A demolition team discovered a hidden room underneath a condemned, 19th century Pennsylvania home last week, WHTM-TV reported.
The building on Ann Street in Middletown Township was almost completely demolished when the team came across a room hidden behind a crumbled wall.
"We noticed a wall which fell," James Thornton, who found the room with his crew, told the station. "Nobody knew what it was, so me and another employee decided to take a peek inside."
Upon further inspection the crew found a 60-foot-long, curved ceiling chamber strewn with old bottles.
Experts don't officially know what the mysterious room was used for. According to the Middletown Historical Society, the brick room could have been used as a speak easy during the Prohibition era, WHTM-TV reported. That theory is supported by the chamber's vaulted ceilings, which would have kept the room cold for drinks and food, Fox 43 reported.
Robin Pellegrini, a historic society trustee, said the deed to the building, constructed between 1870 and 1880, has the letters "SAL" indicating a saloon, instead of "D" for dwelling.
"So there could've been a speakeasy in there," Pellegrini said according to Fox 43.
Historians also suspect the room was a safe haven for slaves as part of the Underground Railroad. The building's location is less than a mile away from a creek that leads to the Susquehanna River, which could have been an escape for slaves, according to The Patriot-News.
"It is an amazing feeling to know that the slaves made their way through Middletown," Thornton told WHTM-TV. "I knew Middletown was the oldest community in the county, but I never imagined it had this kind of history."
Thornton told the station that the contractor, Dick Olszewski, ceased the demolition when the room was found. Olszewski is to meet with borough officials to discuss the next move.
