8 STRANGE Abandoned Places Across America

"From the colossal St. Francis Dam, to the ominous Bahia Honda Rail Bride, these are 8 STRANGE Abandoned Places Across America !

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8.St. Francis Dam
LOCATION - Sierra Pelona Mountains, California

The St. Francis dam was constructed in only 2 years, between 1924 and 26. It was supposed to be an integral part of the Los Angeles Aqueduct water supply infrastructure. Its close proximity to Los Angeles did not trouble anyone at the time, by close, I mean 40 mi (64km) from downtown LA.

On March 12, 1928, 3 minutes from midnight, the St. Francis Dam experienced a catastrophic failure. In all, 12.4 BILLION Gallons (47 Billion Liters) of water rushed down the canyons, destroying everything in sight. The only piece that was not moved by the water became known as the “Tombstone”. The largest remaining piece of the dam, weighing in at 10,000 tons, was dragged ¾ of a mile (1200m) by the current.

Around 425 people lost their lives, and the height of the water initially reached 140 ft (43m). Bodies were found as far south as the USA - Mexico border, many more were washed out into the Pacific Ocean

The tragedy was massive, and people wanted answers, there were 4 separate commissions that came up with almost identical reasons behind the failure. “The dam failed as a result of defective foundations”. To this day, you can hike around the Sierra Pelona Mountains, and hunt for

The reason I went into this much detail about this abandoned place in the mountains is due to the Oroville Dam scare from a few days ago. The spillway suffered a failure, and fearing imminent collapse, the government issued evacuation orders for 188,000 people. Luckily, nothing failed due to erosion from the water… but there are more heavy rains expected in the area starting on Feb 15.

7.Holland Island
LOCATION - Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

6.Cahaba
LOCATION - Cahaba, Alabama

5.Fontainebleau Resort Las Vegas , Echelon
LOCATION - Las Vegas, Nevada

4.Centralia
LOCATION - Centralia, Pennsylvania

Alrightttt I get it, everyone and their cat knows about Centralia. But it had to be included at least once in these videos.

Centralia was a somewhat decent town in the 80’s, with about 1000 residents, to the sad sad state of affairs in recent years, with an estimated population of around 7 people.

The downfall of the town began when a coal seam fire was started sometime in the 1960’s. Many people claim that the whole fire was started because of deliberate illegal burning of trash in a former strip mine. No the town is not haunted, but yes, the town is believed to be the inspiration for the horror film, Silent Hill.

3.Glenwood Power Plant
LOCATION - Yonkers, New York

This dirty old power plant has been the location for many rumors and stories, including its importance as a satanic ritual places, and gang initiations.

The plant was built in 1907, and served an important role in the powering up the New York Central Railroad…. The building has been abandoned since 1970, and for a long time, it was an eyesore, an urban exploration spot, and let's face it, somewhere to go when you ditched school.

2.Bahia Honda Rail Bridge
LOCATION - Florida Keys, Florida

Check this out, its a railroad bridge over the ocean ! But seriously, it is. It was originally part of the “overseas railway” that connected many parts of the Florida Keys. Specifically connecting Bahia Honda Key with Spanish Harbor Key.

From 1912 to 1938 it was strictly used as a rail bridge, but it was later converted to highway use until 1972. What happened in 1972 ? A catastrophic failure? Godzilla ? actually something very mundane, a new, stronger, better, prettier bridge was built. Nowadays, the Bahia Honda Rail bridge still stands proud over the shallow waters of the Florida Keys. There are no immediate plans to dismantle or destroy what remains of the structure !

Honorable Mentions
Bulow plantation,Grossinger's Catskill Resort, City Methodist Church

1.Bannerman Castle
LOCATION - Fishkill, NY

Finally, at #1, located on the Hudson river, and built simply by chance, the Bannerman Castle was the home of the ammunitions dealer Frank Bannerman. Who claimed that he was all about peace, even when the bannerman summer home was also used for a stockpile of goods he hadn’t sold yet !

This also lead to the accidental explosion of 200 tons of shells and powder in 1920. It destroyed a bit of the castle, coupled with declining sales, and the loss of the ferryboat that served the island, the place was completely abandoned by 1968.

Nowadays, the island is owned by the New York State Office of Parks and Rec. and starting in May 2017, you can visit the island again !"