I didn't believe it when I heard the story. I thought it was urban legend. Could there really be an abandoned town in the United States? I get it if were a town from the old west but this town was a booming coal town until the 70's.
The name alone sounds like a place found deep within the woods of a Tolkien novel. Centralia. It's actually a rather beautiful name for a place...until you hear the story.
Centralia is located in The United States...
In Central Pennsylvania...
Not far from the state capitol of Harrisburg
Right here. I'm not sure what the little box is surrounding the town -probably the quarantine zone.
So what's up with this odd little town?
Less than 10 people live here (from a population of over 1,000 in the early 1980's)
Why?
According to my friends at Wikipedia, On May 27, 1962, the firefighters, as they had in the past, set the dump on fire and let it burn for some time. Unlike in previous years, however, the fire was not fully extinguished. An unsealed opening in the pit allowed the fire to enter the labyrinth of abandoned coal mines beneath Centralia.
There are numerous youtube videos on Centralia
This is a good one:
This place is actually within driving distance of where I live. One day, I'll run up and take some photos and video.
Talk about crazy! I love this kind of stuff!
Does anyone have something like this by where they live?
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The better half and I are planning a driving trip next week, maybe we'll add a stop here!
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