Centralia, Pennsylvania Is Burning!

Warning!

In 1854, Mr. Alexander W. Rea, a mining engineer for the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company, moved to the site that had been known as Roaring Creek Township since 1841, and laid out streets and lots for development. The town was initially known as Centreville but there was another Centreville in neighboring Schuylkill County just to the south east, and the US Post Office would not allow a another P O with the same name, so in 1865 Rea renamed his village Centralia; it was incorporated as a borough the very next year (1866).

The borough or town operated its own school district with elementary schools and one high school within its boundaries; further it once had seven churches, five hotels, twenty-seven saloons, two theatres, a bank, 14 general and grocery stores, and a post office. The borough’s population peaked at 2,761 as is evidenced by the 1890 federal census, and then fell into a steady decline. According to 1980’s census, there were only 1,012 residents; by 2010 the number had dropped to 10. Today (October 2012) a family of five (5) visiting the little that’s left of the town will double the population.

All properties in the borough were claimed under eminent domain by the Commonwealth (State) of Pennsylvania in 1992 and all buildings located in Centralia were condemned with a stroke of the government’s pen. You might say all hope for the town was lost when in 2002 Centralia’s ZIP code (17921) was revoked by the US Postal Service. A few residents however continue to reside there even though a lawsuit to reverse the eminent domain claim failed.

Like many Pennsylvania towns in the region, the anthracite coal industry was the principal employer in the community.  As you probably already know, anthracite coal was formed some time ago (between 250,000,000 BC and 400,000,000 BC); it holds the highest rank among coal and is noted for its bright luster. . . . Sadly, the mismanagement of this superior coal seam would play a key role in the community’s ultimate demise.

Coal mining was king in Centralia until the 1960s, when most of the companies went out of business but “Bootleg” mining or mining without a government permit, continued until 1982. Strip and open-pit mining is still active in the general area, and there is now (2012) an underground mine that employs about 40 people three miles to the west.

OK so here’s what most people think happened . . . In 1962, a couple of workers set some “accumulated” trash on fire in close proximity to an abandoned mine; turns out the fire was too close to an exposed vein of anthracite coal, guess what, it also caught fire. Early attempts to put the smoldering coal fire out failed miserably and the fire spread throughout mines beneath the town.

For the next 20 years, numerous attempts were made to extinguish the fire, but they failed too. In 1981, the ground crumbled beneath the feet of a12-year-old native son which resulted in lots of media coverage and in turn the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in short condemned the town and spent $42 million to relocate residents.

The fire continues to burn today (2012) and experts say there’s enough coal to fuel the fire for 250 years.

Although a handful of people remain in Centralia, all properties in the town were reclaimed by the state by virtue of eminent domain so no-one was really surprised when the borough’s ZIP code was revoked in 2002. Residents have filed lawsuits to reverse the eminent domain claim because they believe the state simply wants to get the mineral rights to the coal, which is estimated to be worth $1 billion , but as stated above all such attempts have failed.

So you might ask, is this the ultimate ghost town?  Well during the early days of the community Centralia was believed to be a hotbed for the unsavory actions of the “Molly Maguires” (a 19th century secret society of mainly Irish-American coal miners).  In fact the borough’s founder, Alexander Rea, is said to be one of the victims of the secret order when he was murdered just outside of town on October 17, 1868. Three individuals were convicted of the crime and hanged in the county seat on March 25, 1878. Several other murders and arsons occurred during the same era which some folks insist enhances the likely-hood of Centralia being a ghost’s paradise.

Sources:                                                               http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania http://www.msha.gov/District/Dist_01/History/history.htm                                   http://geology.com/rocks/coal.shtml                                                            http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/eco-tourism/photos/12-us-places-where-your-visit-could-double-the-population/centralia-pa