The Drowned Town
The once idyllic tree line streets of Corydon, Pennsylvania were once home to a small community just south of the New York State border. Where life went on like normal for residents who lived there. The railroad tracks which cut through the middle of town moving south toward commerce, past the railroad depot and through Bradford and Church Streets would often break the silence of a warm summer day. Nestled against the Allegany River Corydon was the perfect home town where one could walk down Bradford Street and go to the Hardware store and walk over to the Corydon post office to send letters to relatives out in the world. But in 1965 Corydon ceased to exist.
Making way for progress Corydon fell victim to the Kinzua Dam project when the Army Corp of Engineers flooded the area wiping out idyllic streets and once loved homes. Now the town of Corydon lies beneath the water forever slumbering in the depths. Since 1965 the town disappeared from the map and what was left of the surrounding area was incorporated into other nearby townships. However, in 1998 the unexpected happened.
Thirty-three years later after lying underneath 20 -100 feet of water Corydon re-emerged from the depths. A drought that was causing the outlying townships to conserve water reduced the amount of water that lay over Corydon. In time broken gravestones emerged from the water over where the cemetery on Bradford Street used to be. Tree stumps that lined the idyllic streets peeked out from the water. Roads leading nowhere appeared along with crumbling remains of buildings. Corydon came back from the murky depths. In time, with the drought a distant memory, the water rose again and Corydon was committed back to the depths of the water. In time it may come back again. So if you are ever on a hillside looking at the reservoir enjoying the calm cool water and you see something sticking out of the water. It just may be the drowned town of Corydon, PA.