Centralia, Pennsylvania
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, 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domain by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1992 (and all buildings therein were condemned), and Centralia's ZIP code was revoked by the Post Office in 2002. 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.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.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. 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.
Mine fire
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.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. 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.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.[not in citation given][not in citation given]
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 Governor Rendell intervene.The only indications of the fire, which underlies some 400 acres (1.6 km²) 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.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.The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did not renew the relocation contract at the end of 2005, and the fate of the remaining residents is uncertain.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.The Pottsville Republican reported in February 2011 that the Borough Council still has regular meetings . 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.
Mineral rights
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. Residents estimate its value to be in the billions of dollars, although the exact amount of coal is not known. In a nearby municipality, the government was successful in extinguishing a similar mine fire using methods like those proposed for and used in Centralia.[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.[citation needed]
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 21 people, 10 households, and 7 families residing in the borough. As of March 2004[update], 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 km²). There were sixteen housing units at an average density of 66.7 people per square mile (2.57 km²). 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.
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.
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.
Literature
A Walk in the WoodsbyBill Brysondescribes a visit to the town.
Jennifer Finney Boylan's novelThe Planets(written under the name James Boylan) and its sequelThe Constellationsare both set in Centralia.
Centralia is the hometown of the main character in the novelDirty BlondebyLisa Scottoline.
In the 2003 bookBubbles AblazebySarah 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') inNational Lampoonmagazine.
The main character inJoyce Carol Oates'sThe Tattooed Girl, Alma Busch, is from Centralia.
Douglas Soderberg's 1986 one-act playThe Root of Chaosis adark comedyset in Centralia, and depicts a dysfunctionalworking-classfamily coming to terms with their house sinking from the coal fire.
The June 22, 1981, issue ofPeople Magazinediscusses the borough's dilemma in 'A Town with a Hot Problem Decides Not to Move Mountains but to Move Itself'.
TIMEalso presents Centralia's problems in its June 22, 1981, issue, in 'The Hottest Town in America'.
Centralia is documented in photographs and oral histories inSlow Burn: A Photodocument of Centralia, Pennsylvaniaby Renee Jacobs, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.
Centralia is the model for the eponymous fictional town ofCoal Run, written byTawni 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 novelVampire ZerobyDavid 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.
Film
The town and its few remaining residents are the focus of Chris Perkel and Georgie Roland's 2007 feature-length documentaryThe Town That Was.
The town is the inspiration for the 1991 cult filmNothing But Trouble, written byDan Aykroyd.[citation needed]
In the 2006 horror filmSilent Hill, the town of Silent Hill has been abandoned due to a prolonged mine fire, which writerRoger Avarysays was inspired by Centralia.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 filmMade in USAas the home town of the lead characters.
Comics
The town is included in a short documentary on theBroken Saintsweb comic DVD set.
Centralia appears inAlan Moore'sSaga of the Swamp Thingin the 1985 story arc 'The Nukeface Papers'.
Centralia appears in Bob Roziak's Action Comics #558 as Superman comes to Coaltown to use his heat vision to make a firebreak and put the fire out.
Other
TheSquonk Operawrote and performed a musical entitledInferno(working and debut title ofBurn), re-interpretingDante Alighieri'sInfernoas a trip into Centralia.
The Centralia Mine Fire and the resulting devastation is the theme of the 2006 song 'Centralia' by the sludge-metal bandJucifer.
The town of Centralia was featured in the episode 'Engineering Disasters #7' ofModern Marvelson theHistory Channel.
The town was featured in episode #59, 'Fire', of the radio programThis American Life.
Several personal stories from the history of the fire were featured in the 'Cities' episode of theWNYCradio programRadiolabin Oct 2010.
The town was featured in an episode ofLife After People: The Serieson the History Channel. It was used as an example of what would happen to a town after twenty five years without humans.
Episode 200 ofThe 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 musicianTrentemøller's music video Sycamore Feeling is shot in Centralia.
Central Pennsylvania prog-rock bandBeer and Pretzelshas a song entitled '17927', aptly named after its revoked ZIP code, which illustrates the tenacity of its remaining townspeople.
Boston ska bandBim Skala Bimhas a song entitled 'Burning Underground,' based on the history of Centralia.
Metal bandCar Bomb's 2007 release is an homage to the town, aptly namedCentralia
Gallery
The Buck Vein Outcrop
A plume of smoke wafts from the ground.
A row house stands alone.
Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church
Former American Legion plot
ADEPmonitoring hole
A DEP underground reading of 187°F (86°C)
The ruined section of Route 61, Centralia
