Urban Explorer Visits Abandoned Mining Village

AN ABANDONED ghost town is being given a second chance at life as a historical tourist site

Scroll down for the full story

The abandoned Yellow Dog Village once used to be a small mining town

Situated in the beautiful hillsides of rural Pennsylvania, the derelict Yellow Dog Village was built in the early part of the last century and was once home to a thriving mining community.

Photojournalist Johnny Joo captures the empty and derelict houses built during the late 1910s

These haunting pictures were captured by photographer and urban explorer Johnny Joo, 25, and give a glimpse into a shattered town ripped apart by the Great Depression of the 1930s.

A row of letter boxes once filled with the mail of families now lay open and empty

In 2014, the village, which is situated in Worthington in western Pennsylvania and consists of 16 buildings, was bought by retired history teacher Joseph Meyer.

The professor, who is from Lebanon County in the 'Keystone state', plans to turn the forgotten area into a space where people can immerse themselves in history and nostalgia.

The village was called Yellow Dog because the miners promised to not unionise in exchange for higher wages and better treatment from the company

And Ohio born snapper Johnny revealed he discovered a village waiting to be reborn.

Yellow Dog was once made up of small tight-knit communities with a population of less than 1,000

He said: “The photos aim to show that the town does have a bright future ahead of it.

Johnny said: "It was incredible to see how everything was thrown back in time and I could imagine families in the streets and children playing in the park"

“I met the owner Joseph, who was very excited to share stories about the town and plans for its restoration.

After the mining company went bankrupt during the Great Depression, the village was bought and sold many times

“He is an incredibly nice person and I can't wait to see his plans come to fruition.”

In recent years it was renamed Shady Side Village and later, MAK Square, before coming full circle back to the name it never really lost

Meyer's project will involve opening Yellow Dog Village to the public as a historic camp, where guests will be able to live in the space and learn the history of the mines and the town.

The new owners – Joseph Meyer and Amber Glaslow in Yellow Dog Village

Photojournalist Joo confirmed that since the last remaining residents vacated in 2011, the site was left to rot and repeatedly vandalised by teenagers

The abandoned village has now been purchased by a retired teacher hoping to re-invent Yellow Dog as a craft village

He said: “Over the years, kids would claim this as their new hangout space, running up and down the streets causing damage to structures – smashing windows and breaking in doors.

“It was not until 2014, that Joseph and his business partner signed papers to become the new owners of this entire piece of forgotten land.”