Beaver Area High School – History

Beaver Area High School

Gypsy Glen Road

Beaver, PA, 15009

 

When visitors walk down the main street of Beaver, PA (about an hour northwest of Pittsburgh, PA) they feel like they had stepped back in time to a simpler/friendlier aspect of life, and feeling like they are at home. They are welcomed with opened arms by small mom and pop store owners while walking along old school brick paver sidewalks. About two city blocks off this fun, warm area rests the very normal appearing and regularly updated Beaver Area High School. The school lies over the Breezewood Creek along the darkened woods covering Gypsy Glen Road. The school has never had any official paranormal reports, but the district may just want to keep these oddities at bay and out of the public’s eye. However, if you speak with employees, especially those who work and spend time in the building late at night, you may hear a different story; like we have.

 

 

The Past 

 

While the high school itself doesn’t have a bulk of written history behind it, the area of Beaver certainly does.

Before the land of western Pennsylvania was settled, Native American tribes had a stronghold of the area where Beaver stands. They utilized the woods and creek bed to hunt, fish, and just live off the land. These native tribes didn’t always see eye to eye however, this land was rumored to hold battles and death. Over time, this land was said to be cursed and even hold negative energy. By the time that the settlers moved in, those Native Americans had already fled the land.

Serving as the Continental Army’s original fort along the Ohio River, Fort McIntosh was constructed in 1778. The fort hosted the biggest army on the western side of the United States (at the time, that’s about as far west as the United States stretched) until 1785 when the Treaty of Fort McIntosh was signed into legislature. This ultimately helped open the western United States into a formal settlement. During its’ time in commission, the fort saw minimal fighting but plenty of troops in training as it also served as their living quarters.

 

 

A short time later in 1800, the town (at the time known as the Borough of Beaver) was named as the county seat and lead to the creation of Beaver County by 1802. With its’ prime location along the river, Beaver grew into a thriving community. Business boomed and allowed for the growth of mills and transportation. Along with this business growth, families moved into the area, complete with children. Even though at this time education was not on the forefront of the residents’ minds, informal school rooms were established, if for no other reason than to act as a childcare center.

Over time, the small education centers grew and allowed for the construction of a combined middle school and high school in 1899.

The school and town continued to grow and became a leader in technology throughout the 21^st century. By this point, the school encapsulated the entire area of Beaver and allowed for even more growth. Come 1996, the school was renovated, separating and adding on creating two different entities: the middle school and high school.

This separation allowed for the high school to host its’ own events and allowed for growth geared toward older, more mature children. The auditorium holds up to 1,000 guests and commonly hosts school functions, concerts, and educational events. There were wings that were separated for the ease of communication and personal growth including a technology wing, science labs, a separate library, A/V studio, a theater holding up to 150 guests, an art wing including art classrooms and music classrooms, a pool, and two separate gymnasiums.

 

 

Currently, the Beaver High School hosts grades 9-12 and enrolls approximately 700 students. The school has been ranked the area’s top ranked school district for the last 16 years and has produced collegiate level students both academically and athletically.

 

Paranormal Experiences

 

Little is known and even less is shared regarding unnatural and unexplainable experiences that have occurred in the school. Just recently, some stories are coming to light and, especially those who stay at the school late at night, have begun to talk about their experiences.

There are more simple things like the sounds of slamming doors and lockers to the odd feeling of someone standing by watching visitors late at night. Some have experienced the sounds of instruments, particularly a clarinet echoing through the halls. This has even been heard early in the morning when no students are in the building. When this sound is tracked down, no one is to be found. Numerous teachers have heard this, even simultaneously on occasion, but no culprit is ever found.

Very recently, some of the office staff had physically witnessed an odd apparition. An older woman, moving slowly with a walker, made her way to a locked entry door. The staff saw this and directed this woman towards the secondary door which could be easily unlocked. As the staff ventured around the corner to unlock the door and allow the woman access, the woman disappeared from view and sight on the security camera. She turned a blind corner and was never spotted on the adjacent camera and never seen again.

It’s hard to tell why these noises and the apparition have been occurring recently or why these entities may be trapped here but if the land truly is cursed as the natives believe, there could be numerous explanations here. The land could draw in spirits from any time period where someone may have experienced something incredible in their life or something tragic. This could be something as simple as graduating high school to passing away from a sudden accident.

These strange noises may not necessarily be associated with the school itself, it’s very possible that the land has drawn some Native Americans back to the area, regardless of where the high school stands on the land, this land was still the natives’ hunting and war ground first. There have been theories that running water, and the natural energy created from it, have drawn more paranormal activity. As it is, the high school lies right over top the creek itself, which could also help explain the unexplainable.