#Centralia Pennsylvania

[evilsecretshopper]

killed for coal

centralia, pa

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

Silent Hill (2006, Christophe Gans)

11/05/2024

[britcision]

HOLY SHIT GUYS I WENT TO GOOGLE AND CAME BACK BECAUSE PEOPLE STILL FUCKING LIVED THERE????

Four people in 2021, according to the census, but HOLY SHIT

In 2013 people who’d left won a court case to get to go back???? After being evicted in 1992 when the government said “ours now” they buckled the fuck down and said “bet???” And then 2013 the government said “fuck it fine you can stay til you die”

Reblog for a bigger sample size.

Say in the tags what you voted for and if you live in or outside of the US

[unknownworlds4]

Centralia, Pennsylvania. For most of its history, the town of Centralia was a prosperous coal mining town. Centralia was officially founded in 1842 by Alexander Rae. The first mines opened in the area in 1856, and by 1890 the town had a population of 2,761 and hosted seven churches, five hotels, twenty-seven saloons, fourteen general stores, two theaters, a bank, and a post office. During World War I, production declined as many of the young men enlisted in the military. After the Wall Street Crash in 1929, several of the area mines were closed. However, many illegal mining operations continued in various places. By the 1960's, official coal mining in Centralia had completely ceased, but illegal mining continued until 1982.

In 1962, the Centralia Town Council was deciding what to do with the town landfill. The landfill was established the previous year to discourage illegal dumping and was located inside an abandoned strip-mine pit next to the Odd Fellowes Cemetery. On May 27, firefighters set the landfill on fire and let it burn before extinguishing it. However, the fire was not fully put out - it managed to enter the labyrinth of abandoned coal tunnels that snaked underneath the town.

Residents began to notice something was wrong around 1979. By this point there just over 1,000 residents living in Centralia. That year gas station owner John Coddington inserted a dipstick into one of his underground gasoline tanks to check the fuel level. When he withdrew it, it felt hot. So, he inserted a thermometer into the tank and was shocked to discover the temperature of the gas in the tank was 172° Fahrenheit. Beginning in 1980 several locals began to suffer from health effects due to the gases produced by the fire. Statewide attention began to focus on Centralia when sinkholes began opening at various places in the area. In 1981, 12-year-old Todd Domboski fell into a sinkhole in his grandmother's backyard that opened suddenly right beneath his feet. He saved himself be grabbing a tree root and was pulled to safety by his cousin Eric Wolfgang. The steam plume billowing from the hole was tested and found to contain lethal levels of carbon monoxide. At the same time, Governor Dick Thornburgh and State Rep. James Nelligen were visiting the area to assess the situation. In response to the worsening crisis, the U.S. Congress allocated $42 million for relocation effort. Most residents accepted the payments and moved out of town. Afterwards most of the town's structures were demolished. Some residents, however, refused to leave - with 63 residents remaining by 1990. In 1992, Governor Bob Casey invoked eminent domain on all properties within the town. The U.S. Postal Service discontinued Centralia's zip code in 2002.

There have been several legal attempts by the few remaining residents to stop the government from seizing their homes. The holdouts claim that the government wanted the mineral rights to all the coal deposits that remained untapped. In 2009, the state began formal eviction proceedings against the last few residents. These residents filed suit in 2010 claiming they were victims of fraud. By 2013, the residents settled, reaching an agreement that they could remain in their homes until their deaths, at which point the properties would be claimed under eminent domain. By 2020, only five residents still live in Centralia.

The fire underneath Centralia continues to burn. At its current burn rate, the fire could continue to burn for the next 250 years. Almost all the towns' structures have been demolished, and nature has mostly reclaimed the land. From above, the Centralia appears to be nothing more than a series of paved roads hidden within thick forest. There are numerous fissures all over the affected area spewing steam and toxic gas into the air. A section of Pennsylvania Route 61 passing through the Borough was closed after steam damaged and split the pavement repeatedly. There are many signs placed around warning of ground instability and toxic fumes.

The town has served as the model for numerous ghost towns in popular culture including Vampire Zero by David Wellington and Strange Highways by Dean Koontz. Most famously, the story of Centralia was used as research for the basis of the namesake town in the 2006 film 'Silent Hill' - a movie based the popular video game franchise of the same name.

[viksalos]

Collection of Pennsylvania churches--Pittsburgh, New Baltimore, Mount Carmel, Centralia.

(more photography)

[k-erosene]

Population: 5

[gaykarstaagforever]

Everyone loves to talk about how the mines are on fire under Centralia and how spooky and weird it is.

What no one ever talks about is how that only happened because the Borough was using an abandoned stripmine as a trash dump in 1962, and every time it got full they told the fire department to go set it on fire.

And they were supposed to make sure there were clay barriers blocking the dump from the coal veins. And that was apparently based entirely on the honor system, and they just didn't do it. Because this is a declining coal town of like 1000 people in rural Pennsylvania, and absolutely no one cares. Including the people who live there.

The fact that this kind of thing has only ever happened once here is the most shocking part.

"One rumor is that the fire actually started when a garbage truck dumped hot ash into the dump."

A garbage truck is dumping hot ash into the strip mine landfill. Where did that hot ash come from? Why would you dump it in the town dump? Who puts hot ash into a garbage truck?

These are the real mysteries of Centralia.

[bl4z33467]

DEAR ALL PA FURRIES. WE SHOULD JOIN TOGETHER AND TAKE CENTRALIA FOR OUR KINGDOM. I DONT KNOW WHAT WE WILL BE CALLED BUT SOMETHING WITH FIRE AND FURRIES.

[vyva-melinkolya]

Centralia PA

[kaylarilyn]

Cemetery in Centralia PA 🦇

[shslscumbag]

[jtownraindancer]

History has shown that it is not whether a disaster will strike a town, but when. If it is not a mine fire, it is living in the shadow of Three Mile Island. Or in a community with a tainted water supply. Or the ghastly horror of Bhopal.

Slow Burn: A Photodocument of Centralia, Pennsylvania by Renée Jacobs, 1986.

[magiccheesecube]

[blackvelvetofnight]

lingua ignota has this ability through music to show a person who's faith has become so all consuming that it has utterly destroyed them and the life they have built, but they see this as a victory. to burn their home to the ground with their family inside and seek praise for their devotion. the tragedy of annihilation through religion.

[darkredlightyears]

Cool coaster I bought, in remembrance of Graffiti Highway in Centralia, PA. It is disgusting how they covered it up.

[mrsparrot]

Olive Payne • Centralia, 2019