Product Description

Centralia is the saga of a Pennsylvania community consumed by an underground mine fire. The town, founded in 1866, has often been embroiled in tragedy and controversy. Beginning with the infamous Molly Maguires, Centralia was confronted with the murder of its founder and an assault upon its Catholic priest, who cursed the town, saying, “One day this town will be erased from the face of the earth.” Almost one hundred years later, a vein of coal that ran underneath the town caught fire and has burned since 1962. In the 1990s, the state of Pennsylvania declared eminent domain and forced most of the town’s sixteen hundred residents to leave. Ten people remain in Centralia today. This book chronicles many of the images and stories from this fascinating and colorful Pennsylvania community.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37724 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-27
• Released on: 2004-09-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

About the Author
Deryl B. Johnson is a playwright, performer, and professor in the Department of Speech Communication & Theatre at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He has been researching and documenting the history of Centralia for years.

Customer Reviews

Very well done photo-essay.
I used to live near the Centralia area, and wanted to continue to educate myself about it. I found a book with very few pictures, and then Amazon recommended making it a package deal, and buying the picture book too. It was a good choice. I am enjoying the read so far, and have looked through the photos of "the town that is no more."

Good Stuff
It's important to know that this book is not only about Centralia since the underground mine fires started. It does include pictures from that era but is also about the history of the town. It is fascinating stuff but know that it's not only a photo essay of the mine fire era.

Coal mining memories
Because I had been a coal miner in the Anthracite region,I still am interested in the coal region history and customs. I have also purchased a few other mining books on your website.
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Am still looking for info on mining tools , job descriptions and what tests a miner had to pass to get his miner's certificate.
Sincerely, Anthony Sharayko