History & local legend
Hampden Reservoir once held thirty million gallons above Reading’s Helltown neighborhood, enclosed by steep, stone-lined walls. The city removed it from service in 1936 because of leakage, and an athletic field later occupied the old basin.
The reservoir’s ghost story describes a young woman in a long dress walking along the rim. From a distance, witnesses could make out her silhouette clearly against the edge above the water. When someone approached, however, the figure faded away.
Sources
- GoReadingBerks, Helltown – A Northeastern Suburb, long-dressed apparition, approach and disappearance
- Joseph Webb, GoReadingBerks, Hampden Park Reservoir, capacity, stone lining, closure and reuse
- City of Reading, 2023 Planning Commission Annual Report, Hampden Park Reservoir Field and address
- USGS, historic Reading quadrangle, named reservoir and perimeter
- OpenStreetMap, present-day ball field in the former basin
