The Former Krejci Dump Near Greater Cleveland's "Helltown" Is Linked With Local Legend

How could one forget the iconic Helltown legend of Northeast Ohio? This tale surrounds Boston Township, Peninsula, and Boston Heights, and other portions of land in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park area. According to legend, this community is haunted, hosting lost souls and a so-called Highway to Hell. Stories surrounding Helltown also tell of a mysterious chemical spill and a giant python prowling the local woods. Legends in Greater Cleveland are an amazing oral tradition, but they’re just that… legends. Stories. Make-believe. However, if history has taught us anything, it’s that humans often preserve a piece of truth in their myths and legends. What truth could there be to the legend of Helltown? With the tales of a chemical spill in mind, let’s dissect this story.

Wikimedia Commons/National Park Service

Sound like the makings of a horror story? Quite frankly, this spot was horrific, in a way. Carcinogenic waste like arsenic, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and more were added to this site between 1948 and 1980. This salvage yard was acquired by the National Park Service in 1985, and by that time the ground on which it sat was badly contaminated.

Wikimedia Commons/National Park Service

Signs were eventually placed to warn locals of the threat, and the government set out to correct the issue. Some sources point out that this spot is the most costly Superfund cleanup site in the nation. Some $50 million later, around 50,600 cubic yards of contaminated soil had to be removed. Believe it or not, the amount of trash and debris that had to be removed was only about half that number.

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Andrew Borgen/Flickr

As signs were placed warning locals of the danger at the Krejci Dump, rumors began to pop up. Though the local landscape had been taken for the creation of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, some insisted that the government had forced locals out to cover up this massive chemical spill. That same chemical spill was said to cause mutations in the local population as well as the monstrous growth of the alleged Peninsula Python.

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Wikimedia Commons/National Park Service

Re-vegetation and the control of invasive plant species is the latest focus at this site, which now boasts a meadow and three acres of wetland. The site, once fully restored, will blend seamlessly into the local park and will be open to the public.


Throughout the previous few decades, this spot has undergone remarkable restoration and cleanup, which you can see in this video by WKYC Channel 3:
Today, you'd never know that this restored landscape was once a heavily contaminated dump. It's also worth mentioning that many of the companies directly responsible for the dump's contamination have since paid their dues... literally. These companies actually funded some of the restoration efforts and ongoing maintenance initiatives (though they did not necessarily do so by choice, it is still nice to know that the parties involved are making things right).

Andrew Borgen/Flickr

Want to learn more about this story? Sources for all information are linked throughout the article, so click around and set out to learn something new.

Legends in Greater Cleveland are fantastical, but there’s an ounce of truth hidden in even the most outrageous tale. What do you think about the tales of Helltown and the Krejci Dump? Are you surprised that there this local legend isn’t entirely made up? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

Have you ever heard of the so-called Melon Heads? If not, this is definitely the next local legend that you need to dig into!