Centralia, Pennsylvania

The town's four cemeteries—including one on the hilltop which has smoke rising around and out of it—are maintained in good condition.

The remaining church in the borough, the town's Ukrainian Catholic church, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, remains in use. It holds weekly services on Sundays and attracts worshippers from surrounding towns including people who were once residents of the town. It has not yet been directly affected by the fire. A geological survey found t... See more

The Centralia Municipal Building still stands, along with its attached fire station garage. By the early 2010s, the building had fallen into disrepair, but new siding was installed in 2012.[44] The building hosts the annual Centralia Cleanup Day, when volunteers collect illegally dumped trash in the area. Although past cleanup days avoided fire-imp... See more

As of the census of 2010[42] there were ten people (down 52% since 2000), five households (down 50%), and three families (down 57%) residing in the borough. The population density was 42 inhabitants per square mile (16/km2) (down 52%). There were six housing units (down 62.5%) at an average density of 0.4 units per square mile (.015 units/km2). The... See more

The median income for a household in the borough was $23,750, and the median income for a family was $28,750. The per capita income for the borough was $16,083. All of the population was below the poverty line.

In the borough the population was spread out, with one resident under the age of 18, one from 18 to 24, four from 25 to 44, seven from 45 to 64, and eight who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 62 years. There were ten females and 11 males with one male under the age of 18.

As of the census[41] of 2000, there were 21 people, ten households, and seven families residing in the borough. The population density was 87.5 inhabitants per square mile (33.8/km2). There were 16 housing units at an average density of 66.7 inhabitants per square mile (25.8/km2). The racial makeup of the borough was 100% white.

There were ten hous... See more

Several current and former Centralia residents believe the state's eminent domain claim was a plot to gain the mineral rights to the anthracite coal beneath the borough. Residents have asserted its value to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, although the exact amount of coal is not known.[29][23][35][36]

The town's residents and former residents decided to open a time capsule buried in 1966 a couple of years earlier than planned after someone had attempted to unearth and steal the capsule in May 2014. The capsule was not scheduled to be opened until 2016 (50 years after it was buried). Items found in the footlocker-sized capsule, which had been inu... See more