Jesse Turner
English Comp 106
Miss. Meley
21 April 2018
The Mystery Behind Centralia, Pennsylvania The sulfury landscape of Centralia develops more stubborn as one nears the "hot" some portion of town. Centralia, once a thriving town, has now faded away and become a ghost town. Centralia, located in Columbia County, was just like any normal town. Complete with a drug store, gas station, pub, restaurant, churches, schools and a general store. There were a lot of immigrants that settled in the area, most were Polish. Justin Oneill author of “The Burning Town,” states in his article that at one time the town had a population of over 1,000 people. All that is left is a barren wasteland. The streets are torn up, danger signs are posted around the…show more content… Burning trash was a common practice at the time. The fire, caused by someone who was indeed burning trash in a compost pile, spread though the underground and got in other mine shafts. The fire has been burning since and continues to burn. After many failed attempts of trying to extinguish the fire, the town finally gave up. It would be very expensive to try and put out a fire that is too big to control. State and governments had already spent more than $3 million trying to smother the burst (Oneill…show more content… Warning signs are posted all around the area warning about sink holes that are present. An online article titled “Inferno: The Centralia Mine Fire,” author John Guss writes about a boy whom fell into a mine…In 1981, Centralia collected the consideration of the national media after the ground gave path underneath twelve-year-old Todd Dombowksi. This isn’t the only issue in the area.
The fumes that are coming out of the ground are toxic to both humans and the environment.
In 1983, the federal government encouraged families to leave town, spending a total of $42 million to buy their houses (Oneill 8). Many people didn’t want to leave the town due to personal reasons others took the money and left. An online article by Stephan R. Couch says by 1991, all who needed to migrate had gone, leaving 58 individuals who wished to remain. In 1992, the legislative leader of Pennsylvania requested everyone to evaluate (Oneill 8).
Ashland, Pennsylvania is a coal mining town only 2 miles from Centralia. It has been almost unaffected by the fire. Nonetheless, it is additionally the site of an old mine, remodeled into a gallery and coal mining visit. As like most of the towns in the zone, Ashland's inhabitants are on the whole moderately poor. Homes fall into dilapidation on each square and develop of coal tidy makes many homes extremely perilous and awful fire risks.
