Sideling Hill Camp S-52-PA

History & local legend

The Sideling Hill camp near Wells Tannery began in 1933 as Civilian Conservation Corps Camp S-52-PA. Young men stationed there worked on the surrounding forest’s roads and trails. The camp later accommodated other groups, including turnpike workers, conscientious objectors and German prisoners of war during World War II.

The ghost stories collected about the site reflect those different uses. One describes two uniformed soldiers continuing a nighttime patrol. When someone approaches closely enough to speak, the pair disappears. In another, an older man runs toward visitors shouting in German, only to vanish before reaching them.

Other reported figures resemble the camp’s original workers: young men digging and swinging axes among the trees.