The Pennsylvania collection
McKean County
9 places. A county full of stories.
Discover local legends, historic places and the stories of sites you can explore virtually.
Explore this county on the map →Allegheny River wetland corridor north of Eldred
A treasure story from the wetlands north of Eldred concerns Cyrus Cole, a man who picked berries, trapped muskrats and lived in a shack. Neighbors…
Former Chestnut Street School
At Kane’s former Chestnut Street School, a key was required to operate the elevator. That detail became central to the building’s ghost story: people…
SchoolsFormer Clay Street School
The former Clay Street School in Kane, McKean County, has a story about children appearing at top-floor windows around two in the morning, watching…
Outdoors · Historical imageGardeau
A lost-silver legend near Gardeau in McKean County centers on a British captain called Blackbeard. In the version retold by Francis X. Scully, he…
Inns & businessesKane Manor Inn
Kane Manor stands on Clay Street in Kane, in McKean County. Dr. Elizabeth Kane had the house built in 1896 after a fire destroyed the family’s…
Bridges & railwaysKinzua Bridge State Park
A treasure legend places stolen bank money somewhere within sight of Kinzua Bridge near Mount Jewett. In the story, a man robbed an Emporium bank in…
InstitutionsOld McKean County Jail Museum
The Old McKean County Jail in Smethport is associated with Ralph Crossmire, who was convicted of murdering his mother, Lucetta. She was found dead in…
Bridges & railways · Aerial viewRoystone on the former Pennsylvania Railroad line
An 1890s railroad tale told by crews at Kane’s West Side yards places a strange encounter near Roystone. A train had separated there, leaving a…
Willow Dale Cemetery
In 1968, Willow Dale Cemetery near Bradford attracted crowds hoping to encounter a ghost called “Luke the Spook.” An Associated Press report…