Centralia (Pennsylvania).

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 the matter is not only in the special status of a ghost town, it is also in the unique history of the emergence and desolation of this terrible 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 of active development of coal mining and mining in general. The state of Pennsylvania was recognized as one of the most fertile territories for mining. Mining engineer Alexander Ria is considered the founder of the city, but before he moved there was already a settlement here, it was called Thundering Creek, and consisted of several yards of lumberjacks and the Bull's Head tavern.

Centralia

The 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 about the 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 the history of Centralia began already then. Immigrants from Ireland founded in the city and throughout the state a secret society, Molly Maguires, which became a sabotage organization fighting against the arbitrariness of mine managers. Alexander Ria was declared the culprit of all 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 annually executed on the streets by hanging.

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.

The beginning of problems in the city was recorded in 1962. On the eve of Memorial Day, as part of the cleaning of the city area, a group of local firefighters were ordered to eliminate one of the dumps that had formed in the pit of an abandoned mine of the 19th century. Following the instructions, firefighters set fire to the garbage, then to put out the flames and clear the remaining rubble. Not knowing the exact depth of the pit, the firemen removed the visible blockage and dispersed. But the ignited debris fell deep into the earth, giving a reaction to the whole 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 pungent smell of burning coal. Attempts to extinguish the underground territory were unsuccessful - the smoldering of the rocks spread to other layers, the scale of which they decided not to talk about, so as not to escalate the situation. The 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 ignition.

Centralia

The 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 collapse of the soil and literally melted asphalt in the city. The teenager was pulled out of the pit by his older brother, and representatives of the state congress became witnesses of the rescue.

The resonance caused by this accident was wide. Centralia became known all over the country, and attempts were immediately made to save the inhabitants of the city as soon as possible, but the process of transporting citizens of Centralia began only in 1984. The US government allocated $46 million to the city's resettlement program, 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 hope of the inhabitants was in vain. The authorities refused to finance a deliberately failed project to extinguish underground fires. According to official intelligence alone, the amount of anthracite in the bowels 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 environs were declared unsuitable for life, and the last inhabitants began to slowly disperse.

As of the beginning of 2014, 10 people live in Centralia, including the mayor and several of his assistants. The main highway leading to the city is closed to any type of traffic - cracked asphalt and smoke remind that underground fires continue and do not subside. Gradually, fewer and fewer buildings remain in the city - some fall into the ground, and some are taken apart 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 the Americans was the events of 2002. This year, the US Postal Service announced the removal of all Centralia indexes from the register. Documentally, the city ceased to exist.

Urban tourism in Centralia is flourishing despite numerous warning signs at the entrances. 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. In the last few years alone, dozens of documentaries and films have been filmed in Centralia. Several streets of the city became the site for the filming of the first part of the film "Silent Hill".

Centralia

When visiting Centralia, you need to remember the elementary safety rules. You can’t be here without respiratory masks in warm and cloudless weather - you can earn carbon monoxide poisoning. At any time of the year, tourists should wear special heat-resistant shoes on their feet - the ground and asphalt in some areas of the city heat up to +80 ° C.

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In 1841, Jonathan Faust opened the Bull's Head Inn in what was then the 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 the streets. This settlement was originally known as Centerville. However, the city of Centerville already existed in Schuylkill County, and the postal service could not permit the existence of two settlements with the same name, so Ria renamed the settlement Centralia in 1865. And in 1866, Centralia received the status of a city. The coal-anthracite industry was the main production here. It continued to function 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.

During most of the history of this town, while the coal industry was functioning, the population was more than 2,000 inhabitants. About 500-600 more people lived in the suburbs, in the immediate vicinity of Centralia.

In May 1962, the Centralia City Council hired five volunteer firefighters to clean up the city's rubbish dump located in an abandoned open mine pit near the Odd Fellows cemetery. This was done before Memorial Day, as in years past, but the city's landfills were previously located elsewhere. Firefighters, as they have done in the past, wanted to set fire to garbage heaps, let them burn for a while, and then put out the fire. At least they thought so.

Deeper deposits of debris began to smolder due to the incompletely extinguished fire by firefighters, and eventually the fire spread through a hole 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, the locals 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 rise and culminated in 1981 when 12-year-old Todd Dombosky fell into an earthen well four feet wide and 150 feet deep, which suddenly opened up under his feet. The boy was only saved because his older brother pulled him out of the mouth of the hole before he met certain death. The incident quickly drew national attention to Centralia, as the investigation team (which included a state representative, a senator, and the head of mine safety) was coincidentally walking in Domboski's neighborhood just at the time of this near-fatal incident.

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

In 1992, the State of Pennsylvania requested a permit for the eminent domain of all private property in the city, arguing that the buildings were unusable. A subsequent attempt by the residents through the courts to seek any solution to the problem failed. In 2002, the US Postal Service retired the township's zip code, 17927.

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

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

The reason for the departure of all local residents was the flames 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, we will supplement their list with Centralia. Let's start with history:
In 1841 Jonathan Faust opened a tavern called Ox's Head in a small community in Pennsylvania. In 1854, Alexander V. Rhea, a civil mining engineer, was sent here to design a road. The city was known as Centerville until 1865. But by that time a city with that name already existed, and the post office forced them to change the name. This is how Centralia was born.

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

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

There is evidence to support this theory. According to the story of one of the two garbage collectors, they dumped red-hot coals into a trash pit. The city, by law, was 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, sparking an underground fire.

The fire remained burning underground, spreading through all the coal mines under Centralia. Attempts to extinguish the fire were unsuccessful and it continued to burn throughout the 1960s and 1970s. No one paid attention to this until the headaches among the locals became more frequent. Harmful by-products of combustion began to enter the air through holes in the pavement and cracks in the ground.

Locals got the full extent of the problem when a 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 out the dipstick, it was hot. Dropping a thermometer into the vault, 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 formed in the ground. The quick reaction of his cousin Eric Wolfgang saved Todd's life, as the hot steam from the crack carried a deadly dose of noxious gases.

In 1984, the United States Congress appropriated $42 million for the resettlement of residents. Most residents accepted the government's proposals and moved to neighboring communities. Today, only a few houses remain in Centralia, the city looks like a scorched field with cracked roads. The only signs of fire raging under 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 laid 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, the addresses and streets of the city have been removed from the state register. In 2002, the postal code of Centralia was liquidated.


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

City of Centralia what's in the state Pennsylvania (USA) is Silent Hill prototype*, famous city from horror movies. Centralia has been burning for 47 years now and will continue to burn for at least 250 more.

We will probably not dwell on the description of the infrastructure of Centralia before the fire, but we will go straight to the most interesting.

It all started in 1962. It was the month of May outside, and the Centralia authorities ordered five firefighters to clean up the city dump, which was located in an open mine. Everything would be fine, because it was done before, but this time the landfill was located in a new place. The firefighters, already accustomed to this work and the destruction of landfills, did everything as they were used to: they set fire to the garbage, let it burn out for a measured time and extinguished the fire.

As it turned out the fire was not extinguished to the end and because of this, deep deposits of garbage began to smolder, then the fire spread through the hole in the mine to other abandoned mines in Centralia. It is clear that the current attempts to extinguish the fire are simply useless - after all, the scale has become huge. The fire raged throughout the 60s and 70s. In the 70s, the first people began to complain of poor health, which was caused by the emitted carbon monoxide.

In 1979, everyone learned the true scale of the tragedy from the story that happened to the owner of a gas station:

Once the owner of a gas station decided to measure the level of gasoline in one of the tanks. The owner took a special stick, which should measure the level of gasoline, and lowered it into a tank located underground. Taking it out, he was simply dumbfounded ** (and low or high marks of gasoline had nothing to do with it) - the stick was very hot and as it turned out, the temperature of gasoline at the bottom of the tank was about 80 ° C (as soon as everything didn’t explode there ?!).

In 1981 the problem Centralia reached the level state. This happened thanks to another story:

Todd Domboskai is a 12-year-old boy who fell into an earthen well that suddenly formed right under his feet. The width of the well turned out to be a little more than a meter, and the depth was 45 meters. Everything ended well - the boy was saved by his older brother. But such an incident could not be ignored, especially since there was a representative of the state, a senator and the head of the mine security service, who were just walking near Domboski's possessions and saw with their own eyes how the boy simply fell into the ground.

Almost all residents were relocated from burning Centralia, For this, the authorities allocated huge sums of money. 61 highways were changed, which now bypasses the city. In 2002, the post office noted and declared the Centralia index - 17927 - non-existent. Most of the Buildings were demolished.

Centralia has become a burning ghost town.

Only a few houses remain in Centralia. The city itself began to overgrow with greenery, now grass and bushes can be seen right on the roads. However, there is only one church left in Centralia, which holds a night service every week.

The underground fire covers an area of ​​about 400 acres and spreads in 4 directions, in this area the ground has become unstable. Smoke can be seen from the cracks, which are located in different parts of the city, including on the closed part of the 61 route. And throughout the city you can see signs warning of an underground fire.

The underground fire is still raging, and according to scientists' forecasts, the coal in the mines will be enough to sustain the fire for another 250 years.

Pennsylvania- served as a prototype for a terrible city from movie: silent hill*. The city in the film turned out to be truly scary. Now we know what it could be a city that has been on fire for about 50 years.

* - Silent Hill - a fictional city from the universe of the Silent Hill game and movie of the same name. As conceived by the developers, it is located in North America. According to one version, in the state of Maine (in the film, the ghost town is located in West Virginia, next to a certain Brahams).

The North American province, the country of good roads and cozy cottages, is very nice and just as boring. Therefore, holidays, dates, anniversaries are celebrated here with great pleasure. And they try to maintain order, and behave culturally, even if only 7 people live in the city, and they live in constant anxiety.

200 kilometers from the center of American culture, New York, in the central part of wooded Pennsylvania, the town with the fabulous name of Centralia is marked on the map. In the center of the city of Centralia lies a stone, and under it is a time capsule with a message to posterity. A letter to the future was buried in honor of the centenary of the town in 1966, and it should be opened in the not too distant 2016. And then if the letter by that time does not absorb what has been destroying everything in the district for almost half a century - a slow, treacherous and unquenchable underground fire in layers of anthracite.

The Yankees learned about high-quality coal, with which the local lands are rich, in the middle of the 19th century. A turbulent life began with a tavern, which was opened on the site of the future suffering city by a gentleman with a speaking surname Faust. Then the coal miners came, drew up a building plan, and by 1866 Centralia was already a full-fledged city with its own post office, schools, hotels, bars and a bank. And even then, mining engineers calculated that the local anthracite reserves would last for a thousand years.

And this means that the current fire can last for centuries.

Because of what it broke out in May 1962, no one really knows. There is a version that this is the work of firefighters from a voluntary brigade, which is on the balance sheet of every American town. For every holiday (and they loved to “celebrate” here), the mayor’s office sent firefighters to deal with garbage. Another city dump was located in the pit of an exhausted mine and looked like an iceberg: most of the rubbish was rammed deep into the ground. Regardless of this, the firemen showed fatal bungling, and set fire to the old junk adjacent to the anthracite. It was not possible to extinguish: decay "took root" in the bowels and soon the fire flared up in other abandoned mines. According to another version, someone somewhere unsuccessfully threw out a cigarette butt.

For several years, no one was afraid of anything: well, just think, it smokes from under the ground. True, the townspeople began to cough more often, and already in 1969, three families left Centralia forever because of health problems.

True hell began 10 years later, when it was discovered that in the underground tanks of gas stations the temperature reaches 80 degrees Celsius. And after a while, a nightmare of a fantastic kind broke out in Centralia - people began to fall into the hot cracks opening in the asphalt.

The government has finally begun to evacuate thousands of mortally frightened citizens.

... So you get into your long American car, you want to go onto a wide American road, but there is no road, and instead of it, a black abyss obscures your eyes with smoke and steam. Doesn't it remind you of Silent Hill from the famous game?

It seems as if the devil himself from hell is scraping the earth from the inside with huge claws, releasing hot clouds of hellish stench from the bowels.

In many photos and videos from Centralia, this house with chimney-shaped props is clearly visible. But it was demolished two years ago - it became too dangerous to be in it.

Today, the city is still ruled by a mayor and a few of his stubborn wards live. The fire was abandoned from Washington itself, and ghosts and mutants often seem to brave tourists in an empty city. Not without reason, Centralia, with its terrible history, became the prototype of the place from the horror film of the same name. At the entrance to the city instead of "Welcome!" guests are greeted with an inscription: "Attention - danger!". And below: "The earth can slip out from under your feet." If you stand in one place for a long time on the street in Centralia, then the soles of your shoes begin to melt. And the hair turns gray from the ashes and ... quiet horror.

One of the few places in Centralia untouched by the underground fire is the Orthodox Peter and Paul Cemetery. Like everything that survived in this slowly dying city, the Russian churchyard is decorated with the Stars and Stripes American flags...