I end up going I'll be sure to make a post about it.

 

Yeah zombies can ruin a great day of collecting almost as fast as a sudden downpour.  Lol.  

 

I drove through there once 15+ years ago.  I was told at that point that the smoke and fires had dissipated greatly from their peak when the decision was made to move the town.  And I saw very little obvious evidence of it.  It was a hazy day anyway and it seemed to be more hazy in and around Centralia but it wasn’t a situation where smoke and toxic steam was billowing out of cracks in the ground (as it apparently was in the 70s).  And I’ve been told that since my visit the smoke has largely disappeared. Some are even theorizing that the underground fire has finally extinguished itself.  Unfortunately, I can’t vouch for any of that.  In any case, you would definitely be smart to err on the side of caution.  
 

Good luck and have fun!

[GemCityHippie]

On 9/2/2020 at 4:58 PM, A.C. said:

Awesome! I will definitely have to look that up... definitely going to do my best to avoid the zombies though.  Will have to do my research first though as a simple google search makes it seem like a potentially dangerous area with the smoke. If I end up going I'll be sure to make a post about it.

 

I just did a quick cursory google search and found this website which seems to have good info as well as map image of where the formation they were looking at is located in Centralia. http://www.americangeode.com/blog/fern-fossils-discovery-centralia-pennsylvania/ 

 

As far as Centralia itself I've heard over the past few years that the smoke and haze has died down to a point where it's usually fairly minimal. Can't vouch for it myself but with the amount of people I've heard saying it I'd imagine you'd be fairly okay; still taking reasonable precautions of course.

[A.C.]

2 hours ago, GemCityHippie said:

I just did a quick cursory google search and found this website which seems to have good info as well as map image of where the formation they were looking at is located in Centralia. http://www.americangeode.com/blog/fern-fossils-discovery-centralia-pennsylvania/ 

 

As far as Centralia itself I've heard over the past few years that the smoke and haze has died down to a point where it's usually fairly minimal. Can't vouch for it myself but with the amount of people I've heard saying it I'd imagine you'd be fairly okay; still taking reasonable precautions of course.

Thanks! Gonna screenshot that for whenever I get around to checking out Centralia.

[RandyB]

@A.C.Send me a PM if you decide you want to check out Centralia. I have collected there multiple times as its only about half an hour from home.  The fires aren't out, but they have burned off away from where the town used to be and you dont see smoke from any of the vents near the collecting site anymore. After COVID started the township even bulldozed dirt over the old highway (graffiti highway) in an attempt to keep people from gathering there in large numbers.  The collecting site is accessed by pulling in next to the old cemetary and walking back to the exposure while occasionally dodging the atv enthusiasts who frequent the area.  Fair warning, the site is a steep exposure so you need to be comfortable working on the angle, feels kind of like fossil hunting on an asphalt shingled roof.

[jdp]

On 9/2/2020 at 2:58 PM, A.C. said:

Awesome! I will definitely have to look that up... definitely going to do my best to avoid the zombies though.  Will have to do my research first though as a simple google search makes it seem like a potentially dangerous area with the smoke. If I end up going I'll be sure to make a post about it.

 

True story, Centralia was the inspiration for the Silent Hill series of video games

[BigKen]

On 9/9/2020 at 10:11 PM, RandyB said:

@A.C.Send me a PM if you decide you want to check out Centralia. I have collected there multiple times as its only about half an hour from home.  The fires aren't out, but they have burned off away from where the town used to be and you dont see smoke from any of the vents near the collecting site anymore. After COVID started the township even bulldozed dirt over the old highway (graffiti highway) in an attempt to keep people from gathering there in large numbers.  The collecting site is accessed by pulling in next to the old cemetary and walking back to the exposure while occasionally dodging the atv enthusiasts who frequent the area.  Fair warning, the site is a steep exposure so you need to be comfortable working on the angle, feels kind of like fossil hunting on an asphalt shingled roof.

Excellent info.  Thank you for filling in the many information gaps in my post. 
 

it makes lot more sense that the fire is still burning but has moved away from the old town site.  I seem to remember when they finally caved and moved the town, one of the reasons given was that there was sufficient fuel still available underground for the fire to continue to burn for some insane length of time (many, many decades) into the future so it was surprising to think it might have burned itself out only a few years later.  

 

 

[I_gotta_rock]

On 9/5/2020 at 11:35 AM, BigKen said:

Yeah zombies can ruin a great day of collecting almost as fast as a sudden downpour.  Lol.  

 

I drove through there once 15+ years ago.  I was told at that point that the smoke and fires had dissipated greatly from their peak when the decision was made to move the town.  And I saw very little obvious evidence of it.  It was a hazy day anyway and it seemed to be more hazy in and around Centralia but it wasn’t a situation where smoke and toxic steam was billowing out of cracks in the ground (as it apparently was in the 70s).  And I’ve been told that since my visit the smoke has largely disappeared. Some are even theorizing that the underground fire has finally extinguished itself.  Unfortunately, I can’t vouch for any of that.  In any case, you would definitely be smart to err on the side of caution.  
 

Good luck and have fun!

I met a grad student out there last year who was studying the vegetation over the hot spots. Although there is little to no enforceement, visitors are required to have permits that we did not have. Oops. The fires are still burning in town, just not as much. The soil temp where we were standing was 80 degrees, which is nuts for PA. So, still some danger of sink holes. You probably don't want to be on that slope without rock climbing gear anyway. It's high, steep, and slick.