Centralia, a ghost town in Pennsylvania

Page 1 of 2

In 1841, Jonathan Faust opened the Bull's Head Tavern in what was then called Roaring Creek Township. In 1854, Alexander W. Rea, a mining engineer for the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company, arrived in the area. Having divided the land into plots, he began designing streets. This settlement was originally known as Centerville. However, the town of Centerville already existed in Schuylkill County, and the postal service could not allow two towns with the same name, so Ria renamed the town Centralia in 1865. And in 1866, Centralia received city status. The coal and anthracite industry was the main production here. It continued to operate in Centralia until the 1960s, when most of the companies went out of business. The mining industry, based on blasthole mines, continued to function until 1982.

For most of the town's history, while the coal industry was active, the population was over 2,000 residents. About 500-600 more people lived in the suburbs, in close proximity from Centralia.

In May 1962, the Centralia City Council hired five volunteer firefighters to clean up the city's garbage dump, located in an abandoned open pit near the Odd Fellows Cemetery. This was done before Memorial Day, as in previous years, but previously the city's landfills were located in other locations. The firefighters, as they had done in the past, wanted to set the trash piles on fire, let them burn for a while, and then put the fire out. At least that's what they thought.

Due to the fire not being completely extinguished by firefighters, deeper deposits of debris began to smolder and the fire eventually spread through an opening in the mine to other abandoned coal mines near Centralia. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, and it continued to rage throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1979, local residents finally learned the true extent of the problem when a gas station owner inserted a stick into one of the underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he took out the stick, it seemed very hot. Imagine his shock when he discovered that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was about 172 degrees Fahrenheit (77.8 °C)! Statewide, attention to the fire began to increase and reached highest point in 1981, when 12-year-old Todd Domboski fell into a four-foot-wide, 150-foot (45-meter) deep earthen well that suddenly opened up beneath his feet. The boy was saved only because his older brother pulled him out of the mouth of the hole before he met certain death. The incident quickly attracted national attention to Centralia because the investigative team (including a state representative, a senator, and a mine safety chief) coincidentally happened to be walking in Domboski's neighborhood right as the near-fatal incident occurred.

In 1984, Congress appropriated more than $42 million to prepare and organize the relocation of citizens. Most residents accepted this offer and moved to the neighboring communities of Mount Carmel and Ashland. Several families decided to stay, despite warnings from government officials.

In 1992, the State of Pennsylvania required a permit to expropriate all of the city's private property, citing the buildings' unfitness for use. The residents' subsequent attempt to obtain some kind of solution to the problem through the courts failed. In 2002, the U.S. Postal Service eliminated the town's zip code, 17927.

The city of Centralia served as the prototype for the creation of the city in the film Silent Hill.

Centralia is a small mining town in Pennsylvania. In 1981 it was home to a thousand people. In 2007 there were only 9 of them left. What made the population of this small town leave forever?

Not only the restless soul of the deceased, but also an entire city can become a ghost. Until recently, the town of Centralia flourished, but today ash falls from the sky here all year round, and the air is poisoned.

The American state of Pennsylvania has always been famous for its industry, including coal mining: the coal reserves on its territory will be enough for several future generations. In the 19th century, the town of Centralia arose on one of the most famous natural deposits of anthracite in the state. In 1841, in a township, a small village called Roaring Creek ("Roaring Creek"), a certain Jonathan Faust opened the Bull's Head Tavern. We can say that he laid the first stone of Centralia, although he hardly suspected that within 13 years a real city would grow from a modest village.

Meanwhile, this is what happened. In 1854, the large mining corporation Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company decided to take over the territory and sent mining civil engineer Alexander Rea there. He designed the streets of the settlement and named his creation Centerville. However, it turned out that there was already a town with that name in Pennsylvania, and in order not to confuse the postal service, in 1865 the village was renamed Centralia. A year later, the town received the status of a city, in which schools, hospitals, churches, hotels, shops, theaters, bars, a post office and a bank appeared.

Coal mining provided two thousand people with monetary work; their lives proceeded calmly and without incident until a high-profile crime occurred on October 17, 1868 - Alexander Ria was killed on the way out of the city. It was rumored that the murder was contracted and related to the activities of the Molly Maguires secret society, which, apparently, was not satisfied with the death of the city’s founder alone, and several more murders and arson occurred in subsequent years.

CLEANING WITH CONSEQUENCES

After a series of lawlessness, peace and tranquility came to the town, as if Centralia had exhausted its entire supply of negativity. But, as it turned out, the real nightmare was yet to come. And while life went on as usual, people were still engaged in coal mining.

Of course, over the entire century of the city's existence, mountains of garbage have accumulated. Industrial and domestic waste that was dumped into an old mine next to Odd Fellows Cemetery had to be disposed of. And in 1962, just the occasion was found: Remembrance Day was approaching - National holiday USA, dedicated to American soldiers who died in wars and armed conflicts. For qualified garbage collection, the government of Centralia hired five firefighters. They acted according to an already proven plan - set fire to the waste, wait until it burns out, and then extinguish it. Careless firefighters, to put it mildly, did not do their job very well: the garbage continued to smolder until it ignited the coal in the mines.

At least that's what he claims official version. According to another, set out in the book “The Day the Earth Opened Up: A Tragedy of National Significance” by Joan Quigley, the cause of the fire could well have been a cigarette butt thrown out by one of the drivers passing by. However, what accuracy do you need to have in order to accurately throw the “bull” into the mine! Moreover, so that it does not go out in flight or when it hits walls and thrown objects (after all, there were not only leaves and paper there).

Throughout the 60-70s, the fire, despite all efforts to extinguish it, continued. The abundance of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide seriously affected the health of local residents, and the lack of oxygen led to illness. They tried to put out the fire, but all attempts failed - the local disaster turned out to be too large-scale. True, according to some eyewitnesses, if they dug the trench near the Odd Fellows cemetery more intensively and did not shirk work during the holidays, the fire could have been dealt with.

GEHENNA OF FIRE

Residents began to leave the city in May 1969, but many still held out faint hopes for a favorable outcome. The mines continued to smoke, and for a decade the townspeople carefully pretended that nothing terrible was happening. We learned by chance that Centralia was on the verge of disaster. The owner of one of the gas stations, John Coddington, decided to check the level of gasoline in underground tanks and lowered the dipstick inside. When he took it out, the dipstick seemed very hot.

Out of curiosity, John measured the temperature - the thermometer showed almost 80 ° C! The news quickly spread throughout the area, and the residents finally realized that they were living on the lid of a boiling underground cauldron.

The city hall was forced to admit that it was unable to control the situation. And the incident that occurred two years later attracted the attention of the entire country to the disaster. On February 14, 1981, under the feet of 12-year-old Todd Domboski, who was playing in his yard, the ground literally opened up - a hole about 45 meters deep appeared. The boy almost fell there, but managed to grab the roots of a tree, and his cousin came to the rescue in time and pulled Todd out.

A few years after this incident, the US Congress allocated $42 million to Centralia to resettle residents to other cities. Most citizens took up the offer, but several families refused, despite government warnings. Then in 1992, the state's governor, Robert Casey, demanded that the government forcibly deprive residents of their property and force them to move, given the increased danger.

The townspeople tried to appeal this decision in court: they suspected that they were being resettled in order to have the opportunity to mine anthracite, large reserves of which are stored under the lower part of the city. Officials argued that the Pennsylvania government never had coal mining rights and that no mining company operates in the area. The court sided with the governor.

In 2002, Centralia's ZIP code 17927 disappeared from the registry. Route 61, which led into the city, was bypassed, and locality removed from all maps of Pennsylvania and the USA. They stopped fighting the fire - it turned out to be a waste of money.

Some residents will return to the city in 2016 to open a time capsule that was planted in 1966 near the Veterans Memorial.

BEYOND POPULATION

By 2010, only five houses remained in Centralia - all the rest were demolished. Now several people live here, among whom is the mayor of the city and a hereditary miner. They flatly refuse to leave their beloved city. Even despite the fact that the underground fire will still burn, according to various estimates, from 250 to 1000 years. Every day the asphalt becomes covered with new cracks, holes in the ground have long become the norm, and the air is poisoned.

Thick smoke constantly pours from the ground, ash can fall from the sky at any moment, and the four surrounding cemeteries have become the most “densely populated” areas. What could be worse?

Only ghosts frightening tourists. Since the disaster occurred, and news of it spread across the states, many adventurers and lovers of abandoned places have rushed to Centralia. Some were simply interested in walking along the deserted streets, taking photographs, absorbing the strange atmosphere of hopelessness and forgetting about the trip after a couple of years, others were “lucky” to remember it for the rest of their lives.

Sometimes tourists hear strange sounds, feel as if they are being watched, or feel as if a figure has flashed around the corner. Imagination knows how to play evil tricks on its masters, but some cases when several people witnessed a paranormal phenomenon at once really deserve attention.

For example, in 1998, Ruth Adderson and a friend visited Centralia. They swore that they saw two men in miner's helmets appear from the haze not far from the cemetery. It was as if they had come out of a huge hole behind the graves, walked around a bit, and then disappeared. It is unlikely that the frightened young people thought that these could not be ghosts, but a couple of local residents who were difficult to see in the smoke. That same year, Scott Saylor and two friends decided to go sightseeing in Centralia. Finding nothing interesting in the city, they went to the cemetery. The guys stopped at a hill from which smoke was pouring out. While examining the local flora, they were taken by surprise by a strange voice coming from underground. The first time they couldn’t make out the words, but the second time they heard “Get out of here” quite clearly.

The hill began to smoke much more and smelled like rotten eggs. Frightened friends ran to the car, and rushed after them: “Why? Why did you do this? There were no people or cars visible in the area. When Scott arrived home and looked at the map, he learned that they were near the site of the fire.

Finally, the third story really makes you wonder about the existence of ghosts. In 1999, a young couple, Laurie and Jim, walked into one of the abandoned houses in Centralia. They loved places like this and free time They often explored abandoned villages and old cemeteries, completely unafraid of spirits in which they simply did not believe. In a three-story mansion, Jim and Laurie went up to the second floor and stood next to the stairs.

Suddenly the wooden steps above creaked. The young people decided that there was someone in the house, and curiously discussed when another tourist would come down to them. The steps approached, and now they had already reached the second floor, but suddenly they stopped as unexpectedly as they had appeared. Laurie looked up - there was no one there. Jim looked down, but the stairs to the first floor were also empty.

STOP, CUT!

It is not surprising that Centralia, known for such incidents, attracted the attention of the screenwriter of the horror film “Silent Hill” Roger Avery. The film was based on the video game of the same name. Silent Hill was a sensation back in the day and is still considered one of the best horror games. The virtual town of Silent Hill is somewhat different from Centralia. His story begins not with a tavern, but with an Indian settlement imbued with supernatural power. During colonization, most of the Indians were killed and Silent Hill was founded on the site of their village. As punishment for the blood of innocent victims, misfortunes rained down on the city. First, its inhabitants were decimated by a mysterious epidemic, then a penal colony was set up in the city, during Civil War turned into a prisoner of war camp. After the victory of the northerners, Silent Hill became a mining town, the prisoners were released, and the camp was turned into an ordinary prison.

Then control of the city was seized by sectarians who took refuge in the building old church, and Silent Hill itself was divided into two parts. The first, real one, was not much different from today’s Centralia: abandoned houses, quiet streets, empty roads. The other - the world of horrors - has become a haven of human nightmares and strange creatures, hiding in the eternal fog.

The atmosphere and plot of the game were so well thought out that Hollywood took up the task of transferring them to the silver screen. Screenwriter Roger Avery accidentally came across a story about Centralia, went there and realized that this is exactly what a ghost town should be like in the film.

Instead of a story about the wrath of Indian gods, the script was based on real events, which led to the death of Centralia. Even the air raid sirens and the church migrated into the film - Avery was so inspired by what he saw.

But what's next for the Pennsylvania town? Most likely, complete oblivion and despondency, occasionally disturbed by curious travelers - extreme sports enthusiasts. After prosperous Centralia, due to criminal negligence, has turned into a smoldering monument to human stupidity, only its most devoted inhabitants remain loyal to it - the ghosts of a past happy life.

underground fire [ | ]

In 1979, local residents learned the true extent of the problem when a gas station owner inserted a dipstick into one of the underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he took out the dipstick, it turned out to be very hot - the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was about 78 °C.

Statewide attention to the fire began to mount, culminating in 1981 when 12-year-old Todd Domboski fell into a 1.2-meter-wide, 45-meter-deep earthen well that suddenly opened up beneath his feet. The boy was saved thanks to his older brother, who pulled him out of the mouth of the hole. The incident quickly brought national attention to Centralia as an investigative team (including a state representative, a senator, and a mine safety official) witnessed the incident.

In 1984, Congress appropriated more than $42 million to prepare and organize the relocation of citizens. Most residents accepted the offer and moved to the nearby communities of Mount Carmel and Ashland. Several families decided to stay, despite warnings from government officials.

In 1992, the State of Pennsylvania required a permit to expropriate all of the city's private property, citing the buildings' unfitness for use. The residents' subsequent attempt to obtain some kind of solution to the problem through the courts failed. In 2002, the U.S. Postal Service eliminated the town's zip code, 17927.

Today [ | ]

There are practically no inhabited houses left in Centralia. Most of the buildings have been demolished and the area now looks like a meadow with several streets running through it. Most of the city is covered with thickets. The only remaining church in the city, the Church of St. Virgin Mary holds a weekly service on Saturday. There are four cemeteries in the city.

The only signs of the fire, which covers an area of ​​approximately 1.6 km² and is spreading on four fronts, are low, round metal steam vents in the south of the town and several signs warning of underground fire, unstable ground and carbon monoxide. Smoke and steam can also be seen coming from an abandoned portion of Pennsylvania Route 61 (which was closed in the 1990s after several large cracks appeared in the road), from areas near a hillside cemetery, and from other cracks in soil located throughout the city. Route 61 was rerouted and a bypass was built that runs away from the abandoned town. However, the underground fire is still burning and will continue to do so until an unspecified point in the future. No attempt is made to extinguish the fire. There is enough coal there to keep this fire going for another 250 years.

Centralia

Recognized as the most sparsely populated city in Pennsylvania, the small town of Centralia has become popular around the world over the past few years. And it’s not just about the special status of a ghost town, it’s also about the unique history of the emergence and desolation of this eerie and at the same time attractive place for tourists from all over the world.

The history of the settlement on the site of the future city began in 1841, that time for the United States was a period active development coal mining and mining in general. The state of Pennsylvania was recognized as one of the most favorable territories for mining. The founder of the city is considered to be mining engineer Alexander Ria, but before his move there was already a settlement here, it was called Thundering Brook, and consisted of several lumberjacks' yards and the Bull's Head tavern.

Centralia

Engineer Ria, who came here to explore the area in 1856, immediately decided to turn the small village into a full-fledged mining settlement - the intelligence data on anthracite deposits was so impressive. It was possible to achieve the status of the city of Ria only 10 years later, in 1866, the same year migrants from Ireland began to actively flock here, who became the first coal miners in the developing anthracite deposits.

The “dark” pages of Centralia’s history began even then. Immigrants from Ireland founded the Molly Maguires secret society in the city and throughout the state, which became a sabotage organization fighting the arbitrariness of the mine bosses. Alexander Ria was declared the culprit of all the troubles, and in 1868 he was killed by three residents of Centralia. The consequences of this murder were terrible on the scale of a small town - the terror of the Irish continued for 10 years, dozens of people were executed by hanging on the streets every year.

Centralia

The revival of the city began in 1878, from the same period it is customary to talk about the heyday of Centralia as an American province. Coal mining was carried out here on a huge scale, the city was built up and expanded. By the middle of the 20th century, several thousand residents, seven churches of various denominations, five hotels and even two full-fledged theaters were officially registered in Centralia alone.

The beginning of problems in the city was recorded in 1962. On the eve of Memorial Day, as part of the cleanup of the city area, a group of local firefighters was ordered to eliminate one of the landfills that had formed in the pit of an abandoned 19th century mine. Following instructions, firefighters set fire to the debris to then extinguish the flames and clear the remaining rubble. Not knowing the exact depth of the hole, the firefighters removed the visible rubble and dispersed. But the ignited debris fell deep into the earth, giving a reaction to the entire coal seam.

Centralia

The problem was not noticed for some time, but after a couple of years, residents of outlying houses began to complain about smoke and the acrid smell of burning coal. Attempts to extinguish the underground area were unsuccessful - the smoldering rocks spread to other layers, the scale of which they decided not to talk about, so as not to escalate the situation. Panic in the city began in 1979, when a local gas station owner, while checking underground tanks, discovered that the fuel was heated to a temperature close to fire.

Centralia

State authorities paid attention to Centralia only in 1981, when the first incident occurred, which almost ended in death. A local teenager walking down the street fell into a hole that formed under his feet - this was the first case of a ground collapse and literally melted asphalt in the city. The teenager was pulled out of the hole by his older brother, and representatives of the state Congress witnessed the rescue.

The resonance caused by this accident was widespread. They learned about Centralia throughout the country, and attempts were immediately made to save the city’s residents as soon as possible, but the process of transporting Centralia’s citizens began only in 1984. The US government allocated $46 million for a program to resettle city residents, but not everyone agreed to leave - a group of residents remained in their homes in the hope that the city would be saved.

Centralia

The residents' hope was in vain. The authorities refused to finance the obviously failed project to extinguish underground fires. According to official intelligence alone, the amount of anthracite in the depths of Centralia is equivalent to 250 years of continuous burning, and this is only in the most optimistic forecast. The territory of the city and part of its surroundings were declared uninhabitable, and the last residents began to slowly leave.

As of the beginning of 2014, 10 people live in Centralia, including the mayor and several of his assistants. The main highway leading into the city is closed to all types of transport - cracked asphalt and smoke are reminders that underground fires continue and do not subside. Gradually, fewer and fewer buildings remain in the city - some are falling underground, and some are being dismantled by enthusiasts.

Centralia

The American government officially refused to support the dying city in any way. The last sign of the destruction of Centralia from the memory of Americans was the events of 2002. This year, the US Postal Service announced it would remove all Centralia postal codes from its registry. Documentedly, the city ceased to exist.

Urban tourism is booming in Centralia, despite numerous warning signs at entry points. The remaining residents of the city willingly make contact with journalists and travelers, guiding them along the safest roads of the city and showing local attractions. Over the past few years alone, dozens of documentaries and films have been filmed in Centralia. Several streets of the city became the location for the filming of the first part of the film “Silent Hill”.

Centralia

When visiting Centralia, you need to remember basic safety rules. You cannot be here without respiratory masks in warm and cloudless weather - you can get carbon monoxide poisoning. At any time of the year, tourists must wear special heat-resistant shoes - the soil and asphalt in some areas of the city heat up to +80 ° C.

Centralia is a small mining town in Pennsylvania. In 1981 it was home to a thousand people. In 2007, there were only 9 of them left. What made the population of this small town leave forever?

The reason for the departure of all local residents was the fire that had been raging in the mines under the city for more than half a century. Continuing our series of stories about ghost towns and abandoned metro stations, let’s add Centralia to their list. First, let's look at the history:
In 1841, Jonathan Faust opened a tavern called the Bull's Head in a small community in Pennsylvania. In 1854, Alexander W. Rea, a civil mining engineer, was sent here to design a road. The town was known as Centerville until 1865. But by then a city with that name already existed, and the post office forced them to change the name. And so Centralia was born.

Anthracite mining was the main industry in the community. The coal industry developed in Centralia until the 1960s, after which most companies went bankrupt. Mining continued until 1982, after which it ceased completely

It is not known for certain how the fire that turned Centralia into a ghost town started. One theory states that in May 1962, the city's City Council hired firefighters to clean out the city's garbage dump, located in an abandoned quarry next to the cemetery. This procedure was carried out in previous years, when garbage dumps were destroyed in other places in the city. Firefighters, following previous experience, set fire to the dump and let it burn for some time. But due to the location deep in the quarry, the fire entered abandoned underground mines

There is evidence to support this theory. From the story of one of the two garbage collectors, they dumped hot coals into a pit with trash. The city was legally responsible for creating a fireproof clay barrier between each layer of debris, but fell behind schedule, leaving the barrier unfinished. This allowed hot coals to penetrate layers of debris into the ground, causing an underground fire

The fire remained burning underground, spreading throughout the coal mines near Centralia. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful, and it continued to burn throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Nobody paid attention to this until headaches among local residents became more frequent. Harmful combustion byproducts began to enter the air through holes in the road surface and cracks formed in the ground.

Locals The full extent of the problem was realized when gas station owner and later mayor, John Coddington, inserted a dipstick into one of his underground tanks to check the fuel level. When he pulled the dipstick out, it was hot. Having lowered the thermometer into the storage, he discovered that the temperature of the gasoline in the tank was 80 degrees Celsius

Statewide attention was drawn to the fire when, in 1981, 12-year-old resident Todd Domboski fell into a 150-foot-deep crack that suddenly appeared in the ground. The quick reaction of his cousin Eric Wolfgang saved Todd's life, as the hot steam from the crack carried a lethal dose of harmful gases

In 1984, the United States Congress appropriated $42 million to relocate residents. Most residents accepted the government's proposals and moved towards neighboring communities. Today, only a few houses remain in Centralia, the city looks like a scorched field with cracked roads. The only signs of the fire raging beneath the city are wisps of smoke oozing from all the cracks, as well as a few signs warning of the dangers of underground fires and carbon monoxide. The underground fire is still burning and will continue to burn for the next 250 years

Some residents will return to the city in 2016 to open a time capsule that was planted in 1966 near the Veterans Memorial.

Many former residents of Centralia believe that the burning of the mines was the result of a conspiracy to gain full rights to the minerals beneath the city. Their value was once estimated in the billions of dollars, although the exact amount of coal is not known. At the moment, addresses and streets of the city have been removed from the state register. Centralia's zip code was eliminated in 2002.


Centralia is traditionally included in all ratings of creepy attractions, where it always occupies a leading position.