Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
A view of Brașov’s Old Town.
Romania • 12 days, 11 nights
Legends of Romania: Castles, Ruins & Culinary Delights
from
Balkans road trip
Bosnia and Herzegovina • 9 days, 8 nights
Balkans Road Trip: Serbia, Croatia & Bosnia and Herzegovina
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Parking Lot Shoeprints
Dewey Square Pylon & Bent 38
Black Rocks of Pungo Andongo
Abandoned Observatory of the Pioneer Palace
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Names on the bartop.
The Dive
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Two suitcases in an empty airport hall.
AO Mailbag: Is It Normal to Share a Checked Bag With Your Boyfriend?
Kolaches
How Texas Became an Unlikely Epicenter for Czech Pastries
What I Found Driving Across Northern Michigan
What I Found Driving Down Highway 61

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Pennsylvania Dawson Body Farm in Pennsylvania

Body Farm in Pennsylvania

A macabre farm reserved part of its 222-acres for dead bodies, all in the name of science.

Dawson, Pennsylvania

Added By
Katie Baker
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Roma Khan conducting preliminary work on decomposition of cattle.   Wikicommons
Add Photos
Roma Khan conducting preliminary work on decomposition of cattle.   Wikicommons
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

“Old MacDonald had a farm, ee i ee i oh. And on that farm he had a…pile of dead bodies…?” This will soon be the tune of farmer John O’Laughlin at Grace Lair Farm in Upper/Lower Tyrone Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania.

Mr. O’Laughlin donated a sizable piece of his 222-acre farm to the California University of Pennsylvania to be used by students and researchers as an outdoor laboratory. This anthropological research center or “body farm” will be a place where human cadavers are analyzed in order to better understand the process of human body decomposition for the sake of forensic analysis. Sadly, it will not be open to the public.

This body farm will be the fifth in the country and the first in the Northeast. The others are located in Tennessee (University of Tennessee), North Carolina (Western Carolina University), and two are in Texas (Texas State University and Sam Houston State University). The smallest, at Western Carolina, can hold up to 10 bodies at a time, while the facility at Texas State University is five acres.

These facilities play an integral role in developments of forensic anthropology. "Whether it's looking at crime scenes, or putting the bodies there, we're going to provide meaningful education to students in the field,” says Dr. John R. Cencich, director of California University’s Institute of Criminological and Forensic Sciences.

The fact that this will be the first facility in the Northeast is notable because it is located in a completely different geographical region from the other four farms. Bodies decompose at different rates depending on the climate, and the more elements human cadavers are exposed to, the quicker the rate of decomposition. Therefore, the hot and humid summers, the cold and snowy winters, and the regular precipitation throughout the year in Pennsylvania offers new discoveries in the field of forensic anthropology.

Plans are still being made and details are still being sorted, but Old MacDonald will soon have a new sort of farm that will keep scientists, students, and investigators well occupied.

Related Tags

Strange Science Memento Mori Repositories Of Knowledge

Know Before You Go

The site is not open to the public.

Community Contributors

Added By

katiebaker4

Edited By

asinfonian, PAZ, nero

  • asinfonian
  • PAZ
  • nero

Published

March 14, 2012

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/dailycourier/s_707194.html
  • http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/12/down-on-the-body-farm-inside-the-dirty-world-of-forensic-science/67241/
Body Farm in Pennsylvania
233 Eannotti Road
Dawson, Pennsylvania, 15428
United States
40.082511, -79.614979
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Space Acorn

Kecksburg, Pennsylvania

miles away

Donora Smog Museum and Historical Society

Donora, Pennsylvania

miles away

5th Street Steps

Donora, Pennsylvania

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

United States

Places 417
Stories 28

Nearby Places

Space Acorn

Kecksburg, Pennsylvania

miles away

Donora Smog Museum and Historical Society

Donora, Pennsylvania

miles away

5th Street Steps

Donora, Pennsylvania

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

United States

Places 417
Stories 28

Related Places

  • The head of Diogo Alves

    Lisbon, Portugal

    Preserved Head of Diogo Alves

    An early Portuguese serial killer's head is alarmingly well preserved in a jar at the University of Lisbon.

  • Dearborn, Michigan

    Edison's Last Breath

    A sealed test tube said to hold Thomas Edison's dying breath was given to the inventor's friend and mentee, Henry Ford.

  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

    Center for PostNatural History

    Mutant vegetables, transgenic mosquitos, and atomic rodents span the walls of this one-of-a-kind museum.

  • Rome, Italy

    Keats-Shelley Memorial House

    Museum dedicated to literary greats of the Romantic Period is also the home in which Keats met his untimely end.

  • Sign for the Monroe Insitute

    Faber, Virginia

    The Monroe Institute

    Take an otherworldly journey in a school dedicated to out-of-body experiences.

  • Armenian clothes

    Watertown, Massachusetts

    Armenian Museum of America

    Large Massachusetts museum dedicated to Armenian history and culture.

  • The anechoic chamber

    Minneapolis, Minnesota

    Orfield Labs Quiet Chamber

    This lab's maddening silence is good for business but bad for sanity.

  • Custer, South Dakota

    Crazy Horse Memorial

    The world's largest mountain carving could fit all of Mount Rushmore inside it many times over.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.