DEATH VALLEY ROAD
- Program
- Subject
- Location
- Lat/Long
- Grant Recipient
-
Legends & Lore®
-
Legend
- 451 Fredericks Rd, Johnson City, NY 13790, USA
- 42.176580552257, -76.023685190144
-
Nanticoke Valley Historical Society
DEATH VALLEY ROAD
Inscription
DEATH VALLEY ROADCAUTIONARY TALES OF MURDERS,
HANGINGS, DROWNINGS, AND
SCATTERED BONES NEAR THIS
ROAD HAVE BEEN TOLD BY
RESIDENTS FOR GENERATIONS.
NEW YORK FOLKLORE
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2021
No one knows for sure how the shadowy Death Valley Road in Johnson City, New York, earned its macabre name. Because road’s appellation calls out for explanation, legends have risen to fill in the details. When local historian Shirley Woodward received questions about Death Valley’s origin, she launched an investigation to find the answer. She ultimately handed the inquiry off to a local middle school teacher, who, in turn, delegated the task to his students.
The students collected a diversity of divergent but semi-related tales that told of tragic deaths along the road, including murders, fatal fight, dens of thieves, drownings, hangings, and lynchings. Others mentioned bones scattered in the woods, panthers stalking the area, and children gone missing.
Whether the name spurred these legends or the legends propagated the name was never settled. Either way, the lonely Death Valley Road remains shrouded in mystery.
