fuckyeahghosttowns:

Frick’s Lock, Pennsylvania.
(via wobwobwobwob)

Frick’s Lock is an abandoned village, along the also abandoned Schuylkill Canal, in eastern Pennylvania. This 18th century village outlasted the canal, being abandoned in the late 20th century with the construction of the adjacent Limerick Nuclear Power Plant. Frick’s Locks is considered a modern ghost town, and although private property, attracts visitors.

Frick’s Lock was established when construction for a canal and a set of locks began in the early 1820’s. The village thrived due to the economic stimulus of the canal. Eventually the commercial canal traffic declined toward the turn of the century and gave way to the railroad. The canal was filled in starting in 1942, while the railroad eventually declined too.

In the 1960s, the then Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO) began the process of building the Limerick Nuclear Power Station immediately across the river from Frick’s Lock. The station went on line in 1986. During the project, PECO acquired all the land around the station site, which included Frick’s Lock.

The remains of Frick’s Lock consist of about ten abandoned buildings. The oldest house dates back to 1757. Among the buildings is a barn that dates to 1824 and the original canal lock tender’s house dated 1817. The buildings are boarded up, the area is starting to overgrow, and Frick’s Lock Road has a gate across it. The property belongs to PECO’s successor, Exelon Corporation, and trespassing is discouraged. Fricks locks Village was entered onto the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Because of its reputation as a modern ghost town, Frick’s Lock attracts many curious individuals and groups, including ghost hunters. Its isolated location and abandoned status also attracts vandals. The inclusion of the Frick’s Lock in the 2005 book, Weird Pennsylvania, and numerous web photo essays of the buildings have increased its popularity. The web sites have also documented its increased deterioration, including the aforementioned vandalism and the collapse of some porch structures.

Submission by wobwobwobwob.