Where is centralia pa

As a few people still live here, some homes are still occupied. When the coal was originally mined, a few pillars of coal were left intact to prevent the ground above from collapsing into the mine. The fire has destroyed these pillars, leaving badly-damaged ground with huge cracks which release smoke, heat and toxic fumes. This makes much of Centralia very unsafe. There were reports of police turning visitors away in early ; as of June the police were gone and the curiosity seekers were still present.

Proceed at your own risk. Nearby Ashland offers food, gas, lodging, and a coal mine tour at Pioneer Tunnel. The mine tour includes an underground mine tour, and an above-ground narrow gauge railroad ride to an old bootleg mine at a site where Centralia is visible at a distance.

The same vein of anthracite that is burning underneath Centralia extends through Ashland and can be seen as part of the underground portion of the Pioneer Tunnel tour, although the fire at Centralia is not expected to threaten Ashland for several decades. Mount Carmel also offers food, and is larger than Ashland.

Looking for an environmental disaster of comparable severity? Picher Oklahoma , 1, mi 1, km and one time zone to the west, is an abandoned town undermined by decades of lead extraction. The surface water is contaminated by mine tailings; a deadly tornado drove the last nail in Picher's coffin in If Centralia wasn't enough to quench your thirst for underground fire pits, and you are willing to drive five hours in the desert in a country infamous for visa difficulties, Darvaza , the only other place in the world quite like Centralia, awaits.

Note: Centralia is a nightmare of unstable ground and dangerous fumes. I went on a trip to Centralia last week, being interested in ghost towns, and the plight of this city, and found it worth the trip.

The St. Ignacius Cemetery is beautifully maintained, and offers a great view of the Russian Orthodox, I think church in the mountains to the north.

Also 4 wind turbines can be seen…the morning fog made for a nice shot. Odd Fellows cemetery is just east of here, down a disheveled road be VERY careful driving if in anything short of a tank!! Following the path north east, you will find the area where the landfill was said to have started the whole fire.

There are also two smoke vents one crowned with a fat tire. I saw there were a few places where people were still living as well.

Driving down 62 I started from north to south mostly , one can see many of the side roads into what is now mostly trees and overgrowth. Upon closer inspection, I recommend walking, you can see the remnants of sidewalks, curbs, and front porch steps, the occasional fire hydrant and drainage suliceways.

On the west side of 62, across from the municipal building, I saw a tree with gnarled, twisted roots and what appeared to be a large tumor-looking growth at its base. The municipal building stands on the east side, with a flying flag, and a fire truck engine 32 in the garage. Curiously enough there is also a dish tv dish on the roof. I also visited the lonely church on the hill, though some of the rock wall in front is crumbling, the church itself seems in good repair, and is a worthy photo op.

I then ended my trip with a walk down the old 62, or graffiti highway. This road can be accessed to the north by way of a small trail just south of St. Ignacius, or about a mile south near Ashland, not too far off from the Mother Mary shrine for Byrnsville.

Coming from the Philadelphia direction of that helps. Hi Bill. Parking along any of the public roads is fine as long as you are on the shoulder. Hey there! Curious about taking a trip and looking for some old bottles or artifacts. Where can I go to find old maps of the town? Any thoughts? Is there still a library or a city hall? I love the history these old towns offer! Hi Bobbie. Where would you recommend parking a car before heading in? I have been to Centralia.

I do plan a return evening visit so I can take some photos. Is Graffiti Road still closed to pedestrians? The Graffiti Highway has always been posted, they are just enforcing the ban more now. A few 4-wheelers and some crazy kids caused this. Not sure if this will ever be lifted. Mainly they are patrolling the area where the big cracks are in the road — Not so much the upper part.

You can also still wander the area where the town stood — great for hiking. It is PennDot that is enforcing this so they can only enforce the state road! Hopefully they get tired of harassing visitors at some point. I totally agree that the ATVs and vehicles need to be off the road, but I see no reason to stop an average visitor from checking it out. Hi Jim, thanks for the article!! We first started exploring back in summer of A year or two later we were saddened to see a few more homes were demolished…Of course no pics.

That same area was where the old railroad tracks Railroad Ave?? Now just the street and grassy patch were the tracks ran. But what really upset us was the removal of all of the street signs… Before our trips we would look at the old pics so while we were there, could relate the buildings with the street names.

Locust Avenue etc. Driving into town across the street from the old VFW etc and on the right, you can see the old foundations and what was really interesting was the paved back alleys!!

Take care!! I need ALOT more information about topography and rt 41 from the north of Centralia starting at the Susquehanna river basin. So I was surprised that you replied, I thought the site was dead. Good for us. I read that there are around stand pipes as vents all around the area of Centralia itself. I was wondering about using sound at a single point and using microphone recording at the vents to measure volume of the mine. I only read about the use of thermal imaging, no one offered photos that I could find.

Any thoughts about who authors any of these reports that are offered? However, I know that a lot of money was spent trying to put the fire out. There is no smoke to be seen anywhere. We parked and walked on graffiti highway for a little bit. We were the only ones on it. There are no trespassing signs at the cemetery next to the closed highway entrance.

Found out afterwards from several people that the state police are enforcing the no trespassing and giving citations to pedestrian and vehicle traffic on graffiti highway. We were there this past Monday 29May on Memorial day, how fitting was that!

There were a lot of people there. In some areas the ground did felt a little warm. There were No Trespassing sings on few trees along graffiti highway. Lots of 4 wheelers. The other two cemeteries are still there and in good shape. Although the smaller one was closed. We saw a security guard at the mine near by so we stopped and ask, where the hot spot was. Could see it 20 years ago but it is all gone.

But we still saw what is left of the town. Saw house, there neatly kept. One of the three house I just found out belonged to last mayor of Centralia Carl Womer. He was among the people who stayed and refused to leave. He passed away sometime in The other house looked Abandoned, all windows were boarded up. All and all It was great experience.

I also like to the Odd Fellow cemetery since I read the fire started near there and that if you stood there you could the steam. Sickens me how people do stuff like that. Google Earth was a great help in finding things. Anyway, hope that helps a little. The Odd Fellows cemetery is across the street from the St. I tried very hard to get our state Representatives to do something that would allow tourists on the highway, even to the extent of suggesting it be turned into a state park.

They response I got from them was extremely disconcerting — and I know these people on a first name basis as I am involved in politics.

I am not sure what they are afraid of. I have though about trying to make it a national historic site, but not having lived there it is difficult. Most of the former residents would rather see it just forgotten, so getting any to support it as a memorial would be difficult.

It is really a shame. I still think there is a conspiracy to sell the land to the coal miners once the last residents vacate… Of course, but that time we may not even be burning coal any longer! When the town was still extant, there was a faction that believed that there was a conspiracy to take their land for next to nothing, in order to extract the coal beneath. This tin foil hat theory ignores the facts that there is plenty of easy accessible anthracite available on land already owned by coal companies.

Why fight a mine fire to extract worthless coal at a high cost? It boggles the mind how anybody could believe this. Many of the residents made very lucrative deals with the government for their homes.

Property values in nearby Mt. The houses in Centralia were, in reality, worth very little on the open market, despite the fire. Some of the owners, especially those that hung in for the long term, made out very nicely. Thank you I am planning to go back in couple of months, before those few house are demolished as well. As far as the mining theory, the reason for the belief that the state wants to sell the mineral rights to the mining companies is that there is over 2 billion dollars worth of coal that is very near the surface.

The only way to get at it is to strip mine — which means the town had to go. I am not saying that this is or is not the case, just saying why the conspiracy theorists feel that way. I know the conspiracy theorists think this. But it is just not based on any evidence or reality. Makes for great fiction though!

But if the coal is burning, is there still value to it. All is left is a Shrine on the side of Route My question is:.

Is there any work to prevent Ashland turning into another tragedy? All other internet all you see is Centralia not saying what happened is not tragic.

Just wondering why there is hardly any talk about Brynesville or the future of Ashland. Byrnesville had only a very few residents. The fire pretty much burned right through Byrnesville. As for the coal, the mine fire started at the very southernmost part of Centralia, and burned south, sparing virtually all of the coal under Centralia. As for Ashland… Once again, a bit of research on the PA mines website will show that both Ashland and Mount Carmel to the west are threatened by the fire.

It is my understanding that there is a natural rock barrier that should protect Ashland, but Mount Carmel is still at risk. No one speaks much of it since even if the fire heads there, it would be quite a long time before it reached the town the fire could burn over years and may even burn itself out before that if it becomes starved of oxygen. I live in Bloomsburg, not far from Centralia. Years ago one could feel the heat up to the knees when walking near the cemetery.

Plus, if you scuffed up the ground steam would escape. Yes the fire is still burning. As of today only 4 occupied houses left and one vacant home and business. I think what did it in with the enforcement was the food truck that would park on the north side of graffiti road and people just letting garbage everywhere. Yes local scumbags use it as a dump too.

Stay away of the homes for sure. I was just there two weeks ago and there was no signage. Also, to the best of my knowledge, people have only been ticketed once, and then it was only people driving on the road, which is obviously dangerous.

However, it is visit at your own risk, and you should always obey any signs you see. I visited Centralia today. As I was about to leave, I discovered three kittens in an abandoned lot near Rt. I was able to catch two kittens before the storm hit. My boyfriend, my sister and I tried to catch the third one but it ran away. Please if anyone comes across this black kitten, rescue it or leave some food for it in your travels.

Who or what organization has kept the Odd Fellows Cemetery records and plot-map? I would contact the Columbia County Historical Society. Societies often have cemetery records or know where to find them. Also try Find-a-Grave, and Graves a Million.

Ask to have a picture made if there is not one. A couple of weeks ago I took my daughter and her friends to see centralia as they had heard about the new documentary and wanted to see the area it for themselves. Even the side streets are covered in graffiti including the guiderails on the hillside streets. We also checked out the cemeteries and the church on the hill.

We saw no smoke. Literally the only way the fire could be extinguished involves stripping the entire mountaintop and uncovering the entire seam of anthracite in question. In just a few hours i will be on my way, a 7 hour trip just to pay respects and see all the hidden memories Centralia holds. Just recently heard of this heart breaking tragedy…. Trip was amazing and so worth the drive! Its so beautiful there, and there were many more people there then we expected.

I read in some other posts people asking about trespassing on the highway, and how being there isnt allowed anymore. There are so many vulgarer, trash, and disrespectful things out there. Remember that thou there may only be a few left, this is still home to some! Their home and you are the guest so pleasebe respectful on what you leave, many eyes including children will see this!

I drove through this town repeatedly as a boy and youth on my way to the Mennonite Bible School in Numidia. The story of the fire and the smoke made a deep impression on me. I saw the buildings systematically being torn down. I remember when they re-routed the road. I know that it is expensive. But to let it burn for years seems untoward.

My wife and I had a great time exploring Centralia. After a 4 hour hike we went to an amusement park Knobles. Free parking and free admission.

We felt like we went back in time. A Must Go!. We googled it and went. All we can say is if you have never been there and tried their hard ice cream you are missing out. A perfect ending to a wonderful day. When I was a kid my dad was a truck driver and told me all about the fire and the town. One day my dad had me go with him. It was winter a lot of the town was still there and at so place when we were driving you could see spot in the wood on fire and I would as him why is no one doing anything about it.

He said the fire was under the ground and at spots like that it was close to the top. He told me about the boy in the yard and the hole opening up. At that time I was think me made it all up. I will always be glad I went on that ride and saw all that stuff. I mean its a part of history that not a lot of people saw. Are you still able to walk around and look at the cemetery and church and part of the highway?

Unless new signage has popped up, you can walk around the old roads and see the cemetery and church from the roads, but Graffiti Highway is covered and no longer visible. Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. We will make a small commission from these links if you order something at no additional cost to you. Need a hotel near Centralia? Jim Cheney. Locals bring 4 wheelers and trash.

Tourist support local business. Everyone brings trash there, locals and tourists alike. I was in Centralia just a few days ago and there is absolutely still some smoke coming out of the ground in certain spots Reply.