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Centralia, Pennsylvania | HearLore
Centralia, Pennsylvania
Centralia is a borough and near-ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States, where a coal mine fire has been burning beneath the streets since 1962. The population of this once-thriving community has plummeted from 1,000 residents in 1980 to just five people in 2020, making it the least-populated municipality in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The fire, which started in an unsealed landfill pit, has consumed the town's infrastructure, forcing the state to condemn all real estate and eventually discontinue the borough's ZIP code in 2002. Despite the government's efforts to relocate the remaining residents, an agreement reached on the 29th of October 2013, allowed the last five inhabitants to stay in their homes for the rest of their lives, after which the property would be reclaimed through eminent domain. The fire continues to burn, expected to last another 250 years, creating a surreal landscape of smoke, steam, and abandoned streets that have become a dark tourist attraction known as the Graffiti Highway before being buried under dirt berms in 2020.
Foundations of Coal and Blood
The history of Centralia begins in 1749 when Native American tribes sold much of the land in Northeastern Pennsylvania, including the Centralia valley, to colonial agents for £500. In 1770, during the construction of the Reading Road, settlers surveyed and explored the land that would eventually become the heart of the town. Robert Morris, a hero of the Revolutionary War and a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, acquired a third of Centralia's valley land in 1793, but declared bankruptcy in 1798, surrendering the land to the Bank of the United States. A Philadelphia-based sea captain, trader, and banker named Stephen Girard, who was born in France, purchased Morris' lands for $30,000, including 68 tracts east of Morris', after learning that there was anthracite coal in the region. The Centralia coal deposits were largely overlooked before the construction of the Mine Run Railroad in 1854. In 1832, Johnathan Faust opened the Bull's Head Tavern in what was called Roaring Creek Township, giving the town its first name, Bull's Head. In 1842, Centralia's land was bought by the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company. Alexander Rae, a mining engineer, moved his family in and began planning a village, laying out streets and lots for development. Rae named the town Centreville, but in 1865 changed it to Centralia because the U.S. Post Office already had a Centreville in Schuylkill County. The Mine Run Railroad was built in 1854 to transport coal out of the valley. The first two mines in Centralia opened in 1856, the Locust Run Mine and the Coal Ridge Mine. Afterward came the Hazeldell Colliery Mine in 1860, the Centralia Mine in 1862, and the Continental Mine in 1863. The Continental was located on Stephen Girard's former estate. Branching from the Lehigh Valley Railroad, the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad was constructed to Centralia in 1865, enabling transport and expansion of Centralia's coal sales to markets in eastern Pennsylvania. Centralia was incorporated as a borough in 1866. Its principal employer was the anthracite coal industry. Alexander Rae, the town's founder, was murdered in his buggy by members of the Molly Maguires on the 17th of October 1868, during a trip between Centralia and Mount Carmel. Three men were eventually convicted of his death and were hanged in the county seat of Bloomsburg, on the 25th of March 1878. Several other murders and incidents of arson also took place during the violence, as Centralia was a hotbed of Molly Maguires activity during the 1860s to organize a mineworkers union in order to improve wages and working conditions. A legend among locals in Centralia tells that Father Daniel Ignatius McDermott, the first Roman Catholic priest to call Centralia home, cursed the land in retaliation for being assaulted by three members of the Maguires in 1869. McDermott said that there would be a day when St. Ignatius Roman Catholic Church would be the only structure remaining in Centralia. Many of the Molly Maguires' leaders were hanged in 1877, ending their crimes. Legends say that a number of descendants of the Molly Maguires still lived in Centralia up until the 1980s. According to numbers of federal census records, the town of Centralia reached its maximum population of 2,761 in 1890. At its peak, the town had seven churches, five hotels, 27 saloons, two theaters, a bank, a post office, and 14 general and grocery stores. Thirty-seven years later the production of anthracite coal had reached its peak in Pennsylvania. In the following years, production declined, as many young miners from Centralia enlisted in the military when the US entered World War I. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 resulted in the Lehigh Valley Coal Company closing five of its Centralia-local mines. Bootleg miners continued mining in several idle mines, using techniques such as what was called pillar-robbing, where miners would extract coal from coal pillars left in mines to support their roofs. This caused the collapse of many idle mines, further complicating the prevention of the mine fire in 1962. Efforts to seal off the abandoned mines ran into the collapsed areas. In 1950, Centralia Council acquired the rights to all anthracite coal beneath Centralia through a state law passed in 1949 that enabled the transaction. That year, the federal census counted 1,986 residents in Centralia. Coal mining continued in Centralia until the 1960s, when most of the companies shut down. Bootleg mining continued until 1982, and strip and open-pit mining are still active in the area. An underground mine about three miles to the west employs about 40 people. Rail service ended in 1966. Centralia operated its own school district, including elementary schools and a high school. There were also two Catholic parochial schools. By 1980, it had 1,012 residents. Another 500 or 600 lived nearby.
When did the Centralia mine fire start and what caused it?
The Centralia mine fire started in May 1962 when an unsealed landfill pit allowed fire to enter abandoned coal mines beneath the town. The fire began after firefighters set a dump on fire on the 27th of May 1962 and failed to fully extinguish it, allowing flames to penetrate the coal seam.
How many people live in Centralia Pennsylvania today?
As of the 2020 census, there were five people residing in Centralia, making it the least-populated municipality in Pennsylvania. The population plummeted from 1,000 residents in 1980 to just five people in 2020 due to government relocation efforts and the ongoing fire.
What happened to the Graffiti Highway in Centralia in 2020?
In April 2020, the property owners covered the abandoned section of Pennsylvania Route 61 with several hundred mounds of dirt to end decades of fascination with the desolate stretch. This action buried the graffiti under access-denial berms, effectively blocking off the area permanently to vehicular traffic.
Why was the Centralia ZIP code discontinued in 2002?
The U.S. Postal Service discontinued Centralia's ZIP code 17927 in 2002 after the state condemned all real estate and the population dwindled to only 16 homes. The fire had consumed the town's infrastructure, forcing the state to take legal action to reclaim the property.
Who was Alexander Rae and what happened to him?
Alexander Rae was a mining engineer who moved his family to Centralia and laid out streets and lots for development before naming the town Centreville. He was murdered in his buggy by members of the Molly Maguires on the 17th of October 1868 during a trip between Centralia and Mount Carmel.
How long is the Centralia mine fire expected to burn?
The underground fire in Centralia is expected to burn for another 250 years as of 2006 reports. The fire continues to spread along four fronts beneath some 4 square miles, creating a surreal landscape of smoke and steam.
Analysts disagree about the specific cause of the Centralia fire. David Dekok, author of Fire Underground: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Centralia Mine Fire, concluded that it started with an attempt to clean up the town landfill. 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 just outside the borough limits. This had been done prior to Memorial Day in previous years, when the landfill was in a different location. On the 27th of May 1962, the firefighters, as they had in the past, set the dump on fire and let it burn for some time. Unlike in previous years, however, the fire was not fully extinguished. An unsealed opening in the pit allowed the fire to enter the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia. By contrast, other sources claim that the fire had started the previous day, when a trash hauler dumped hot ash or coal discarded from coal burners into the open trash pit. The author of The Day the Earth Caved In noted that borough council minutes from the 4th of June 1962, referred to two fires at the dump and that five firefighters had submitted bills for fighting the fire at the landfill area. The borough, by law, was responsible for installing a fire-resistant clay barrier between each layer of the landfill, but fell behind schedule, leaving the barrier incomplete. This allowed the hot coals to penetrate the coal seam underneath the pit and start the subsequent subterranean fire. Another theory proposes that the Bast Colliery fire of 1932 was never fully extinguished, and that fire reached the landfill area by 1962; however, a miner named Frank Jurgill Sr. disputes that theory. Jurgill claims he operated a bootleg mine with his brother near the landfill from 1960 to 1962. If the Bast Colliery fire had not been extinguished, the brothers would likely have been overcome or killed by the noxious gases via many interconnected tunnels in the area. In 1979, locals became aware of the scale of the problem when a gas-station owner, then-mayor John Coddington, inserted a dipstick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it seemed hot. He lowered a thermometer into the tank on a string and was shocked to discover that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Statewide attention to the fire began to increase, culminating on the 14th of February 1981, when a 12-year-old resident named Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole, 10 feet wide by 15 feet deep, that suddenly opened beneath his feet in his grandmother's backyard, but saved himself by grabbing onto a tree root. His cousin, 14-year-old Eric Wolfgang, pulled Domboski out of the hole to safety. The plume of hot steam billowing from the hole was tested and found to contain a lethal level of carbon monoxide. At the time of the sinkhole collapse, U.S. Rep. James Nelligan and Governor Dick Thornburgh were visiting the town to assess the area. Although there was physical, visible evidence of the fire, residents of Centralia were bitterly divided over the question of whether the fire posed a direct threat to the town. In The Real Disaster is Above Ground, Steve Kroll-Smith and Steve Couch identified at least six community groups, each organized around varying interpretations of the amount and kind of risk posed by the fire. In 1983, the U.S. Congress allocated more than $42 million for relocation efforts. Nearly all of the residents accepted the government's buyout offers. More than 1,000 people moved out of the town and 500 structures were demolished. By 1990, the census recorded 63 remaining residents. In 1992, Pennsylvania governor Bob Casey invoked eminent domain on all property in the borough, condemning all the buildings within. A subsequent legal effort by residents to overturn the action failed. In 2002, the U.S. Postal Service discontinued Centralia's ZIP code, 17927. Only 16 homes were still standing by 2006, which was reduced to eleven by 2009 when Governor Ed Rendell began the formal eviction of the remaining Centralia residents. Only five homes remained by 2010. The Centralia mine fire extended beneath the village of Byrnesville, a short distance to the south, and required it also to be abandoned. The underground fire is still burning, and in 2006 it was reported that it is expected to do so for another 250 years. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did not renew the relocation contract at the end of 2005. The only indications of the fire, which underlies some 4 square miles spreading along four fronts, are low round metal steam vents in the south of the borough. 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. Several signs warn of underground fire, unstable ground, and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.
The Last Five Souls
Few homes remain standing in Centralia. Most of the abandoned buildings have been demolished by the Columbia County Redevelopment Authority or reclaimed by 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 last remaining house on Locust Avenue was demolished in September 2007. It was notable for a period for the five chimney-like support buttresses along each of two opposite sides of the house. The house had formerly been supported by a row of adjacent buildings. Another house with similar buttresses was visible from the northern side of the cemetery, just north of the burning, partially subsumed hillside. Residents John Comarnisky and John Lokitis, Jr., were evicted in May and July 2009, respectively. In May 2009, the remaining residents mounted another legal effort to reverse the 1992 eminent domain claim. In 2010, only five homes remained as state officials tried to vacate the remaining residents and demolish what was left of the town. In March 2011, a federal judge refused to issue an injunction that would have stopped the condemnation. In February 2012, the Commonwealth Court ruled that a declaration of taking could not be re-opened or set aside on the basis that the purpose for the condemnation no longer exists; seven people, including the borough council president, had filed suit claiming the condemnation was no longer needed because the underground fire had moved and the air quality in the borough was the same as that in Lancaster. In October 2013, the remaining residents settled their lawsuit, receiving $218,000 in compensation for the value of their homes, along with $131,500 to settle additional claims, and the right to stay in their homes for the rest of their lives. The Centralia Municipal Building still stands, along with its attached fire station garage. By the early 2010s, the building had fallen into disrepair, but new siding was installed in 2012. The building hosts the annual Centralia Cleanup Day, when volunteers collect illegally dumped trash in the area. Although past cleanup days avoided fire-impacted areas, the 2018 cleanup included areas around the landfill and the abandoned section of PA Route 61. Volunteers planted 250 apple trees around Centralia to restore the town's ecosystem and wildlife habitats in April 2021. The borough council still had regular meetings. It was reported that the town's highest bill at the meeting reported on came from PPL Electric Utilities at $92 and the town's budget was in the black. The remaining church in the borough, the town's Ukrainian Catholic church, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, remains in use. It holds weekly services on Sundays and attracts worshippers from surrounding towns including people who were once residents of the town. It has not yet been directly affected by the fire. A geological survey found there was solid rock, not coal, under the church so it is not in danger of collapse due to the fire. The town's four cemeteries, including one on the hilltop which has smoke rising around and out of it, are maintained in good condition. Saint Mary's Orthodox Cemetery still stands on the northern edge of Centralia, and Saints Peter & Paul Church and Cemetery, Saint Ignatius Cemetery, and the Odd Fellows Cemetery still stand on the southern edge of the town. The school district is the Mount Carmel Area School District. As of the census of 2000, there were 21 people, ten households, and seven families residing in the borough. The population density was 10.5 people per square mile. There were 16 housing units at an average density of 10.5 units per square mile. The racial makeup of the borough was 100% white. 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 female householder with no partner present, 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 as follows: one resident under the age of 18, one from 18 to 24, four from 25 to 44, seven from 45 to 64, and eight who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 62 years. There were ten females and 11 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. All of the population was below the poverty line. As of the census of 2010, there were ten people (down 52% since 2000), five households (down 50%), and three families (down 57%) residing in the borough. The population density was 5.3 people per square mile (down 52%). There were six housing units (down 62.5%) at an average density of 0.4 units per square mile (0.015 units/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 100% white. Of the five households, none had children under the age of 18. Two (40%) were married couples living together, one (20%) had a female householder with no spouse present, and two (40%) were non-families. One of those non-family households was an individual, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.0 persons, and the average family size was 2.33 persons. There were no residents under the age of 18, one aged 25, 29, one aged 50, 54, one aged 55, 59, four aged 60, 64, two aged 70, 74, and one aged 80, 84. The median age was 62.5 years, and there were five females and five males in total. As of the census of 2020, there were five people residing in the borough. One resident (20%) was under the age of 18.
The Graffiti Highway
Pennsylvania Route 61 was repaired several times until it was closed. Smoke and steam caused extensive cracking in the pavement, which led to frequent closure. The current route was formerly a detour around the damaged portion during the repairs and became a permanent route in 1993. The damaged portion of Route 61 was abandoned, and became known as Graffiti Highway. Access berms were placed at both ends of the former route, effectively blocking off the area permanently to vehicular traffic. Pedestrian traffic was still possible due to small openings about two feet wide at the northern and southern terminus of the abandoned stretch of road. In April 2020, amidst the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic, the property's current owners made the decision to cover over the graffiti on the highway section of old Route 61. Several hundred mounds of dirt were laid over the area, thus ending a decades-long fascination with the desolate stretch of road. Google Maps overhead satellite-view imagery copyright-dated 2023 shows the former Graffiti Highway almost entirely buried under hundreds of access-denial berms. Centralia has been used as a model for many different fictional ghost towns and manifestations of Hell. Prominent examples include Dean Koontz's Strange Highways and David Wellington's Vampire Zero. Screenwriter Roger Avary researched Centralia while working on the screenplay for the Silent Hill film adaptation. While the movie took inspiration from Centralia, the original game series was not inspired by any town. The song Perpetual Flame of Centralia by Kristin Hayter (Whilst under the stage name Lingua Ignota) from her album Sinner Get Ready is named after and inspired by the town. 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 have asserted its value to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, although the exact amount of coal is not known. This is stated in Joan Quigley's The Day the Earth Caved In in a section that indicated that Centralia is the only municipality within the Commonwealth that owned its mineral rights. After someone had attempted to unearth and steal it in May 2014, the town's residents and former residents decided in October 2014 to open a time capsule buried in 1966. The capsule was not scheduled to be opened until 2016 (50 years after it was buried). Items found in the footlocker-sized capsule, which had been inundated with about 10 inches of water, included a miner's helmet, a miner's lamp, some coal, a Bible, local souvenirs, and a pair of bloomers signed by the men of Centralia in 1966.