Centralia Pennsylvania

Centralia - Columbia County, Pennsylvania

The borough of Centralia is located in Columbia County, Pennsylvania.  Centralia was founded in 1860, but it was initially known as Bull's Head, named after a tavern in the borough.  Johnathan Faust opened Bull's Head Tavern in 1841 in what was then Roaring Creek Township. In 1854, Alexander W. Rea, a civil and mining engineer for the Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company, moved to the site and laid out streets and lots for development. The town was known as Centreville until 1865, when the post office was established and the name was changed to Centralia. Centralia was incorporated as a borough in 1866. The anthracite coal industry was the principal employer in the community. Coal mining continued in Centralia until the 1960s, when most of the companies went out of business. Bootleg mining continued until 1982. Strip and open-pit mining is still active in the area, and there is an underground mine employing about 40 employees three miles to the west.

The borough was also a hotbed of Molly Maguires activity during the 1860s and 1870s. The borough's founder, Alexander Rea, was one of the victims of the secret order when he was murdered just outside of the borough on October 17, 1868. Three individuals were convicted of the crime and hanged in the county seat of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania on March 25, 1878. Several other murders and arsons also occurred during this period.

The borough was served by two railroads, the Philadelphia and Reading and the Lehigh Valley, with the Lehigh Valley being the principal carrier. Rail service ended in 1966. The borough operated its own school district with elementary schools and a high school within its precincts. There were also two Catholic parochial schools in the borough. The borough once had seven churches, five hotels, twenty-seven saloons, two theatres, a bank, post office, and fourteen general and grocery stores. During most of the borough's history, when coal mining activity was being conducted, the town had a population in excess of 2,000 residents. Another 500 to 600 residents lived in unincorporated areas immediately adjacent to Centralia.

The borough was situated over a large vein of anthracite coal, a rare and valuable form of coal, which drew many miners to the area. By 1962, more than 1,100 people lived in Centralia, many of whom were coal miners. That year, on Memorial Day, a trash fire was lit in an abandoned mine pit outside of town. The fire traveled down a mine shaft, igniting a vein of coal. The fire spread throughout the coal mines underneath Centralia throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Some efforts were made to extinguish the fire, but were unsuccessful. Some people who lived near the fire reported the smell of coal fumes and emissions of carbon monoxide in their homes. In 1982, 12-year-old Todd Dombroski was playing in a backyard when a sink hole opened up beneath him. A relative pulled Dombroski from the hole, which was estimated to be 150 feet (45 meters) deep. The incident brought national attention to Centralia, and in 1983, the Pennsylvania government offered a buy-out for the residents. Most of the borough's residents opted to move, and today, many of them live in the nearby communities of Ashland and Mount Carmel. The remaining residents have refused all buy-out offers from the state. Their reasons are varied, but some residents believe the state has ulterior motives in forcing them out, such as claiming the mineral rights to the 3,700 acres of coal beneath the borough.

There are no plans to extinguish the fire, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection estimates the fire will burn out in 100 years. Today, there is a large field in Centralia where all the grass has died and the ground is very hot. Here, vents in the ground can still be seen releasing toxic gases into the air. There is a sign in front of this field that warns you by saying, "Go onto it at your own risk". This is because the land is unstable.  Centralia is serviced by an active volunteer fire department and ambulance. Since the dismantling of the borough's police department in the 1990s, police services have been provided by the Columbia County Sheriff's Department.   Centralia is located at 40°48'12" North, 76°20'30" West (40.803291, -76.341741)1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of 0.6 km˛ (0.2 mi˛). 0.6 km˛ (0.2 mi˛) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

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