Ghost Town Campervan Stopover in Pennsylvania
Centralia is on the I-80 Highway some 350 miles southwest of Boston. The route continues on to Pittsburgh some 250 miles further. This effectively bypasses Philadelphia unless you want to take a detour in your RV or motorhome rental for a Centralia Ghost Town campervan stopover in Pennsylvania. About the only thing central about Centralia is it is in the heart of that triangle. Once though it was a booming coal town with a fascinating history.
Centralia Ghost Town Campervan Stopover in Pennsylvania
Coal mining began in Centralia after they built the Mine Run Railroad. Not much happened barring the killing of the town’s founder by the Molly Maguires secret society that sought to regulate the county. All was good until a rubbish fire ignited an exposed coal seam in 1962. The townspeople tried to dig it out, but in the end it was burning 300 feet underground.
How Centralia Became an Empty Grid Where Houses Were
The people did the obvious thing, and drifted away after a kid fell into a sinkhole, and the gasoline in the filling station heated to 172 °F (77.8 °C). With the exception of the church the buildings were clapboard affairs. The people either dismantled them, or they rotted or burned down, or both.
The few parishioners have kept the designated pilgrimage church in good shape, and it remains a beautiful place with icons and stained glass windows. Around 5o people visit from surrounding areas on Sundays to take in the regular service. In fact, it is probably the only church that survived a fire for half a century.
The Town That’s More Like a Field with Roads Running Through It
Over the years the County Redevelopment Authority gradually tidied the place up, and planted new growth to return the place to nature. The only sign there’s a fire burning ‘downstairs’ is steam venting through pipes on the south side of the town.
In 2013, the state paid compensation to the remaining people, with the right to remain if they wished. Ten of them did. For the rest, the place is like a huge campsite and you could probably overnight in a campervan or motorhome rental anywhere you wanted. There’s no need to worry about a fire breaking out. They still have their 30-year-old fire truck, and a few enthusiastic volunteers. The church looks pretty in the summertime too. This was the only picture we could find.
Some things will probably never change in Centralia, Pennsylvania. The Church is still solid. Locos and autos still roar past the ghost town history forgot. This is a part of the tapestry of America most travelers never see. When you have done wondering about the point of it all. you can return your campervan in Philadelphia. Or you could loop right back to Boston via Philadelphia and drop it off there.