Centralia is a borough and ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population has dwindled from over 1,000 residents in 1981 to 12 in 2005,[1] 9 in 2007, and 10 in 2010, as a result of a mine fire burning beneath the borough since 1962. Centralia is one of the least-populated municipalities in Pennsylvania.
Centralia is part of the Bloomsburg?Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area. The borough is completely surrounded by Conyngham Township.
All properties in the borough were claimed under eminent domain by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1992 (and all buildings therein were condemned), and Centralia's ZIP code was revoked by the Post Office in 2002.[1] However, a few residents continue to reside there in spite of the failure of a lawsuit to reverse the eminent domain claim.
Early history
Johnathan Faust opened Bull's Head Tavern in 1841 in what was then Roaring Creek Township. In 1854, Alexander W. Rea, a civil and mining engineer for the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company, moved to the site and laid out streets and lots for development. The town was known as Centreville until 1865. There was another Centreville in Schuylkill County, however, and the Post Office would not allow a second one, so Rea renamed his village Centralia.[2]
Centralia was incorporated as a borough in 1866. The anthracite coal industry was the principal employer in the community. Coal mining continued in Centralia until the 1960s, when most of the companies went out of business. Bootleg mining continued until 1982. Strip and open-pit mining is still active in the area, and there is an underground mine employing about 40 people three miles to the west.
Mine fire
Quote:
Centralia area showing conditions before mine fire
The borough was also a hotbed of Molly Maguires activity during the 1860s and 1870s. The borough's founder, Alexander Rea, was one of the victims of the secret order when he was murdered just outside of the borough on October 17, 1868.[3] Three individuals were convicted of the crime and hanged in the county seat of Bloomsburg, on March 25, 1878. Several other murders and arsons also occurred during this period.
The borough was served by two railroads, the Philadelphia and Reading and the Lehigh Valley, with the Lehigh Valley being the principal carrier. Rail service ended in 1966. The borough operated its own school district with elementary schools and a high school within its precincts. There were also two Catholic parochial schools in the borough. The borough once had seven churches, five hotels, twenty-seven saloons, two theatres, a bank, a post office, and 14 general and grocery stores. During most of the borough's history, when coal mining activity was being conducted, the town had a population in excess of 2,000 residents. Another 500 to 600 residents lived in areas immediately adjacent to Centralia.[1]
This was a world where no human could live, hotter than the planet Mercury, its atmosphere as poisonous as Saturn's. At the heart of the fire, temperatures easily exceeded 1,000 degrees [Fahrenheit]. Lethal clouds of carbon monoxide and other gases swirled through the rock chambers.[2] - David DeKok (1986)
It is not known for certain how the fire that made Centralia essentially uninhabitable was ignited. One theory asserts that in May 1962, the Centralia Borough Council hired five members of the volunteer fire company to clean up the town landfill, located in an abandoned strip-mine pit next to the Odd Fellows Cemetery. This had been done prior to Memorial Day in previous years, when the landfill was in a different location. The firefighters, as they had in the past, set the dump on fire and let it burn for a time. Unlike in previous years, however, the fire was not extinguished correctly.
Centralia area showing conditions after mine fire (as of 2008)
Other evidence supports this theory, as stated in Joan Quigley's 2007 missive, such as the fact that a trash hauler dumped hot ash and/or coal discarded from coal burners into the open trash pit. The borough, by law, was responsible for installing a fire-resistant clay barrier between each layer, but fell behind schedule, leaving the barrier partly incomplete. This allowed the hot coals to penetrate the vein of coal underneath the pit and light the subsequent subterranean fire. Quigley cites "interviews with volunteer firemen, the former fire chief, borough officials, and several eyewitnesses, as well as contemporaneous borough council minutes" as her sources for this explanation of the fire.[4] Another theory of note is the Bast Theory. It states that the fire was burning long before the alleged trash dump fire. However, due to overwhelmingly contrary evidence, few hold this position, and it is given little credibility.[4]
The fire remained burning underground and spread through a hole in the rock pit into the abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, and it continued to burn throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Adverse health effects were reported by several people due to the byproducts of the fire, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and a lack of healthy oxygen levels.
In 1979, locals became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner and then mayor, John Coddington, inserted a stick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot, so he lowered a thermometer down on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was 172 ?F (77.8 ?C). Statewide attention to the fire began to increase, culminating in 1981 when 12-year-old resident Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole four feet wide by 150 feet (46 m) deep that suddenly opened beneath his feet in a backyard. Only the quick work of his cousin Eric Wolfgang in pulling Todd out of the hole saved Todd's life, as the plume of hot steam billowing from the hole was measured as containing a lethal level of carbon monoxide.
In 1984, the U.S. Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Most of the residents accepted buyout offers and moved to the nearby communities of Mount Carmel and Ashland. A few families opted to stay despite warnings from Pennsylvania officials.
In 1992, Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey claimed eminent domain on all properties in the borough, condemning all the buildings within. A subsequent legal effort by residents to have the decision reversed failed. In 2002, the U.S. Postal Service revoked Centralia's ZIP code, 17927. In 2009, Governor Ed Rendell began the formal eviction of Centralia residents.[1][not in citation given][5][not in citation given]
[edit]Today
Very few homes remain standing in Centralia; most of the abandoned buildings have been demolished by humans or nature. At a casual glance, the area now appears to be a field with many paved streets running through it. Some areas are being filled with new-growth forest. The remaining church in the borough, St. Mary's, holds weekly services on Sunday and has not yet been directly affected by the fire.[citation needed] The town's four cemeteries?including one on the hilltop that has smoke rising around and out of it?are maintained in good condition.[citation needed] There is also a notice board posted near Hammie Hill, about 500 yards from the cemetery, protesting the evictions and demanding former Governor Rendell intervene.
The only indications of the fire, which underlies some 400 acres (1.6 km?) spreading along four fronts, are low round metal steam vents in the south of the borough and several signs warning of underground fire, unstable ground, and carbon monoxide. Additional smoke and steam can be seen coming from an abandoned portion of Pennsylvania Route 61, the area just behind the hilltop cemetery, and other cracks in the ground scattered about the area. Route 61 was repaired several times until its final closing. The current route was a detour around the damaged portion during the repairs and became a permanent route in 1993; mounds of dirt were placed at both ends of the former route, effectively blocking the road. Pedestrian traffic is still possible due to a small opening about two feet wide at the north side of the road, but this is muddy and not accessible to the disabled. The underground fire is still burning and will continue to do so for an estimated 250-1000 more years.[6]
Prior to their demolition in September 2007, the last remaining house on Locust Avenue was notable for the five chimney-like support buttresses along each of two opposite sides of the house, where the house was previously supported by a row of adjacent buildings before it was demolished. Another house with similar buttresses was visible from the northern side of the cemetery, just north of the burning, partially subsumed hillside.[7]
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did not renew the relocation contract at the end of 2005, and the fate of the remaining residents is uncertain.[8]
In 2009, John Comarnisky and John Lokitis Jr, were both evicted in May and July, respectively. In 2010, only five homes remain as state officials try to vacate the remaining residents and demolish what's left of the town. As of May, the remaining residents are mounting another legal effort to reverse the 1992 eminent domain claim; they are currently awaiting a jury to begin proceedings.[9]
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I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
The Pottsville Republican & Herald reported in February 2011 that the Borough Council still has regular meetings.[10] The news story reported that the town's highest bill at the meeting reported on came from PPL at $92 and the town's budget was 'in the black.'
It is expected that many former residents will return in 2016 to open a time capsule buried in 1966 next to the veterans' memorial.Centralia area showing conditions before mine fire
The borough was also a hotbed of Molly Maguires activity during the 1860s and 1870s. The borough's founder, Alexander Rea, was one of the victims of the secret order when he was murdered just outside of the borough on October 17, 1868.[3] Three individuals were convicted of the crime and hanged in the county seat of Bloomsburg, on March 25, 1878. Several other murders and arsons also occurred during this period.
The borough was served by two railroads, the Philadelphia and Reading and the Lehigh Valley, with the Lehigh Valley being the principal carrier. Rail service ended in 1966. The borough operated its own school district with elementary schools and a high school within its precincts. There were also two Catholic parochial schools in the borough. The borough once had seven churches, five hotels, twenty-seven saloons, two theatres, a bank, a post office, and 14 general and grocery stores. During most of the borough's history, when coal mining activity was being conducted, the town had a population in excess of 2,000 residents. Another 500 to 600 residents lived in areas immediately adjacent to Centralia.[1]
This was a world where no human could live, hotter than the planet Mercury, its atmosphere as poisonous as Saturn's. At the heart of the fire, temperatures easily exceeded 1,000 degrees [Fahrenheit]. Lethal clouds of carbon monoxide and other gases swirled through the rock chambers.[2] - David DeKok (1986)
It is not known for certain how the fire that made Centralia essentially uninhabitable was ignited. One theory asserts that in May 1962, the Centralia Borough Council hired five members of the volunteer fire company to clean up the town landfill, located in an abandoned strip-mine pit next to the Odd Fellows Cemetery. This had been done prior to Memorial Day in previous years, when the landfill was in a different location. The firefighters, as they had in the past, set the dump on fire and let it burn for a time. Unlike in previous years, however, the fire was not extinguished correctly.
Centralia area showing conditions after mine fire (as of 2008)
Other evidence supports this theory, as stated in Joan Quigley's 2007 missive, such as the fact that a trash hauler dumped hot ash and/or coal discarded from coal burners into the open trash pit. The borough, by law, was responsible for installing a fire-resistant clay barrier between each layer, but fell behind schedule, leaving the barrier partly incomplete. This allowed the hot coals to penetrate the vein of coal underneath the pit and light the subsequent subterranean fire. Quigley cites "interviews with volunteer firemen, the former fire chief, borough officials, and several eyewitnesses, as well as contemporaneous borough council minutes" as her sources for this explanation of the fire.[4] Another theory of note is the Bast Theory. It states that the fire was burning long before the alleged trash dump fire. However, due to overwhelmingly contrary evidence, few hold this position, and it is given little credibility.[4]
The fire remained burning underground and spread through a hole in the rock pit into the abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, and it continued to burn throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Adverse health effects were reported by several people due to the byproducts of the fire, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and a lack of healthy oxygen levels.
In 1979, locals became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner and then mayor, John Coddington, inserted a stick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot, so he lowered a thermometer down on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was 172 ?F (77.8 ?C). Statewide attention to the fire began to increase, culminating in 1981 when 12-year-old resident Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole four feet wide by 150 feet (46 m) deep that suddenly opened beneath his feet in a backyard. Only the quick work of his cousin Eric Wolfgang in pulling Todd out of the hole saved Todd's life, as the plume of hot steam billowing from the hole was measured as containing a lethal level of carbon monoxide.
In 1984, the U.S. Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Most of the residents accepted buyout offers and moved to the nearby communities of Mount Carmel and Ashland. A few families opted to stay despite warnings from Pennsylvania officials.
In 1992, Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey claimed eminent domain on all properties in the borough, condemning all the buildings within. A subsequent legal effort by residents to have the decision reversed failed. In 2002, the U.S. Postal Service revoked Centralia's ZIP code, 17927. In 2009, Governor Ed Rendell began the formal eviction of Centralia residents.[1][not in citation given][5][not in citation given]
[edit]Today
Very few homes remain standing in Centralia; most of the abandoned buildings have been demolished by humans or nature. At a casual glance, the area now appears to be a field with many paved streets running through it. Some areas are being filled with new-growth forest. The remaining church in the borough, St. Mary's, holds weekly services on Sunday and has not yet been directly affected by the fire.[citation needed] The town's four cemeteries—including one on the hilltop that has smoke rising around and out of it—are maintained in good condition.[citation needed] There is also a notice board posted near Hammie Hill, about 500 yards from the cemetery, protesting the evictions and demanding former Governor Rendell intervene.
The only indications of the fire, which underlies some 400 acres (1.6 km?) spreading along four fronts, are low round metal steam vents in the south of the borough and several signs warning of underground fire, unstable ground, and carbon monoxide. Additional smoke and steam can be seen coming from an abandoned portion of Pennsylvania Route 61, the area just behind the hilltop cemetery, and other cracks in the ground scattered about the area. Route 61 was repaired several times until its final closing. The current route was a detour around the damaged portion during the repairs and became a permanent route in 1993; mounds of dirt were placed at both ends of the former route, effectively blocking the road. Pedestrian traffic is still possible due to a small opening about two feet wide at the north side of the road, but this is muddy and not accessible to the disabled. The underground fire is still burning and will continue to do so for an estimated 250-1000 more years.[6]
Prior to their demolition in September 2007, the last remaining house on Locust Avenue was notable for the five chimney-like support buttresses along each of two opposite sides of the house, where the house was previously supported by a row of adjacent buildings before it was demolished. Another house with similar buttresses was visible from the northern side of the cemetery, just north of the burning, partially subsumed hillside.[7]
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did not renew the relocation contract at the end of 2005, and the fate of the remaining residents is uncertain.[8]
In 2009, John Comarnisky and John Lokitis Jr, were both evicted in May and July, respectively. In 2010, only five homes remain as state officials try to vacate the remaining residents and demolish what's left of the town. As of May, the remaining residents are mounting another legal effort to reverse the 1992 eminent domain claim; they are currently awaiting a jury to begin proceedings.[9]
The Pottsville Republican & Herald reported in February 2011 that the Borough Council still has regular meetings.[10] The news story reported that the town's highest bill at the meeting reported on came from PPL at $92 and the town's budget was 'in the black.'
It is expected that many former residents will return in 2016 to open a time capsule buried in 1966 next to the veterans' memorial.
__________________
__________________
I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
Several current and former Centralia residents believe the state's eminent domain claim was a plot to gain the mineral rights to the anthracite coal beneath the borough.[11] Residents estimate its value to be in the billions of dollars, although the exact amount of coal is not known.[12] In a nearby municipality, the government was successful in extinguishing a similar mine fire using methods like those proposed for and used in Centralia.[13][not in citation given]
The opinion of these former and current residents, concerning the Commonwealth's desire to obtain mineral rights to the coal, stems from the municipality laws of the state. According to state law, when the municipality can no longer form a functioning municipal government, i.e. when there are no longer any residents, the borough legally ceases to exist. Thus, the mineral rights, and all other rights, possessed by the Borough of Centralia (since the mineral rights are owned by the borough and not a private company) would revert to the ownership of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania until the legal status of the land (ceding it to an adjacent municipality) occurs. Residents theorize the state legislature would keep the land in political limbo, so they can extinguish the blaze and mine the anthracite.
As of the 2000 census,[14] there were 21 people, 10 households, and 7 families residing in the borough. As of March 2004, there were eighteen people residing in nine dwellings (more recent statistics in 2007 report half as many residents). The population density was 87.5 people per square mile (3.38 km?). There were sixteen housing units at an average density of 66.7 people per square mile (2.57 km?). The racial makeup of the borough was 100% white. The 2010 census reported 10 people living in Centralia.
There were ten households out of which one (10%) had children under the age of 18 living with them, five (50%) were married couples living together, one had a single female householder, and three (30%) were non-families. Three of the households were made up of individuals, and one had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.10, and the average family size was 2.57.
In the borough, the population was spread out with one (5%) resident under the age of 18, one from 18 to 24, four (19%) from 25 to 44, seven (33%) from 45 to 64, and eight (38%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 62 years. There were ten females and eleven males with one male under the age of 18.
The median income for a household in the borough was $23,750, and the median income for a family was $28,750. The per capita income for the borough was $16,083. None of the population is below the poverty line.
[edit]Police
Though it originally fielded its own three-man department (one full time chief and two part-time officers) during the latter part of the twentieth century, Centralia Borough is now patrolled by the Pennsylvania State Police Bloomsburg Station.
[edit]Emergency services
The Borough is currently served by the still active Centralia Fire Company #1 and the Centralia Fire Company Community Ambulance, both of which are based in the Borough Municipal Building.
[edit]In the media
[edit]Literature
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson describes a visit to the town.
Jennifer Finney Boylan's novel The Planets (written under the name James Boylan) and its sequel The Constellations are both set in Centralia.
Centralia is the hometown of the main character in the novel Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline.
In the 2003 book Bubbles Ablaze by Sarah Strohmeyer, Centralia is the inspiration for the fictional town of Limbo, Pennsylvania.
In March 1991, Centralia was the subject of an article ("Don't Go There") in National Lampoon magazine.
The main character in Joyce Carol Oates's The Tattooed Girl, Alma Busch, is from Centralia.
Douglas Soderberg's 1986 one-act play The Root of Chaos is a dark comedy set in Centralia, and depicts a dysfunctional working-class family coming to terms with their house sinking from the coal fire.
The June 22, 1981, issue of People Magazine discusses the borough's dilemma in "A Town with a Hot Problem Decides Not to Move Mountains but to Move Itself".
TIME also presents Centralia's problems in its June 22, 1981, issue, in "The Hottest Town in America".
Centralia is documented in photographs and oral histories in Slow Burn: A Photodocument of Centralia, Pennsylvania by Renee Jacobs, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.
Centralia is the model for the eponymous fictional town of Coal Run, written by Tawni O'Dell. The book is about the life of Ivan Zoschenko, a former football hero known locally as The Great Ivan Z, but who is now the deputy of a nearby town. Ivan grew up in Coal Run, which, like Centralia, is nearly abandoned because of underground fires in the coal seams beneath the town. However, Coal Run's fires are a result of a mine explosion that took the lives of 96 men, including Ivan's father.
Centralia is the location for the final scenes in the novel Vampire Zero by David Wellington.
Dean Koontz's novella "Strange Highways" takes place in a town similar to Centralia.
The Day the Earth Caved In: An American Mining Tragedy written by Joan Quigley tells an in-depth account the history of Centralia, PA and the mine fire from its infantcy to the book's writing in 2007.
Photo 1:PA_61_Centralia_and_Byrnesville
Photo 2: (A view showing the old and new alignments of en:Pennsylvania Route 61 near en:Centralia, Pennsylvania, and a good picture of the clearing that was once en:Byrnesville, Pennsylvania. This is a USGS aerial photo, so it is in the public domain)
__________________
I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
Film
The town and its few remaining residents are the focus of Chris Perkel and Georgie Roland's 2007 feature-length documentary The Town That Was.[15]
The town is the inspiration for the 1991 cult film Nothing But Trouble, written by Dan Aykroyd.[citation needed]
In the 2006 horror film Silent Hill, the town of Silent Hill has been abandoned due to a prolonged mine fire, which writer Roger Avary says was inspired by Centralia.[16] Aspects of this are shown throughout the movie, such as characters wandering through the misty version of Silent Hill wearing mining gear.
The town circa 1987 is prominently featured in the opening minutes of the 1987 film Made in USA as the home town of the lead characters.[17]
The 2009 film Sinkhole was filmed mostly in Centralia.
[edit]Comics
The town is included in a short documentary on the Broken Saints web comic DVD set.
Centralia is the basis for the fictional town of Blossomville, Pennsylvania in Alan Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing in the 1985 story arc "The Nukeface Papers".
Centralia appears in Bob Rozakis' story in Action Comics #558 as Superman comes to Coaltown to use his heat vision to make a firebreak and put the fire out.
[edit]Other
The Squonk Opera wrote and performed a musical entitled Inferno (working and debut title of Burn), re-interpreting Dante Alighieri's Inferno as a trip into Centralia.
The Centralia Mine Fire and the resulting devastation is the theme of the 2006 song "Centralia" by the sludge-metal band Jucifer.[18]
The town of Centralia was featured in the episode "Engineering Disasters #7" of Modern Marvels on the History Channel.
The town was featured in episode #59, "Fire", of the radio program This American Life.
Several personal stories from the history of the fire were featured in the "Cities" episode of the WNYC radio program Radiolab in Oct 2010.[19]
The town was featured in an episode of Life After People: The Series on the History Channel. It was used as an example of what would happen to a town after twenty five years without humans.
Episode 200 of The Simpsons ("Trash of the Titans") was loosely based on the history of Centralia. In the episode, Homer becomes Springfield's Sanitation Commissioner and charges other towns to dump their trash in Springfield's abandoned mine. When trash begins coming out of the ground, the entire town is relocated.
Danish electronic musician Trentem?ller's music video Sycamore Feeling is shot in Centralia.
Central Pennsylvania prog-rock band Beer and Pretzels has a song entitled "17927", aptly named after its revoked ZIP code, which illustrates the tenacity of its remaining townspeople.
Boston ska band Bim Skala Bim has a song entitled "Burning Underground," based on the history of Centralia.
Metal band Car Bomb's 2007 release is an homage to the town, aptly named Centralia
The movie Silent Hill was based off of Centralia.
__________________
I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
I pass through there about 4 times a year. Its interesting seeing how its changed over the years. When my dad was younger he worked in some of those homes on the electric. Most if not all of those homes are gone now considering there are maybe 5 or 6 left total. Its just a grid of streets with grass lots. The remains of a playground, post office (that I'm not sure is in service or not anymore), a fire station with 1 rig and an ambulance. State Police are the patrol. And the cemetery. Thats about it.
I worked there in 92-93 behind a drilling rig. We worked just above the hot area and drilled holes so they could put water hoses down the holes to try to flood the fire out. Made alot of good money during those 3-6 months...
Its just a grid of streets with grass lots. The remains of a playground, post office (that I'm not sure is in service or not anymore), a fire station with 1 rig and an ambulance. State Police are the patrol. And the cemetery. Thats about it.
That whole site is actually really cool if you're into abandoned places.
Living near the Bethlehem Mills in Steelton & Bethlehem was depressing enough.
There's an abandoned resort in the hills above Weaversville-Robesonia. at night it was the spookiest place you could imagine. You have to hide your car and bushwhack in or get busted for trespass.
thanks for the link, this photo says it all.
__________________
I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
I worked there in 92-93 behind a drilling rig. We worked just above the hot area and drilled holes so they could put water hoses down the holes to try to flood the fire out. Made alot of good money during those 3-6 months...
They probably pumped a few lakes down those shafts but the fire never blinks. Old mines too often become dumps and garbage fires ignite coal seams. After that it's a gift that keeps on giving.
I knew a bank robber from that area who ran a drill for a blasting company near Bath PA. He's in for good after his last misadventure and he's a thief because he's lazy. They out to chain him to a drill for 20 years to earn his keep.
__________________
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I'll believe corporations are persons when Texas executes one.: LBJ's Ghost
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