History & local legend
Dead Man’s Hollow lies beside the Youghiogheny River near McKeesport. The woods now surround remains of a former industrial landscape, including the Union Sewer Pipe Factory, which burned in 1925. The conservation area’s ruins have attracted stories of wandering spirits, concealed robbery money, and an enormous snake.
The best-known explanation for the hollow’s name places its origin in 1874, when boys supposedly discovered a body hanging from a tree. Meg O’Malley’s history for Positively Pittsburgh notes that supporting McKeesport records for that incident have not been found. A separate death is better documented: businessman George A. McClure was killed in the hollow in 1880. Ward McConkey was convicted of the murder and hanged in 1883, still maintaining his innocence.
