The second day of the trip we headed towards Camp Livingston. On the way we stopped to catch a cache that is hidden as part of this historic pine tree. The hider did a good job because that one eluded us. While there, an older man from the Dry Prong area stopped by to see what we were doing. Turns out he has an antique shop in Dry Prong that carries really old cast iron pots. We had a great time talking to him and will have to go find his shop next time we are up there.
When we got to Livingston we found some of the old roads and drove around. It’s a really big site and had a large network of roads. I’m not sure what the site in this next picture is but it had a big foundation. **EDIT** My husband has informed me that this is the Gymnasium. We located a few caches along the way too.
We also found the swimming pool. This thing was *huge*, had to be way bigger than Olympic size. If you look on Google you can find it easily, there is a huge chunk of the woods taken out by this thing. It was hard to get any good shots of it, and even if I had you wouldn’t be impressed. Unfortunately vandals have nearly completely destroyed it. Shooting it up, dumping loads of trash in it. Here’s a shot of a piece of the side wall.
We later found an area where people park to get on the ATV trails, and had lunch there. I found this set of foundation that was kinda interesting. It was 3 really long concrete lanes. Not sure what it was for though.
On our way out of Livingston we tried to find the famed POW camp area. We really wanted to see the POW graffiti that is said to be there. But no luck…we couldn’t find it. All we found in that area was lots of animal bones.
On the way out we stopped in Pineville, La so I could get a few shots of the old Mental Hospital barn. Across the way was an airfield and this pilot looked as though he was practicing his approach because he would circle and go towards the runway then pull up and circle again.
I’d like to find some more information on this old barn and the hospital…which was shut down years ago. I was once told by a local that there was an underground tunnel that the cattle were herded from the barn, under the road and into a field to graze…which is now a lake. Hhmm…. strange.
Then it was across the old O. K. Allen Bridge and headed back to Camp Claiborne to make camp. We decided there was still much left there for us to explore.
We made camp at the MultiUse Trail area for ATV’s, and had dinner and fun by headlamp. LOL!
Our Family Adventures 
January 9, 2011 at 3:22 PM
Let us know if you find out any info on the old hospital…you know that place must be haunted!
July 4, 2011 at 9:47 PM
That “Barn” is actually part of what used to be Central Hospital of Mental Health. It is shut down now. But central is now a rehab center. The barn is said to be very haunted. My mom used to bring inmates out there to do yardwork (She works at the local prison JLDCC). She said that they had to clean that building out one day and there were rooms that were blocked off by shelves, windows that they saw opened when they were leaving, which they went through and made sure they had closed them all before going outside, and just and overall eerie feel aboutthe place.
July 6, 2011 at 8:42 AM
Wow…it’s great to get a tidbit from someone who has first hand knowledge! Thanks! I knew it had once been a part of the hospital, but wasn’t sure to what degree it was used. It would certainly be cool to be able to go in and look around!
January 2, 2017 at 12:15 AM
Next time you are around Central State Hospital, go into the Main Entrance and as you drive around you will come across a spot that is open field between other buildings. There is a Sign that tells about a lot of patients that have died there and buried in a mass grave.
Also get a picture of the Hardwood Trees arching over this road as you drive through.
July 23, 2011 at 1:31 PM
That old barn has been the subject of alot of speculation by locals for a long time. It began as a dairy barn and ,yes, a tunnel was built to take cattle beneath the road where they wouldnt interrrupt traffic. Unfortunatley when Buhlow Lake was filled the tunnel was flooded and now sits inaccessible:( The barn itself is protected by several security systems as well as security guards patroling from the Halfway House. It is nearly impossible to be granted permission inside, even when you know someone(a girlfriend of mines uncle worked for Central) To my understanding several arrests have been made over the years on teenagers trying to break into it.
And If you ever make it back to Livingston try to vist the “castle”( The old sewage plant), the old ice house ruins and tunnels may also be of interest to you. They are a local favorite and a trip to the Ice House has become a right of passage of sorts. Enjoy.
July 23, 2011 at 2:39 PM
Thanks for the information Amanda!! I do remember hearing about the tunnel for the cattle…but wasn’t sure if that was true or not. We hadn’t heard about the Ice House or “castle” My husband is now curious about that! LOL…will have to add those items to our list of things to check out.
July 23, 2011 at 6:37 PM
Sorry…I meant he is now curious. Was typing too fast, had to go back and fix it. 😀
February 10, 2012 at 12:38 PM
I live in the area of camp livingston, ive found a lot of the buliding. Just about all of them it looks like the tops have been taking off. But i dont think that was a swimming pool. It was a miltary base, and if you look around the edges of the wall, you can see where the metal bars are that indicated that it was bigger, and had a top to it. Did you get to see the ice house?
February 11, 2012 at 8:29 PM
The 4th photo is a shot of a small piece of the pool, that thing is huge. I think I have other shots that have almost all of it shown. It’s hard to tell, but yes it was a pool. We have original maps and blueprints that even state it was. We’ve also been able to find a second smaller one that says it was used for rehabilitation.
Yes, the ice house was so cool!!! We just recently went back and found that and more. I’ve just been too lazy and busy to post the pics from that trip. Really need to do that soon. LOL!
February 2, 2013 at 10:05 PM
ive been looking for the ice house for almost a year now and havent found it yet, i have the master blueprints but they arent very legible.
February 3, 2013 at 7:28 PM
I have a Google Earth waypoint my husband made of the location I can send you I think. But it won’t do you much good now…the government came in a few months ago and fenced off the whole area topped with barbed wire. 😦
March 20, 2013 at 9:15 PM
I was born and raised in Tioga. Livingston was a place to go and tell ghost stories with friends. Yes, it was a pool that you mentioned. If you research it on the web, you will find a post card with a picture of the pool when it was up and functioning. Unfortunately, it has been destroyed. The Icehouse does exists but you have to know what you are looking for when you see the things because it is not easy to tell what these things are unless you are familar with it or have a guide with you. I would like to see any additional pictures you may have of Livingston. My dad is retired Army and this is where he taught me to drive. It is too bad that they have closed it off to the public but if they had done this years ago maybe we would have more history there to view.
February 9, 2014 at 3:32 PM
I have grown up right here by Camp Livingston. I know that the ice house is haunted from experience. As a kid my dad and pawpaw, who is retired from camp Beauregard, used to take me here to learn to shoot and drive. I guess I was about 12 yrs old and we were out there just walking around when I actually saw a man in uniform standing in the doorway of the icehouse. Back then the building was still intact except for doors and windows, but you could still go inside. Anyway, I asked my pawpaw who the man was and he said he was just a man that worked there along time ago. We went over to the building and no one was there. I got really scared and so we left. I have never been comfortable around the icehouse after that. I saw theman and so did my pawpaw. My pawpaw retired in the late 70’s and said they used to have drill at camp Livingston. He’s a very Christian man and he has said that the camp is very haunted. I can still remember when the pool would hold water from the rain. I saw the image of a man looking up at me from the water. I guess I was younger than 8 yrs old at that time. But he wasn’t scary. Through the years we have rod eats out there and on more than one account I have had to leave due to things going on in the woods. From screams to what sounded like men marching.
February 10, 2014 at 10:24 AM
Wow such great memories! It’s always fun to hear stories from others on their experiences out there. 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
February 10, 2014 at 10:24 AM
Wow such great memories! It’s always fun to hear stories from others on their experiences out there. 😀 Thanks for stopping by!
January 2, 2017 at 12:01 AM
It still holds water, I was there today. It always holds water after rain on the deep end.
February 9, 2014 at 3:34 PM
Rode atv’s sorry spell check
June 16, 2014 at 7:37 PM
Hello! Was doing some perusing on Camp Livingston information that is available on the web. My father was stationed there in the early to mid 40s. He was a bacteriologist in the hospital there and did some care on the very first POW that was held in the camp. Before Dad died, he wrote of his experience at Livingston. What a story! It isn’t published, but I do have several copies he had made and put into folders. He didn’t speak too often of the place, but when he did, he became full of emotion that was sometimes difficult for him to control. Would anyone here know of a place that I might send my dad’s story…. museum in the area there that might like to have it? I have a few pictures, very few of him there. Oddly enough, when daddy was writing his story, he said he couldn’t find much information about the camp, except that it was basically gone now! Thanks for any information you might can help me with. My name is Leisa! You can reach me at lgwaylett@earthlink.net Thanks again!
August 1, 2015 at 10:44 PM
That used to be a dairy barn. The Central State Hospital next door covers a large area and is mostly still functioning. Some buildings are closed and used for storage. CSHospital is listed as one of the most haunted places in LA. Also the airstrip is mainly a pilot training site, mostly student pilots buzzing around there.
February 18, 2018 at 10:30 PM
One would turn left at the right spot and the icehouse would loom up. We would go inside, look around…meat hooks curving up on the walls. There was a definite feeling of foreboding…a sort of hill/road with, I think, a tunnel-like opening in it. I guess I was in the pool that had been being used as a firing range…