My Visit to Centralia, Pennsylvania

On my way back from AuthorCon 2 earlier this month, I took a detour through Pennsylvania to visit Centralia, a once prosperous mining community that had to be abandoned because of an uncontrollable fire in the town's underground coal mine. Within twenty years, Centralia went from a thriving town to desolation. 

To give you an idea how much the town has changed, compare the top photo taken in the early 1970s with the one I took below. For comparison, check out the Orthodox church in the upper left and upper center, respectively. 

The fire began south of town near Old Fellows Cemetery in May 1962. The town was burning garbage in an old coal strip pit behind this cemetery but did not properly insulate it. The fire ignited nearby carbonaceous refuse material and soon spread to the anthracite coal at the bottom of the pit. However, the underground fire posed no threat to the community until 1979. 

Coddington's Gas Station is located near the corner of Centre Street and Locust Avenue several hundred feet east of the cemetery. In November 1979, John Coddington, the station owner, noticed steam rising from a nearby field that registered at 122 degrees Fahrenheit. A few weeks later, steam began rising from the station's basement, threatening to ignite the underground fuel tanks. The station was permanently closed later that month and torn down in November 1981, the first of numerous structures demolished because of the fire.

Below are photos of Coddington's Gas Station being torn down in 1981 and how the area looks today.

Stand in front of the site of Coddington's Gas Station and turn left (east). This is what downtown Centralia looked like in the 1960s and how it looks today.

The most famous location related to Centralia is the closed off portion of Route 61 known as Graffiti Road. Route 61 doglegs at the center of town and runs south. At the outskirts of town, just south of Old Fellows Cemetery, Route 61 began to collapse and split as the coal vein beneath it caught fire, weakening the ground above it. This portion was blocked off with large berms and a by-pass constructed east of it. The closed section became known as Graffiti Road because dark tourists like myself visited this section, taking photos and drawing multi-colored graffiti on the asphalt. However, for some unknown reason, a few years ago the state sent in dump trucks and covered the length of road in sand, burying the graffiti. 

The below pictures show the berms that block off the damaged section of road and the curve as Route 61 goes around the area. The next three photos are what Graffiti Road looks like now as compared to a few years ago. 

In 1984, Congress allocated $42 million to relocate the citizens of Centralia to safer locations, declared eminent domain over the town, and destroyed most of the remaining structures. In 2022, the U.S. Post Office revoked Centralia's zip code, effectively ending the town's existence.

Below is an aerial photo of what Centralia looked like in its heyday and ground shots of what it looks like today.

There are still people living in Centralia who refused to leave because their families had lived there for generations. Once the residents have passed on, they cannot will the land to their heirs because eminent domain has been declared; the state will take over the estates and destroy the property. As of 2022, only six people still reside in Centralia. Here are some of the houses. 

Though rarely mentioned, bordering Centralia to the south was the town of Byrnesville. The town was completely abandoned with no one still living there. Only two structures remain: a warehouse that looks like something directly from a post-apocalypse movie and this shrine to the Blessed Mother that was built over seventy years ago and is still maintained by the builder's heirs even though they no longer live in town. 

One final note: The video game and movie Silent Hill was very loosely based on the events at Centralia. In the game/movie, the constant rain of ashes caused by an underground inferno is the only thing that can accurately be linked to historical events; in the theatrical versions, the town was not condemned because of the underground fires but because of the population of religious zealots who bring hell upon themselves. However, aspects of the Orthodox church overlooking the town bears some striking resemblances to the cultist church featured in the movie.

I hope you enjoyed the photos of my trip to Centralia. If you're interested in the video versions, please check out my TikTok account here.